I used to own an Octavia 184bhp diesel VRS but got sick of the constant regens so bailed out long before the PCP expired in favour of a Ford Focus ST3 250bhp petrol.

 

Oddly, it always seemed the Octavia was quicker (probably because when the turbo kicked in you got thrown back in your seat whereas the Focus petrol is a lot smoother in its acceleration).

 

I want to go back to diesel and seeing as Ford have decided to deliberately underpower their new ST flagship offering, I'm looking around.

 

I can get the VW Passat 237bhp 2.0 BiTDI SCR 4MOTION DSG GT Panoramic Roof sunroof, Automatic, Diesel with options for a touch over £33k

I can get the Skoda Octavia VRS 184bhp 2.0 TDI CR 4x4 DSG vRS 7 speed Black Pack, Automatic, Diesel  with options for a touch over £26k

I can get the Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI CR 190bhp 4X4 DSG Laurin + Klement 7 Speed, Automatic, Diesel with options for a touch over £30k

 

Is the Passsat £3k better than the L&K Skoda?  £7k better than the VRS?

 

Is the L&K £4k better than the VRS?

 

All thoughts appreciated

I went from a Mk1 Superb to the vRS three years ago.  Looked at other models and was surprised to be disappointed in the Passat (as I'd previously had a Passat I loved), feeling that a Mondeo was better, and the Passat wasn't a patch on my then ten year old Superb.  But that was then, and this is now.

 

I'd expect the Superb to be better choice of the three, but like everything, it depends on what you want and need.

 

Gaz

The Superb and Passat are very different to the Octavia in terms of refinement and driving experience.  If comfort and refinement are important to you the Passat or Superb would be best, but the Octavia is a more ni bike car than them.  There’s a new model Passat due later this year so you should be able to get a good deal on a current one if you want one.  You really need to try all three over familiar roads so you can decide which will suit you best.

The Vrs is the cheapest to buy (even on PCP) and run (fuel and insurance) plus will be the most fun to drive. Having owned a Mk3 Superb and Mk3 Octy Vrs Tdi DSG they are very different animals. Comfort and refinement then the Superb wins every time. Wouldn't even contemplate the Passat (on paper it looks good) because it is just so bland and not even that quick. Had one try to out accelerate me up a motorway slip road and easily put the oil burner in it's place. Think the driver thought I had the 181bhp diesel under my bonnet, must have got a shock how quickly I went past him.

Edited 22 March, 20197 yr by shyVRS245
spelling mistake

If I was going for the VW, I’d go for the Arteon - in the flesh it looks so good, there’s good discounts available, and it’s very well kitted out as standard.

 

If it were a straight choice between Passat and Superb, I’d pick the superb every time. Only thing is, both are due a facelift very shortly (if that bothers you).

None of these. Especially when you're looking at spending circa £30k.

 

If it absolutely has to be a diesel - and I'm not sure why in the current anti-diesel climate unless you do silly miles - then at least get a nice refined one with at least 6 cylinders. Audi and BMW have some nice 3.0 litre 6 cylinder diesels and £30k should secure a nice one which would feel far quicker than any of the above cars.

 

Do you really want to spend £30k on 4 cylinder diesel Skoda or VW?

Edited 22 March, 20197 yr by ahenners

25 minutes ago, ahenners said:

None of these. Especially when you're looking at spending circa £30k.

 

If it absolutely has to be a diesel - and I'm not sure why in the current anti-diesel climate unless you do silly miles - then at least get a nice refined one with at least 6 cylinders. Audi and BMW have some nice 3.0 litre 6 cylinder diesels and £30k should secure a nice one which would feel far quicker than any of the above cars.

 

Do you really want to spend £30k on 4 cylinder diesel Skoda or VW?

 

Good point!

 

My next door neighbour has very recently gone from a highly tuned Ed.30 Golf to a 335d beemer.  With a '15 plate vRS on my drive, I still look at his '09 plate 335d and think 'hmmmm' 

 

'Perb has +6" over the Passat floorpan, doesn't it? (if you want rear leg room) 

 

Gaz

1 hour ago, ahenners said:

None of these. Especially when you're looking at spending circa £30k.

 

If it absolutely has to be a diesel - and I'm not sure why in the current anti-diesel climate unless you do silly miles - then at least get a nice refined one with at least 6 cylinders. Audi and BMW have some nice 3.0 litre 6 cylinder diesels and £30k should secure a nice one which would feel far quicker than any of the above cars.

 

Do you really want to spend £30k on 4 cylinder diesel Skoda or VW?

This. 

6 hours ago, SkodaVRS1963 said:

Is the Passsat £3k better than the L&K Skoda?  £7k better than the VRS?

Yes.

15 hours ago, GoneToBeemer said:

If I was going for the VW, I’d go for the Arteon - in the flesh it looks so good, there’s good discounts available, and it’s very well kitted out as standard.

 

I'd never considered the Arteon so thank you for putting that option on the table.

 

It actually looks really classy and has the 237bhp biturbo VW diesel unit so all the boxes ticked there.

 

The dealbreaker for me (probably petty I know) is the door arrangement; most car doors when you open them are comprised of door frame, window, door panel (if that makes sense).  The Arteon is just window and door panel, i.e when you open the door, a sensor drops the window by about 1/4".  I had a similar setup on my Ford Focus CC and it works wonderfully........until your car has been parked up in sub zero temperatures all day long (this was in the winter of 2010/2011) and the window freezes shut.

 

At which point, you can*not* get the door open because the window hasn't dropped.

 

Really bad design, I'd expect it from Ford but not from a German manufacturer!

8 minutes ago, SkodaVRS1963 said:

 

I'd never considered the Arteon so thank you for putting that option on the table.

 

It actually looks really classy and has the 237bhp biturbo VW diesel unit so all the boxes ticked there.

 

The dealbreaker for me (probably petty I know) is the door arrangement; most car doors when you open them are comprised of door frame, window, door panel (if that makes sense).  The Arteon is just window and door panel, i.e when you open the door, a sensor drops the window by about 1/4".  I had a similar setup on my Ford Focus CC and it works wonderfully........until your car has been parked up in sub zero temperatures all day long (this was in the winter of 2010/2011) and the window freezes shut.

 

At which point, you can*not* get the door open because the window hasn't dropped.

 

Really bad design, I'd expect it from Ford but not from a German manufacturer!

That was a problem on my 2 BMW Coupe's I bought in 1994 and 1996, windows that refused to drop in sub-zero temps.

My 1 series had frameless windows. Warm water poured around the frame solved the problem when frozen, it's not the end of the world! 

8 minutes ago, Swirly182 said:

My 1 series had frameless windows. Warm water poured around the frame solved the problem when frozen, it's not the end of the world! 

How very 21st century high tech solution. Style over function. My boss drives a 3 door 2009 Ford Fiesta and he told me the rubber door seals freeze to the door frames making it difficult for him to open the driver's door when sub-zero temps. Must add he his 6 feet 3" and 17 stone MMA instructor so wonder how a small lady is supposed to cope without the boiling water method.

43 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

How very 21st century high tech solution. Style over function. My boss drives a 3 door 2009 Ford Fiesta and he told me the rubber door seals freeze to the door frames making it difficult for him to open the driver's door when sub-zero temps. Must add he his 6 feet 3" and 17 stone MMA instructor so wonder how a small lady is supposed to cope without the boiling water method.

 

Gummi pflege is allegedly great for preventing that. Never found it an issue personally - assuming a man of his stats doesn't either.

Just gonna point out that Ford Europe are headquartered in Germany. 

17 hours ago, GoneToBeemer said:

If I was going for the VW, I’d go for the Arteon - in the flesh it looks so good, there’s good discounts available, and it’s very well kitted out as standard.

Precisely what I did, albeit in the cheaper petrol. Can’t wait for it to arrive.  Hands down the best car compared to the ones you’ve picked out, in every way, in my opinion of course. 

 

Just dont order the 2.0 petrol 190 as it still hasn’t passed WLTP. 

1 hour ago, Swirly182 said:

My 1 series had frameless windows. Warm water poured around the frame solved the problem when frozen, it's not the end of the world! 

 

And when you return to your car that's been parked in a small railway station car park for 10 hours and don't happen to have a supply of warm water?

 

Well......you do what I did and end up having to call the AA.  Ridiculous!

Edited 23 March, 20197 yr by SkodaVRS1963

7 hours ago, SkodaVRS1963 said:

 

And when you return to your car that's been parked in a small railway station car park for 10 hours and don't happen to have a supply of warm water?

 

Well......you do what I did and end up having to call the AA.  Ridiculous!

I’ve read that using silicone spray on the door seals prevents this from happening. 

 

Failing that, I generally have a de-icer can in the boot over winter - I’m sure a spray of that would sort it in a minute. 

16 hours ago, SkodaVRS1963 said:

 

And when you return to your car that's been parked in a small railway station car park for 10 hours and don't happen to have a supply of warm water?

 

Well......you do what I did and end up having to call the AA.  Ridiculous!

Dunno about the girls but, with my 50's bladder & cold weather I've always got a readily available source of warm fluids 

 

#justsaying

34 minutes ago, themanwithnoaim said:

Dunno about the girls but, with my 50's bladder & cold weather I've always got a readily available source of warm fluids 

 

#justsaying

But surely being called NOAIM makes that ability to aim precisely around the door seals a little difficult. Also you would need the force of a fire hydrant to get the height required and finally if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction........

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

But surely being called NOAIM makes that ability to aim precisely around the door seals a little difficult. Also you would need the force of a fire hydrant to get the height required and finally if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction........

Need is the mother of all invention lol

3 minutes ago, themanwithnoaim said:

Need is the mother of all invention lol

Squeeze tighter  for more pressure on water jet?

On 22/03/2019 at 18:28, SkodaVRS1963 said:

I used to own an Octavia 184bhp diesel VRS but got sick of the constant regens

 

 

All the car you mentioned are diesels - won't you also get sick of constant regens on these?

 

Saying that most new petrol cars now have particulate filters - just passive regens though.

 

Drivethedeal has some amazing deals on the VW Passat at the moment

Edited 24 March, 20197 yr by bigjohn

2 hours ago, bigjohn said:

 

All the car you mentioned are diesels - won't you also get sick of constant regens on these?

 

Well my commute has changed somewhat so I'm hoping they're a thing of the past; additionally, I genuinely believe my VRS was a bit of what we used to call a "made on a Friday afternoon" car!

 

23 hours ago, SkodaVRS1963 said:

but not from a German manufacturer

 

Had an E36 M3 for 10 years, that had the same design, door opened every time, even in the frozen depths of Germany and the Alps. Most of that time was before I discovered Gummi pflege.

 

You must just be a magnet for 'Friday Cars'