I'm still looking for my "perfect" used vRS. I'm off to see one today which has a panoramic sunroof.

Personally, I don't much care if a car has a sunroof or not, however I am aware of issues with sunroof leaks.

So I'm asking, is a panoramic sunroof on an Octavia the liability I suspect it might be?

Guess you are talking about an estate? Personally bought the hatch version August 2017 and after 22,600 miles not one issue with the car and both myself and SWMBO love our electric sunroof and take every opportunity to open it, just not today due to........

Yes I am. TBH, having looked into it a bit, the sunroof looks really cool. But I can't be doing with a leaky car.

6 minutes ago, EnterName said:

Yes I am. TBH, having looked into it a bit, the sunroof looks really cool. But I can't be doing with a leaky car.

Well if it helps wife's previous car was a top-of-the-range Spaceback with a standard full length Pano Roof and after 28,500 miles and nearly 3 years no leaks but it didn't open unlike on the Octavia. The bit of theatre if you have small kids is being able to close it by holding down the lock button on the key fob as it slides forward. Always makes me smile I must be a bit sad.

Edited 8 June, 20197 yr by shyVRS245
wrong word

Don't suppose it's the black 230 at Available Car in Castle Donington?

 

If so I wouldn't bother, not a panel on it without a down to the metal scratch.

7 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

Well if it helps wife's previous car was a top-of-the-range Spaceback with a standard full length Pano Roof and after 28,500 miles and nearly 3 years no leaks but it didn't open unlike on the Octavia. The bit of theatre if you have small kids is being able to close it by holding down the lock button on the key fob as it slides forward. Always makes me smile I must be a bit sad.

Oh I like the idea of it, it's just the leaks I am concerned about. I'm ridiculously impressed with the sliding suncreen cover, though. So I suppose you're not the only person who's a bit sad.

5 minutes ago, theandywaite said:

Don't suppose it's the black 230 at Available Car in Castle Donington?

 

If so I wouldn't bother, not a panel on it without a down to the metal scratch.

No, I try and avoid black cars as they show up scratches/dirt really easily. They look amazing when polished up, mind.

1 minute ago, EnterName said:

No, I try and avoid black cars as they show up scratches/dirt really easily. They look amazing when polished up, mind.

 

Fair enough. I don't mind black but I don't think it suits the vRS tbh.

 

My wife has pan roof on her Yeti and we haven't had any issues. Appreciate it's a different model but would expect it's a similar setup.

 

Best of luck!

I wouldn't have bought one without a sunroof, and none of them ever gave any trouble.

Just now, Dr Zoidberg said:

I wouldn't have bought one without a sunroof, and none of them ever gave any trouble.

Thank you, that's worth knowing. 👍

The car is pretty much the spec I want, which is mainly that it's got front/rear sensors and a heated windscreen.

It's also DSG, which was not my preferred choice, but I've lurked long enough on here to know it's something I need to try for myself and see if I like it or not.

Well, that was an interesting day. I test drove a couple of vRS TDIs: One DSG and one manual, both estates.

 

I realise the DSG is supposed to learn your driving style and adapt accordingly, but I can only judge it on the basis of a test drive, and based on my test drive, the DSG and the TDi are not well-suited. It's nice for pootling about (more on pootling about in a bit) but I found I was waiting for the gearbox to respond on a couple of occasions (in drive mode), and it dulled the feel of the car, and seemed at odds with the sporty handling of the car. The salesperson gave me the usual "I drive a DSG and it's great, I wouldn't want anything else." routine, but I wasn't feeling the love. I assume the DSG would be different in sport mode, and maybe it would be better if I used the paddles, but you don't get that much time to play on a test drive, and I was busy driving around Redditch in an unfamiliar car, so I stuck it in drive, and followed the route I was directed to on the test drive.

 

The manual was a delight. Gear changes were light and quick, and it transformed the way the car drove. Shame the car was a bit tatty and rattly having had a previous owner who clearly didn't GAF about looking after their car.

Other aspects of the driving was the usual vRS niceness. Firm ride, without being crashy, lovely steering, blah, blah, blah. It's all good. However I did learn that I don't like the estate Octavia. Hell's bells, they're noisy and boomy! As I wasn't thrashing the thing around at the limit, but driving normally, with the odd squirt of power when I could get away with it, I found the vRS estate quite a noisy environment. Driving home in my old Mondeo TDCI hatch seemed like a haven of peace and tranquillity after the vRS's. And as I've had the 2.2 lump remapped, it's not any slower than the diesel vRS. (Though it doesn't handle anything like as well.) I have read the estate is noisy, and I have to concur.

 

(Incidentally, it had been raining heavily all morning but there wasn't a hint of water having leaked through the sunroof, and all was dry inside. So there's that, I suppose.)

 

With the benefit of hindsight, based on my experience on the test drive, I think the dealer perhaps needs to up their game when it comes to their sales team.

When I said, "The gear shifts are sluggish.", the sales rep should have said. "Try the paddles!" or "Put it in sport mode.". What she actually said was, "Well, they're not for everyone.".

Maybe she was right, but it seems like a missed opportunity to me.

Everything else about the car was fine. (Apart from the noise, and a decent sale person could have talked me past that, suggesting boot liners, etc.)

Maybe the hatch vRS is better? Maybe the petrol vRS is quieter? Maybe I should try another DSG box and have a better test drive?

I dunno! 😕

 

But right now after those test drives, I'm starting to wonder if I could live with a Mk5 Mondeo, even if it is the size of an oil tanker.

 

Yeah, they aren’t the greatest dealership there. 

Having owned a DSG Vrs TDi I know exactly what you mean and changed to a petrol manual Vrs and it's everything the diesel semi-auto isn't. Try a petrol 230/245 manual Vrs hatch and you will be amazed at the difference. Literally chalk and cheese. Averaged 40.46mpg over 22,000 miles in the 245 in just 22 months. 

13 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Having owned a DSG Vrs TDi I know exactly what you mean and changed to a petrol manual Vrs and it's everything the diesel semi-auto isn't. Try a petrol 230/245 manual Vrs hatch and you will be amazed at the difference. Literally chalk and cheese. Averaged 40.46mpg over 22,000 miles in the 245 in just 22 months. 

I think that's where I'm headed. Probably not the 245 is it's over budget for me, but the 230 seems like a good fit. Skoda dealers are pretty lacklustre when it comes to the vRS range, in my experience.

If I had anything to do with Skoda, I'd be considering having a few specific vRS dealerships, where they have sales people who are focussed on vRS vehicles.

The Skoda range is quite broad and covers a whole range of different vehicle needs. Having spoken to a few Skoda sales people now, I find they are not a good resource for information on vRS vehicles.

I'd also be looking closely at which dealerships I let sell Skodas. Some of these dealerships are basically selling cars as white goods. (Pic related)

 

Edited 9 June, 20197 yr by EnterName

You're unlikely to see dedicated vRS dealerships. The vRS is simply a regular model with stiffer suspension, a spoiler and a mildy tweaked performance map, it doesn't require a specialist sell.