Hello, 

 

I'm currently in the market to change my car. I have narrowed it down to a CLA shooting brake and a Octavia VRS. I have a history of sport hatchback cars and will be coming from a Cupra 300 when my lease expires in a few months so naturally the VRS would make a perfect family car (estate). I'm a little reserved about buying a car as my 2 previous cars have been leased and after trying to sell last car for nearly 12 months i swore to never buy outright again. 

 

I have a few questions before i narrow down my search criteria that i hope someone can help with please?

 

Apple carplay is essential on my next car. I currently have it in my Cupra and could not go without it now. What year did they come into the Skodas and do i need to look for a specific headunit?

 

What are the real life MPG figures for both petrol and diesel? My Cupra averages around 25mpg which is nowhere near the advertised figure so I'm curious to know what to expect.

 

Looking online my budget is around the 2015-2017 model, when is the major service due? 

 

How reliable would it be to buy a car around this age, am i likely to start seeing problems with it being around 3/4 years old?

 

The last one is how often are these cars targeted by thieves? My current car fits into the Golf R, 140i and S3 bracket and I'm forever hearing horror stories about homes being broken into. As i now i have a young family i need to know we are safe. 

 

i think that's its for now :)

 

Thank you

 

CarPlay - Apple states that Octavia models from 2016 were available with apple CarPlay, however it’s best not to take that as gospel and try it out for yourself if you’re not entirely certain. 

 

Real world MPG - According to Honest John’s reports, real life MPG’s for the diesel are around the 45-50 mark, and around 33 for the petrol. The average real world mpg for the entire vRS range is 42. 

 

Major service - 2 years or 20,000 miles, whichever’s soonest, so it’s likely that a 2015-2017 one would have already been done. It’s £289 at a Skoda steale... I mean dealer😝.

 

Reliability - the BorgWarner DSG sequential gearbox has always been prone to reliability issues, that because of the complex design can be expensive to repair. The manuals are usually fine. It has often been found that, despite sharing underpinnings, the Octavia is more reliable than the golf. This is proof of the solid build quality, however there can still be inherent issues, such as tensioner failures on the petrol causing the timing to fail, leading to bent valves and all sorts of nastiness. On the whole though, a reliable car.  For a bit of an idea of how reliable the Octavia can be if looked after properly, watch Bob Flavin’s video ‘Skoda Octavia from 2002 the real hero of the car world’ and CarsIreland’s video ‘The 940,000 km Skoda’. 

 

Theft - As a Skoda badge doesn’t have the same ‘look at me’ appeal as an Audi badge or a BMW one, nor does the Octavia Estates design give off the same ‘don’t ask me how I afforded this car’ image, I wouldn’t personally put this into a bracket as high as an Audi S3. Any car can be a target though, and if you’re worried, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of the car being targeted through your own means, such as having a gravel driveway (more noisy), or installing a steering lock. 

Just remember that a car is replaceable, a family is not, so it’s best to keep the keys in a prominent place inside the house, so in the unfortunate event that your car gets targeted, they’ll get the keys and leave, without bothering you or your family in the process. 

Having said that, the theft rate of the Skoda Octavia range is 8 per 10000 registered vehicles, 40% better than the national average. (Honest John).

 

Overall then, I think you’d do right by buying an Octavia vRS. Prices are reasonable, performance is way better than the estate body would suggest, it has a good interior, and is the perfect addition to a family with a petrol head in it. 

Hope this helps