Experience of my new vRS so far!

[CookieMonster87]

I bought my Mk2 FL vRS Blackline as a stopgap between hot hatches once the little’un came along. 

 

3 years down the line and I’ve become quite attached to the Octavia, it’s served us well however the time has come to upgrade to something a bit newer, better equipped and more refined. Skoda as a brand haven’t put a foot wrong with me so far and I happily continue to use the main dealer for spares and servicing.

 

I was initially looking at going back to a hot hatch but with my journeys commute increasing and the arrival of the family hound the Octavia kept ticking all the boxes whilst offering great value for money.

 

To cut a long story short i’ve upgraded to a 17 plate Mk3 FL vRS TDI DSG in Race Blue. I picked it up with just over 9k miles on the clock as an Approved Used car from Skoda. 

 

The previous owner is an employee of Skoda who, for personal reasons, sold the car back to the dealership. Their partner is the dealerships Master Technician so I’m happy in the knowledge the car has good history behind it.

 

It’s early days but so far I’m really enjoying  the upgrades over the Mk2.

 

The LED headlights are excellent in comparison to anything I’ve owned before. They are so good I get the odd flash from oncoming traffic thinking I’ve left my main beams on.

 

Apple CarPlay is a great feature however Apples white maps screen is quite bright when driving at night. I’ve not given the built in nav a chance yet but will give it a go this weekend and report back. Interested to see which option others use out of the two.

 

The cloth/alcantara seats are very comfortable, I’ve avoided leather this time as I find it a bit uncomfortable on longer journeys, especially in the summer.

 

I missed the use of a multifunctional steering wheel to quickly flick through menus and change songs. The voice control is also spot on in comparison to my old Fiesta ST that’d go through the whole phone book before it found the person I was asking it to call.

 

Still get tons of space which is something I knew I’d miss if I went back to hatchback.

 

This is the first car I’ve owned with an auto/semi auto box and so far I’ve found that I’ve adapted to the DSG relatively quickly and it’s a nice experience across all modes although I haven’t used Eco yet but still getting returns of 50mpg.

 

On a negative note, and it’s quite minor, I’ve experienced a bit of (what I hope is) road noise and a rattle which I found to be the passengers A pillar against the window - now resolved.

 

I’m looking at getting the vRS logo rubber boot mat from SuperSkoda and the OEM sill protectors for the rear doors fitted ASAP. I’m also going to have a go at painting the badges with black Pladtidip.

 

Pictures to follow!

Edited 11 March, 2020 by john999boy
Title typo.

[matrix2020]

Interesting one with the LED lights, I love how clear they are but they are very 'binary'. The cut of point is extremely noticeable and i find I am always trying to see stuff ahead of the cut off point where its pitch dark!! 

I have never been flashed so your might be set higher than mine, but I did have to turn off the light assist, I just could not get on with it. It had main beam on when I wanted it off, and off when I wanted it on, probably because I prefer to use the lights as I want them, but it really does not work well for me, nothing like the Merc or VW adaptive lights which are fantastic. 

I personally don't use CarPlay, primarily because I use TomTom and CarPlay does not replicate traffic and speed cameras properly and I find it very 'cluncky' and old. I stick with the mobile phone in a holder on the windscreen for SatNav. Although my current Skoda is a 150, I also like the DSG, seems to work well with it, its not as crisp as the DQ381 in the Golf, but works well. As you say they are hard to beat for value for money.

 

[CookieMonster87]

@matrix2020 agreed, the cut off point is very noticeable!

 

I’d still take them over the candles on my Mk2. 

[john999boy]

Apple CarPlay is a great feature however Apples white maps screen is quite bright when driving at night. I’ve not given the built in nav a chance yet but will give it a go this weekend and report back. Interested to see which option others use out of the two.

There should be an option to adjust between day/night/auto backgrounds. It may be that the phone gets the settings from the car so check that out.

[Auric Goldfinger]

5 minutes ago, john999boy said:

 

 

There should be an option to adjust between day/night/auto backgrounds. It may be that the phone gets the settings from the car so check that out.

 

On the sat nav screen, at the bottom there is a " View " Icon. The setting Johnboy mentioned is there.  

 

 ( You will most likely know but if there's no Icons at the bottom of the Sat Nav Screen just wave your finger around near the screen and the Icon bar will pop up ) 

 

 

Edited 10 March, 2020 by Auric Goldfinger

[Llwyngwernog]

I concur 

1 LED headlights are brilliant

2 Alcantara and leather are brilliant.

Regards

[CookieMonster87]

Ok so I’ve been out and had a play with the iPhone and maps via Carplay.

 

Initially I was getting the white map screen with the lights at Auto (not touched this setting since I bought the car). I manually switched between side lights and headlights and the map screen darkened.

 

Going back to Auto (headlights now on as it’s getting dark), the screen remained dark and would do dark when switched between off.

 

So all is good on the Carplay map front!

 

@Auric Goldfinger I’m yet to use the built in Nav but have now found the option to adjust day/night/auto brightness. Thank you.

Edited 10 March, 2020 by CookieMonster87

[logiclee]

At speed on poor surfaces you can expect more road noise than the mk2.

 

On models with torsion beam, much more.

[CookieMonster87]

If I finish early enough Friday I may swing by the dealership and get them to have a listen as I need to have my service indicator reset to reflect the schedule it’s on.

 

On another note, could an admin correct my bad England in the title of the thread please? Thanks.

[john999boy]

4 hours ago, CookieMonster87 said:

On another note, could an admin correct my bad England in the title of the thread please? Thanks.

I’ve sorted that for you but FYI, ‘Members’ have 60 minutes to edit their posts whereas ‘Freedom members’ have an unlimited amount of time. 

[shyVRS245]

2 minutes ago, CookieMonster87 said:

If I finish early enough Friday I may swing by the dealership and get them to have a listen as I need to have my service indicator reset to reflect the schedule it’s on.

 

On another note, could an admin correct my bad England in the title of the thread please? Thanks.

Gadgetman or John the OP would like you to change "OR" in the title thread to "OF" please for them.

[john999boy]

See my previous post from 7 hours ago. 

[shyVRS245]

23 minutes ago, john999boy said:

See my previous post from 7 hours ago. 

I was going to send it last night then wife lost her mobile down the sofa ended up dismantling it to retrieve said mobile and forgot to hit submit last night. All a bit Fawlty Towers last night.

[Rolling]

Not really anything to do about this topic, however because I have got advice from shy vrs 245 I was wondering why in the new year 2020 ideas no longer a member!! Had to re join and lost all my msg ect. Any ideas!? Plus one quick Q can my auto vrs 230/300 be upgraded from front wheel drive to 4/4 and still be an auto? Many thanks.

[Rolling]

Brilliant choice, especially for all you get compared to other,vags,at a very better price,

[john999boy]

14 minutes ago, Rolling said:

Not really anything to do about this topic, however because I have got advice from shy vrs 245 I was wondering why in the new year 2020 ideas no longer a member!! Had to re join and lost all my msg ect. Any ideas!? Plus one quick Q can my auto vrs 230/300 be upgraded from front wheel drive to 4/4 and still be an auto? Many thanks.

Send me a PM with your previous username and email and I'll look into it.

[Tazdaz]

The LEDs are strange. First time I drove at night I was convinced I was blinding everyone but yet to be flashed. Amazing coverage compared to mk2 though. 

 

44 minutes ago, Rolling said:

Plus one quick Q can my auto vrs 230/300 be upgraded from front wheel drive to 4/4 and still be an auto? Many thanks.

 

Sounds expensive!

[Gaz]

2 hours ago, Rolling said:

Plus one quick Q can my auto vrs 230/300 be upgraded from front wheel drive to 4/4 and still be an auto? Many thanks.

 

Quick answer; yes it can.

 

But the cost to do so will be considerable.  And, in my opinion, to the point where you'd be better off selling yours, and buying something that's already 4x4 instead.

 

Gaz

[CookieMonster87]

Agree with the above, that’d be pricey. Better to put that money down as a deposit on a new 4x4 model if that’s what you’re after.

 

On a side note, who’s bright idea was it not to include the figures 30 and 70 on the analogue speedo?!

 

Not a massive issue with the option to display it on the digital display in the centre but annoying all the same.

[thewhiteone]

You might want to give Waze a try. Not only does it have traffic-based navigation as good as Google Maps, it lists out the traffic cameras, accidents, construction and ad hoc police checkpoints as long as there are user inputs. That last bit saved my license after a few pints for more times than I can remember!

[Rolling]

On 12/03/2020 at 11:35, IamGaz said:

 

Quick answer; yes it can.

 

But the cost to do so will be considerable.  And, in my opinion, to the point where you'd be better off selling yours, and buying something that's already 4x4 instead.

 

Gaz

I have heard that Revo do a package? To do this think it's a stage 5 upgrade!!?

[Rolling]

On 13/03/2020 at 18:45, CookieMonster87 said:

Agree with the above, that’d be pricey. Better to put that money down as a deposit on a new 4x4 model if that’s what you’re after.

 

On a side note, who’s bright idea was it not to include the figures 30 and 70 on the analogue speedo?!

 

Not a massive issue with the option to display it on the digital display in the centre but annoying all the same.

I have to agree with you on the speed dial, it through me until I managed to put the digital display on. Much better