Ok so I'm looking at buying a 245 vrs hatch in red with 10.000 miles on, it's a dsg with black pack I red, I would be coming from a mk 2 Cr 170 TDI white hatch, just looking to hear of any pit falls to owning one of theses and weathers they are worth the jump from my mk 2 TDI hatch, also which is the best spec to go for with regards to trim levels and engines throughout the vrs range, thanks for any help in advance

https://www.arnoldclark.com/nearly-new-cars/skoda/octavia/2-0-tsi-245-vrs-5dr-dsg-black-pack/2019/ref/arnao-u-274386

This is the car I'm looking at

 

Edited 21 March, 20206 yr by Catzeye

Looking at the pictures it is a fairly basic version with standard cloth seats, 18" Gemini's alloys, no heated seats, manual seats, probably manual folding mirrors, no heated windcreen. On the positive side the DSG box with this engine can give a real world 50mpg if you keep to the speed limits thanks to the tall gearing in 7th gear. Looks a decent price for the age and mileage but there are more highly specced versions out there.

14 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

Looking at the pictures it is a fairly basic version with standard cloth seats, 18" Gemini's alloys, no heated seats, manual seats, probably manual folding mirrors, no heated windcreen. On the positive side the DSG box with this engine can give a real world 50mpg if you keep to the speed limits thanks to the tall gearing in 7th gear. Looks a decent price for the age and mileage but there are more highly specced versions out there.

That's exactly what I wanted m8 as I know the spec on mk3s varied more than the mk2s, yeah I'd want a a few toys tbh, so will probs give this a miss with there being quite a few on the market, any idea about reliability on these 245s and 230s and 220s? And also what's the reliability like on the manual Vs dsg transmissions. Also , what's the desirable options I should be looking for on these, thanks again

I owned a high spec early 17 plate manual 245 hatch which I covered 29,000 miles in from new with no issues and I got it serviced at 18,500 and 29,000 miles when I traded it in for my Superb 272 late December 2019. NOAIM also has an early 17 plate since new and although not quite as many miles as me he had a high spec car including optional DCC and DSG and despite driving his car like he stole it (his words not mine) I'm not aware he has any issues reliability wise except wearing out tyres every 8,500 miles. Usually front tyres last 13,000-16,000 miles. Spare wheel is handy, I had an electric sunroof, reversing camera and Canton sound upgrade is desirable. Mine had front/rear parking sensors and electric heated seats and folding electric mirrors as standard. Early 17/67 plate cars tend to be the highest spec because from about May 2018 Skoda UK dropped a lot of standard stuff onto the options sheet but only reduced the initial 2017 launch price from £27,595 to £26,995 for the later basic cars.

28 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

I owned a high spec early 17 plate manual 245 hatch which I covered 29,000 miles in from new with no issues and I got it serviced at 18,500 and 29,000 miles when I traded it in for my Superb 272 late December 2019. NOAIM also has an early 17 plate since new and although not quite as many miles as me he had a high spec car including optional DCC and DSG and despite driving his car like he stole it (his words not mine) I'm not aware he has any issues reliability wise except wearing out tyres every 8,500 miles. Usually front tyres last 13,000-16,000 miles. Spare wheel is handy, I had an electric sunroof, reversing camera and Canton sound upgrade is desirable. Mine had front/rear parking sensors and electric heated seats and folding electric mirrors as standard. Early 17/67 plate cars tend to be the highest spec because from about May 2018 Skoda UK dropped a lot of standard stuff onto the options sheet but only reduced the initial 2017 launch price from £27,595 to £26,995 for the later basic cars.

Thanks alot that's a great help on looking for a MK3 👍🏼 is the engine in the 220s 230s 245s exact same ?

Ostensibly they are the same EA888 engine. The 245 and PFL 230 get the VAQ diff though, which may be useful to you. They are also the highest standard spec with electric heated seats, memory auto dimming mirrors, 19’s as standard, black pack as standard etc. DSG needs a service every 40k but is a brilliant box. I love mine  The winter pack is a must IMO with the heated screen. The nicest options are the adaptive cruise control (mega hard to find), pan roof (less hard but still rare) and the electric boot on the estate (hard to find but not impossible). The new 245 picks up where the 230 left off with the standard spec and the Challenge is the equivalent of the early 245 but it has DCC and KESSY as standard, DCC is a nice extra to have. The 245’s have the 7 speed DQ381 DSG but the MY19’s have the GPF to contend with.

Thanks for that insight, so am I right in saying the 245s after 2018 didn't get the diff?

33 minutes ago, Catzeye said:

Thanks for that insight, so am I right in saying the 245s after 2018 didn't get the diff?

All 245 get the VAQ electronic diff as standard and does help in corners.

What is a GPF just out of interest? Which VRS’s have these? 

Gasoline Particulate Filter added to the exhaust system to reduce harmful emissions fitted to MY18 Vrs245 from about May 2018.

Is it a good or bad thing? Impact on performance or mpg etc? 

Well I owned a 19 plate DSG Vrs245 (long story don't ask) for 4 days last August and averaged 50mpg on my 27 mile commute so it doesn't seem to effect economy but is good for everyones lungs. If it was remapped in the future it may only be capable of about 290bhp compared to an earlier car which should make 300-305bhp with the less restrictive pre GPF exhaust.

1 hour ago, shyVRS245 said:

Gasoline Particulate Filter added to the exhaust system to reduce harmful emissions fitted to MY18 Vrs245 from about May 2018.

May 18 cars are MY19

Edited 22 March, 20206 yr by themanwithnoaim

On 21/03/2020 at 18:03, Catzeye said:

Thanks alot that's a great help on looking for a MK3 👍🏼 is the engine in the 220s 230s 245s exact same ?

Right let's give you a run through of the EA888 engine history

 

MK3 vRS 220 XDS diff, cloth seats with manual adjustment seats, 18" wheels, very tunable engine

 

MK3 vRS 230 VAQ diff, leather heated seats with electric adjustments, Black pack plus, 19" wheels, this is the most tunable engine

 

MK3FL vRS 230 XDS diff, cloth seats with manual adjustment seats, 18" wheels, not very tunable engine due to only half the nozzles on the fuel injectors & a lower pressure fuel pump

 

MK3FL vRS 245 MY18 VAQ diff, half leather & Alcantara heated seats with electrics adjustment seats, 19" wheels, not very tunable engine due to only half the nozzles on the fuel injectors & a lower pressure fuel pump 

 

MK3FL vRS 245 MY19 & 20 VAQ diff, half leather & Alcantara heated seats with electrics adjustment seats, 19" wheels, not very tunable engine due to only half the nozzles on the fuel injectors, a lower pressure fuel pump & a GPF choking the exhaust

 

If you want to tune your new car the pfl 230 is the one but, the MY18 VRS245 ain't bad

Thanks that's great info on the engines, what determins which diff they have in?

And also heo far can you get with a remap on the 220 vesion

 

2 minutes ago, Catzeye said:

Thanks that's great info on the engines, what determins which diff they have in?

Purely the year ?

5 minutes ago, Catzeye said:

Thanks that's great info on the engines, what determins which diff they have in?

Only the PFL 230 and all 245’s have the VAQ diff. The 220 and the FL 230 have XDS. They all remap to about the same power figure and they run the IS20 turbo.

31 minutes ago, SashaGrace said:

They all remap to about the same power figure and they run the IS20 turbo.

FL remap to less as inferior fuel injectors & fuel pump and only 1 year of the FL without the GPF. Mines a Mk3fl MY18 245 without GPF & a stage 1 Revo is about 5 bhp behind a Mk3 MY16 230 with a stage 1 Revo remap.

 

I know 5 bhp ain't much but

 

Winings wining be it an inch or a mile

Edited 22 March, 20206 yr by themanwithnoaim

3 minutes ago, themanwithnoaim said:

FL remap to less as inferior fuel injectors & fuel pump and only 1 year of the FL without the GPF. Mines a Mk3fl MY18 245 without GPF & a stage 1 Revo is about 5 bhp behind a Mk3 MY16 230 with a stage 1 Revo remap.

 

I know 5 bhp ain't much but

 

Winings wining be it an inch or a mile

2 N's in Winning. 360bhp is better than 336bhp BTW.

39 minutes ago, SashaGrace said:

Only the PFL 230 and all 245’s have the VAQ diff. The 220 and the FL 230 have XDS. They all remap to about the same power figure and they run the IS20 turbo.

I'll defo be looking to get one with the vaq diff as I like a spirited drive as they say, love my mk2 by the way🤣 just feel the MK3 in petrol version and in a nice colour with a few decent options is my nxt natural step having test drove a golf r estate and being underwhelmed at the lack of space compared to a Octavia. Any reported problems with the manual gearboxes or flywheels as I know the mk2s are bad for them

44 minutes ago, SashaGrace said:

Only the PFL 230 and all 245’s have the VAQ diff. The 220 and the FL 230 have XDS. They all remap to about the same power figure and they run the IS20 turbo.

So the vaq ones the one to have then yeah

 

1 hour ago, Catzeye said:

So the vaq ones the one to have then yeah

 

Mine doesn’t have the VAQ, it’s one of those things that some people rave over but it’s never going to be as good as a proper LSD and it does require ongoing servicing. Some people will tell you that you need DCC if you have 19’s but I have 19’s and no DCC and I find it fine. If you find a really well equipped PFL 220 or FL 230 that has a great spec I would be inclined to go with that over one with the VAQ diff and a lower spec.

21 hours ago, SashaGrace said:

Mine doesn’t have the VAQ, it’s one of those things that some people rave over but it’s never going to be as good as a proper LSD and it does require ongoing servicing. Some people will tell you that you need DCC if you have 19’s but I have 19’s and no DCC and I find it fine. If you find a really well equipped PFL 220 or FL 230 that has a great spec I would be inclined to go with that over one with the VAQ diff and a lower spec.

Yeah I know what it saying , rather then get hung up on diffs just go for best spec👍🏼 thanks for advice👍🏼

I think we all sometimes get a little carried away with making the car as 'sporty' as possible.

 

The reality is we're all driving to work and back, mainly along poorly maintained roads and stuck behind a truck doing 50mph for most of it.

 

Heated seats, heated windscreen, a decent stereo, good acceleration and a colour / spec that makes you look back over your shoulder as you walk away from it should do for most of us.