No Scout -> No Skoda

[nickcoll]

I have reluctantly had to to purchase a new VW Golf Alltrack instead of a new Octavia. I drive on rough tracks a fair bit, and both our Octavia Scout Mk3 and SE 4x4 had underbody protection, ("Rough Road pack" for the SE), and raised ground clearance, but this option doesn't seem to exist for the Mk4, and of course there is apparently not going to be a Scout model in the UK even though it is available elsewhere in Europe.

 

I am a bit sad to not be getting another Skoda, but the Golf Alltrack looks like a nice bit of kit, and with the Mk 8 the Golf estate is almost the same size as the Octavia (just 50mm shorter), so that feature of the Octavia is no longer such a big deal as it was with the Mk 7 Golf estate.

 

Things I will not get with the Golf:

Colours are not as interesting as for the Octavia

No USB port by rear view mirror

Doesn't look quite as good as the new Octavia Scout (IMV).

Slightly smaller internal space (although not all the dimensions are available to be sure about this).

 

After I placed my order for the Golf, Skoda announced the Sportline, which addressed one of my other issues which was the lack of a 200PS 4x4 option in a non-VRS model, although the Sportline still hasn't appeared in any way on the Skoda UK website, not even in the April pricelist.

 

I got an extremely good deal on the Golf, with a discount that was very much better than I could find on an Octavia, and also the lead-time at about twelve weeks was much better as well. So hopefully I will be driving my new Golf in about eight weeks from today.

 

The other thing that I will miss is that I haven't found an online community which is the equal of BriSkoda, but maybe I just haven't found it yet? The VW forums I have found so far (of which there are quite a few) are more fragmented and none are as active and comprehensive as BriSkoda!

 

Edited 22 April, 2021 by nickcoll

[Warrior193]

5 minutes ago, nickcoll said:

I have reluctantly had to to purchase a new VW Golf Alltrack instead of a new Octavia. I drive on rough tracks a fair bit, and both our Octavia Scout Mk3 and SE 4x4 had underbody protection, ("Rough Road pack" for the SE), and raised ground clearance, but this option doesn't seem to exist for the Mk4, and of course there is apparently not going to be a Scout model in the UK even though it is available elsewhere in Europe.

 

I am a bit sad to not be getting another Skoda, but the Golf Alltrack looks like a nice bit of kit, and with the Mk 8 the Golf estate is almost the same size as the Octavia (just 50mm shorter), so that feature of the Octavia is no longer such a big deal as it was with the Mk 7 Golf estate.

 

Things I will not get with the Golf:

Colours are not as interesting as for the Octavia

No USB port by rear view mirror

Doesn't look quite as good as the new Octavia Scout (IMV).

Slightly smaller internal space (although not all the dimensions are available to be sure about this).

 

After I placed my order for the Golf, Skoda announced the Sportline, which addressed one of my other issues which was the lack of a 200PS 4x4 option in a non-VRS model, although the Sportline still hasn't appeared in any way on the Skoda UK website, not even in the April pricelist.

 

I got an extremely good deal on the Golf, with a discount that was very much better than I could find on an Octavia, and also the lead-time at about twelve weeks was much better as well. So hopefully I will be driving my new Golf in about eight weeks from today.

 

The other thing that I will miss is that I haven't found an online community which is the equal of BriSkoda, but maybe I just haven't found it yet? The VW forums I have found so far (of which there are quite a few) are more fragmented and none are as active and comprehensive as BriSkoda!

 

As we are all in the same 'family' I'm sure most reasonable members won't hold your choice against you. 

[john999boy]

1 hour ago, nickcoll said:

The other thing that I will miss is that I haven't found an online community which is the equal of BriSkoda, but maybe I just haven't found it yet? The VW forums I have found so far (of which there are quite a few) are more fragmented and none are as active and comprehensive as BriSkoda!

Looks like you'll have to ask your Golf related questions here then as I'm sure there'll always be someone able to help!

[Woodgnome60]

3 hours ago, nickcoll said:

I have reluctantly had to to purchase a new VW Golf Alltrack instead of a new Octavia. I drive on rough tracks a fair bit, and both our Octavia Scout Mk3 and SE 4x4 had underbody protection, ("Rough Road pack" for the SE), and raised ground clearance, but this option doesn't seem to exist for the Mk4, and of course there is apparently not going to be a Scout model in the UK even though it is available elsewhere in Europe.

 

I am a bit sad to not be getting another Skoda, but the Golf Alltrack looks like a nice bit of kit, and with the Mk 8 the Golf estate is almost the same size as the Octavia (just 50mm shorter), so that feature of the Octavia is no longer such a big deal as it was with the Mk 7 Golf estate.

 

Things I will not get with the Golf:

Colours are not as interesting as for the Octavia

No USB port by rear view mirror

Doesn't look quite as good as the new Octavia Scout (IMV).

Slightly smaller internal space (although not all the dimensions are available to be sure about this).

 

After I placed my order for the Golf, Skoda announced the Sportline, which addressed one of my other issues which was the lack of a 200PS 4x4 option in a non-VRS model, although the Sportline still hasn't appeared in any way on the Skoda UK website, not even in the April pricelist.

 

I got an extremely good deal on the Golf, with a discount that was very much better than I could find on an Octavia, and also the lead-time at about twelve weeks was much better as well. So hopefully I will be driving my new Golf in about eight weeks from today.

 

The other thing that I will miss is that I haven't found an online community which is the equal of BriSkoda, but maybe I just haven't found it yet? The VW forums I have found so far (of which there are quite a few) are more fragmented and none are as active and comprehensive as BriSkoda!

 

Last time I checked the UK configurator there was underbody protection available on at least one trim of the Mk4 (if I'm not mistaken).

[nickcoll]

21 minutes ago, Woodgnome60 said:

Last time I checked the UK configurator there was underbody protection available on at least one trim of the Mk4 (if I'm not mistaken).

I have just checked and you are right - very reasonable at £180! That is definitely new since I last went through the configurator a couple of months ago. If it and the Sportline trim had been available when I checked I probably would not have ordered the Golf.

 

It will be interesting to see how much the Sportline trim works out at when configured up with everything I have chosen for the Golf (primarily DCC, Progressive Steering and heated front seats).

 

Fascinating that there is also an option for "All-season tyres" which never existed before. Maybe these are to make up for the lack of the Scout trim, but they have not been publicised at all so anyone who needs them will only know they exist if they go through the configurator (or a dealer tells them, which mine certainly hasn't!).

Edited 22 April, 2021 by nickcoll