I've had my car for 12 months now, and due to a combination of lockdown and horrific family circumstances, I've only driven about 1000 miles in my year of ownership.

I'm preparing for our annual holiday and I'll be able to have a good drive down to South Wales. I'm really looking forward to driving on those Welsh roads.

Also really excited about going a bit nuts in sport mode.

That said, I'm also a bit twitchy about driving my car though winding thin country lanes, being forced into hedges to squeeze past oncoming vehicles.

 

But beyond that, I'm also vaguely apprehensive about whether I'm going to enjoy throwing my new car around Wales as much as I enjoyed my old.

I could really push my old car, as I knew how it behaved on the limit, and even when sliding, it slid very predictably and progressively.

I've no idea who ESC feels on the limit, so it's going to be interesting learning about how it affects the handling of the car.

I also don't know how the Octavia feels when it's just about to let go. Hopefully it's safe and predictable, and doesn't do anything sudden and alarming. I'll certainly be a bit more cautious as I get to know the car, not least as it's so bloody expensive to sort out, whereas the old one was effectively disposable.

 

This is the one time of year when I'll possibly be wistfully regretting being sensible, and not getting the vRS.

Talking of wistful thinking, I don't think I quite max'd my old car and I'm pretty sure I won't be maxing this one, either. It used to be a bit of a rite of passage when getting a new car: taking it somewhere relatively safe to see just how fast the thing would actually go. Then the top speeds of cars started soaring.

Amazing to think neither the Mk1 Golf GTI or the Escort XR3i could crack 120mph. Now a base 1.0L Octavia can top that.

How times change.

 

As you can probably tell, I'm really winding down for my holiday and really looking forward to going away for a week. 

U

10 minutes ago, EnterName said:

I'm also vaguely apprehensive about whether I'm going to enjoy throwing my new car around Wales as much as I enjoyed my old.

Reads like an accident waiting to happen in Wales !

20 minutes ago, Sad555 said:

U

Reads like an accident waiting to happen in Wales !

Hence "I'll certainly be a bit more cautious as I get to know the car, not least as it's so bloody expensive to sort out, whereas the old one was effectively disposable. "

I wasn’t thinking about vehicle’s…………….more to do with peoples life’s  as I don’t consider other road users life’s as disposable .

3 minutes ago, Sad555 said:

I wasn’t thinking about vehicle’s…………….more to do with peoples life’s  as I don’t consider other road users life’s as disposable .

What are you on about?

Enter- I think SAD was referring to the fact that the box(i.e.) car is always disposable. But the contents of the box( whether it's you in your car/another driver/pedestrian or road user , cannot be replaced.

Their endeth  lesson one in the old (as taught to us old Gods Poor Orphans) on/in the first few minutes of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. ( God's Poor Orphans was a slang name for GPO/ AKA PO(T) and possibly BT). In those days, we were taught that it's better to be late in this world than early to your funeral /appointment in casualty. I had it drilled into me after I passed my test by an old uncle who survived years driving tanks in the desert in WW2. It might be something to reflect on when trying to speed on narrow, unknown (to you) roads. Perhaps a lesson or two in road reading might be in order. ( No insult- just a gentle reflection from almost 55 years of driving and a lot of years driving on single/narrow country lanes. ). Lesson two was to find out how fast you could stop ( under control) in a vehicle.

1 hour ago, VWD said:

Lesson two was to find out how fast you could stop ( under control) in a vehicle.

 

And hope to god that was fast enough just in case the box coming the other way is the OP on the limit

47 minutes ago, NJRJ said:

 

And hope to god that was fast enough just in case the box coming the other way is the OP on the limit

Last year, I discovered my Superb could pull 1g under braking thanks to an idiot overtaking on a blind bend.

18 minutes ago, chimaera said:

Last year, I discovered my Superb could pull 1g under braking thanks to an idiot overtaking on a blind bend.

I bet your sphincter muscles braced faster

I used to love driving my previous car hard. It was a big heavy diesel convertible loosely based on a Vectra (Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD and automatic 6 speed).

 

But the chassis was seriously good and very chuckable. And it handled the 240bhp and 490nm of torque (from 1500rpm) through the front wheels well.

 

Another nice little touch that I've not experienced in any other car was the seatbelt.

 

When accelerating or braking hard the seatbelt would lock like it does when you tug hard on it. This meant you could tighten it, start driving hard and it would lock you tight into the seat. Really helps with feeling how the car feels and being able to react in a controlled fashion.

17 hours ago, VWD said:

Enter- I think SAD was referring to the fact that the box(i.e.) car is always disposable. But the contents of the box( whether it's you in your car/another driver/pedestrian or road user , cannot be replaced.

Their endeth  lesson one in the old (as taught to us old Gods Poor Orphans) on/in the first few minutes of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. ( God's Poor Orphans was a slang name for GPO/ AKA PO(T) and possibly BT). In those days, we were taught that it's better to be late in this world than early to your funeral /appointment in casualty. I had it drilled into me after I passed my test by an old uncle who survived years driving tanks in the desert in WW2. It might be something to reflect on when trying to speed on narrow, unknown (to you) roads. Perhaps a lesson or two in road reading might be in order. ( No insult- just a gentle reflection from almost 55 years of driving and a lot of years driving on single/narrow country lanes. ). Lesson two was to find out how fast you could stop ( under control) in a vehicle.

No insult taken, @VWD, but I do think the spirit and intent of my original post has been misinterpreted.

 

Let me rephrase my post, but in bullet points.

 

-1 I'm really looking forward to my holiday.

-2 Many Welsh roads are great to drive on, and will let me explore the performance of my car, which I have spent the last year pottering around town in.

-3 After 10 years with my old car, I knew it's handling characteristics intimately. I had no driver aids other than ABS on that car, so driving my new car at speed with a lot of electronic assistance will be a new experience, and I'm cautious about it.

-4 Some of the B-roads roads in Wales are ridiculously narrow, with steep banks and passing places, meaning scratching the sides of my car on roadside bushes is a possibility. I don't like scratches on my car.

-5 All those lovely roads in Wales may make me buying regret my sensible SE L and make me wish I had bought a vRS instead.

-6 Even though my car is "sensible", it still has a top speed far in excess of that I will feel comfortable reaching. I remember when cars had more modest top speeds.

 

That was all I was saying. Hope this clarification helps whoever needed it.

 

No matter what I write, it seems there are always some people who seem determined to view my post through the least charitable lens.

I do wonder where the "Won't somebody think of the children!" club are, when people are discussing getting 300 or 400+BHP out of their Octavias. Presumably nobody ever drives a tuned Octavia enthusiastically on the roads, those are all track cars?

Still, if the virtue-signalling community wants to focus their opprobrium on me, if it means they're leaving someone else alone, I can put up with that.

 

I thought that was a very appropriate response, it certainly changed my view.

 

Until I read the last paragraph that is.

 

What a shame.

On 06/07/2021 at 07:35, EnterName said:

But beyond that, I'm also vaguely apprehensive about whether I'm going to enjoy throwing my new car around Wales as much as I enjoyed my old.

I could really push my old car, as I knew how it behaved on the limit, and even when sliding, it slid very predictably and progressively.

I've no idea who ESC feels on the limit, so it's going to be interesting learning about how it affects the handling of the car.

I also don't know how the Octavia feels when it's just about to let go. Hopefully it's safe and predictable, and doesn't do anything sudden and alarming. I'll certainly be a bit more cautious as I get to know the car, not least as it's so bloody expensive to sort out, whereas the old one was effectively disposable.

You will probably run out of nerve before the Octavia runs out of grip, and you'll probably be going a good bit faster than is sensible for a public road at that point.

 

I enjoy a spirited drive when I get the chance, as I suspect most here do, but that doesn't mean going around corners on the doorhandles at the limit of grip. One of my all time favourite driving days was a trip up the A470 from Dolgellau to Betws-y-Coed after collecting my Superb in Derby, going just quick enough to enjoy the car without risking a collision. You set yourself up for a bashing in your first post, wondering about the handling/grip limit. Driving right at the vehicle's limit leaves no margin for error if something unexpected happens - a kid runs out on the road, you come up behind a tractor coming out of a bend, a sheep wanders onto the road, etc. (and I would expect all of these and more as possibilities in a rural area). If you want to find out what your car is like at the limit, take it to a track day where it's safe to do so.

Or do as I do and find what its transient behaviour is in safe lower grip conditions, for me that means driving on our rocade (by pass) after 22.00 at night when it is deserted when the road surface is wet and greasy (but not while raining which would reduce my visibility) choosing a roundabout where I know there will be diesel spillages and where there is uninterrupted visibility to all of the roads joining it.

 

I have a play on it with and without any 3 letter acronyms switched off in relative safety, expecting and being ready for a slide knowing that if it all goes wrong it will only be my pride and metal that gets dented.

 

Said roundabout happens to be the one 200m from the Gendarmerie which they take to whenever they leave for or return from a patrol which makes me all the more attentive to make sure I am the only vehicle out there.

 

It wasn't always that way, the UK roads were once my personal racetrack, thank heavens that cars had little or no grip back then and not even enough power to brake traction unless you deliberately unbalanced them. I regularly see the results of young idiots driving like I used to in todays vehicles, at least one or two a week laying in the fields after multiple roll overs on die straight roads with never any other vehicle involved.

4 hours ago, chimaera said:

You will probably run out of nerve before the Octavia runs out of grip, and you'll probably be going a good bit faster than is sensible for a public road at that point.

 

I enjoy a spirited drive when I get the chance, as I suspect most here do, but that doesn't mean going around corners on the doorhandles at the limit of grip. One of my all time favourite driving days was a trip up the A470 from Dolgellau to Betws-y-Coed after collecting my Superb in Derby, going just quick enough to enjoy the car without risking a collision. You set yourself up for a bashing in your first post, wondering about the handling/grip limit. Driving right at the vehicle's limit leaves no margin for error if something unexpected happens - a kid runs out on the road, you come up behind a tractor coming out of a bend, a sheep wanders onto the road, etc. (and I would expect all of these and more as possibilities in a rural area). If you want to find out what your car is like at the limit, take it to a track day where it's safe to do so.

I think my use of the term "driving at the limit" was possibly misleading, and triggered a few folks. I will be perfectly content if the Octavia's ability far exceeds my own, quite modest ability.

Perhaps I should have said "driving at my limit", which I think is more accurate.

I'll be on very familiar roads, but in a relatively unfamiliar car and tyres, so I've got a bit of a learning curve. 

I'm also quite uncertain about all the electronic driving aids, but hopefully they'll just do their thing and I won't notice them working.

 

 

The only one I've found a bit tricky is XDS, on the Superb 2 at least it increases turn in quite a bit when it kicks in and you have to be ready to wind back the steering a little to stay on your line. Newer generations are probably more subtle.

16 hours ago, chimaera said:

The only one I've found a bit tricky is XDS, on the Superb 2 at least it increases turn in quite a bit when it kicks in and you have to be ready to wind back the steering a little to stay on your line. Newer generations are probably more subtle.

Thatnks for the heads-up on that. I'd normally expect progressive understeer, controllable by lifting off the throttle.

Presumably with XDS, you just keep the throttle steady and point the steering where you want to go?

Edited 10 July, 20214 yr by EnterName

No. It's an electronic differential lock. If the system detects understeer, it will brake the inside front wheel to counteract it, which makes the car tighten its line. I've found that when it kicks in, it can be a bit over enthusiastic and requires backing off the steering a little to stay pointed where I want to go.

1 hour ago, chimaera said:

No. It's an electronic differential lock. If the system detects understeer, it will brake the inside front wheel to counteract it, which makes the car tighten its line. I've found that when it kicks in, it can be a bit over enthusiastic and requires backing off the steering a little to stay pointed where I want to go.

So steer less, and maintain throttle?

19 hours ago, chimaera said:

The only one I've found a bit tricky is XDS, on the Superb 2 at least it increases turn in quite a bit when it kicks in and you have to be ready to wind back the steering a little to stay on your line. Newer generations are probably more subtle.

 

Newer generations may, depending on model year, be equipped with XDS+ which also brakes the inside rear wheel.  Our 2019 Karoq has this and I like the way that it enables the car to rotate when I'm pushing on.

 

I've also enable XDS on my 2016 Yeti.  Yetis didn't come with it enabled but it the software is in the ECU and can be accessed with VCDS.  There are, in fact 3 settings, Off, Medium and Hard.  I have the Yeti set to the maximum as I like the way it increases the turn in and holds a line in corners.  However, if you find that yours is a bit keen, it may be that it's set to the maximum as well and you'd prefer it on the lower setting.  

1 hour ago, Schtum said:

 

Newer generations may, depending on model year, be equipped with XDS+ which also brakes the inside rear wheel.  Our 2019 Karoq has this and I like the way that it enables the car to rotate when I'm pushing on.

 

I've also enable XDS on my 2016 Yeti.  Yetis didn't come with it enabled but it the software is in the ECU and can be accessed with VCDS.  There are, in fact 3 settings, Off, Medium and Hard.  I have the Yeti set to the maximum as I like the way it increases the turn in and holds a line in corners.  However, if you find that yours is a bit keen, it may be that it's set to the maximum as well and you'd prefer it on the lower setting.  

Thanks for that! I'll see how I get on.

 

According to my Vin decode info, I have code 1Y3 - Differential lock: Electronic differential lock XDS, dynamic traction support.

I have no idea if that is XDS or XDS+.

 

My gut tells me that XDS+ might me a 4x4 feature, but that really is just a gut feeling.

 

If there are any Mk3 Octavia FL vRS owners with a vin decode of their vehicle reading this, do you have the same "1Y3" XDS code, or another code?

(I'm assuming the 4x4 Octavias will have a modified XDS system to give a read LSD effect.)

Edited 10 July, 20214 yr by EnterName
Vin decode note added.

Sorry ,mate. No disrespect.

But I hail from a part of the Highlands, where we had only one road, till the 80s, single track in almost it's length. Similar to Welsh roads, but I've seen a fair share of  "nasties " in my years on this sort of road. Winter we had sheep/deer and other manners of nasties. In summer, we got tourists with less vision than the sheep we encountered sitting on the road.

Just have a look at a post called Safes speed, where the "safe speed" is one I learnt about 50years ago "that space YOU as a responsible driver , can stop your vehicle in, with NO chance of collision, with another vehicle coming from the other direction.".

9 hours ago, VWD said:

"that space YOU as a responsible driver , can stop your vehicle in, with NO chance of collision, with another vehicle coming from the other direction.".

Or typically, a speed where you can stop in half the distance you can see clear.

18 hours ago, EnterName said:

My gut tells me that XDS+ might me a 4x4 feature, but that really is just a gut feeling.

 

Possibly but I know that XDS+ was fitted to FWD VW cars such as the MK7 Golf GTI. 

3 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Or typically, a speed where you can stop in half the distance you can see clear.

In my days in the Highlands ( especially in summer) we believed that Tourists used to driving on more spacious roads never seemed to believe so. And I'm beginning to think that since the introduction of the hazard test that idea has been passed down to the modern generation. As far as I can see from the idea of "Hazards" ,it only becomes a hazard when it's too close to avoid. I regularly drive down my road to find drivers fail to see me till the last moment. is it myopic or arrogance I ask.