Morning all, new here and so far very impressed by the amount of helpful content! I have a couple of questions before buying my first Skoda, a little context first I guess is helpful- I commute 56 miles per day with the majority of that as motorway, rest of the time it's a family car, occasional weekend and long-ish trips but not loads. Fuel economy and general running costs are high priority.

 

Considering buying an Octavia estate 2.0tdi elegance (manual), part of me would like a VRS but economically I don't think it would be the best decision, however I'd be keen to know real life differences in MPG/running costs from people with experience.

 

I've seen a 2013 elegance that I'm off to test, looks a good clean car with full history and has had the cambelt done, currently has 93k on the clock and going for a shade under £7k, does this sound like a good buy??

 

Additionally, if I go for something like that which is more plain styling wise, I'd be looking to lower it a little bit and maybe different wheels but really just for looks more than handling so I'd prefer a lowering option that doesn't sacrifice loads of comfort , is there a rough estimate for what lowering would cost to get done? And what are the best options for more forgiving lowering? 

 

Thanks in advance! 

Springs £130-200 depending on where you can find stock and what you want. On the non-vrs models I can recommend the eibach prokit which should drop in the region of 30mm. Did it on my 2.0tdi elegance (dsg) with bilstein b6 and it was perfectly fine if a little firm for slow speed family dutys. Higher speeds and it's really comfy.

 

The vrs comes 15mm lower than standard so the drop listed for those will have to take that from the figures. So 15mm drop on a vrs with the prokit.

 

A mate has a vrs TDI and the running costs are comparable with the 2.0 elegance. Service cost is the same. Biggest difference is the rear suspension is multilink so should be a smoother ride and handle better.

 

If like for like the vrs comes in at similar prices to the elegance then don't rule them out. Biggest difference will be insurance but it's easy enough to find out how that will go. Just find a number plate of one that fits your needs and chuck both into an online calculator with all other stuff being the same.

 

Reliability wise I really don't think there is anything in it between the 150hp or 184hp.

Great info, thank you very much. Any idea what fitting would likely cost for the lowering kit? 

 

I was expecting the VRS would be a bit thirstier to be honest but if there's hardly anything in it I may still consider one, although from what I'm seeing at the moment I'd have to stretch my budget a bit further to get a VRS initially. 

 

Already done insurance quotes and not much in it, but being sensible I'm kind of still leaning toward a non VRS because if I'm honest performance and handling are not priorities for me at all, comfort is going to matter more and if I get a few more mpg too that's a plus for me.

 

Would you say 93k is an acceptable mileage (if the history is good) on that 2013 diesel, considering I'll be doing mostly steady motorway driving? 

 

Thanks for your time, appreciate it!

 

If you manage to get yourself a TDI VRS, if you drive it normally (ie not rag it), then you will get 45-50mpg without breaking sweat.

 

I would always suggest to go for the 184bhp engine, because you loose very little MPG, but gain a quite a lot of extra humph.

Try and get one with as many toys as you can afford.

2 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

If you manage to get yourself a TDI VRS, if you drive it normally (ie not rag it), then you will get 45-50mpg without breaking sweat.

 

I would always suggest to go for the 184bhp engine, because you loose very little MPG, but gain a quite a lot of extra humph.

Try and get one with as many toys as you can afford.

Noted, thanks for the tip. I'm not one for putting my foot down at all to be honest, there are only a tiny amount of occasions where I would give it a little extra for fun but it's extremely rare I bother to do so. Keeping my options open and plan to go and see a few over the weekend.👍🏻👍🏻

6 hours ago, J27oe said:

Great info, thank you very much. Any idea what fitting would likely cost for the lowering kit? 

 

I was expecting the VRS would be a bit thirstier to be honest but if there's hardly anything in it I may still consider one, although from what I'm seeing at the moment I'd have to stretch my budget a bit further to get a VRS initially. 

 

Already done insurance quotes and not much in it, but being sensible I'm kind of still leaning toward a non VRS because if I'm honest performance and handling are not priorities for me at all, comfort is going to matter more and if I get a few more mpg too that's a plus for me.

 

Would you say 93k is an acceptable mileage (if the history is good) on that 2013 diesel, considering I'll be doing mostly steady motorway driving? 

 

Thanks for your time, appreciate it!

 

 

A garage would probably quote 3-4hrs labour. Multiply that by the standard £50-80/hr gives a range of £150-320. I think I paid £150-180 last time.

 

Comfort between the models is a strange one. Some find the multi link of the vrs more comfy as the rear suspension on the lower power models it's torsion beam. Google it if you don't know what that is. But the lower models also have smaller wheels (more rubber) so can ride smoother. That can be altered with a change of tyres though.

 

For your needs I'd say either is a good fit for different reasons. Best thing to do is come up with what toys you want and find any model that fits rather than sticking with vrs or not. Elegance is a good starting point for cars of that age. Name changed to sel down the line.

Here's my experience with lowering my VRS...

 

I'd definitely go for a VRS if you can. Much better looking and even though I've never driven a 'normal' one, I imagine much much better performance aswell. Economy is amazing too, I've averaged 47.6mpg in my nearly 2 years of owning mine, and it's remapped. I took this on the weekend of mine Vs a 'normal' one  Not that it's all just about looks of course...