downgraded from REVO'd 1.8T leon. VRS is half the insurenace group and does twice the miles to a gallon - pretty important as i was spending £500 on fuel each month at 23 mpg.

I miss the room of the leon, and the bigger car feel. I was a lot more comfy on long motorway journeys, and especailly in traffic jams. It also looked a bit more impressive.

However, with the remap etc the VRS is quicker once off the mark, and like so many others have said, so amusing when overtaking supposedly fast' cars - 'a skoda shouldn't be able to do that, my cars a Alpha 2.0'.... IMO In gear 2-6 the mapped VRS is a match for any other hothatch on the market, pity about the launch though.

I'm changing the thin looking seat covers - retrim with added lumbar support - to try to improve the comfort on those 7 hour trips, apart from that Its a great car that deserves an accolade as a 1st class 'all rounder' for those in the know about badge snobbery.

I had a 2004 Impreza STI type UK (standard) and bought a vRS this year as a runabout. The vRS impressed me so much I actually hated taking the Scooby out (horrendous tyre noise, bouncy hard ride, fuel consumption) that it made me think again about my choice of cars, so I traded the Scooby in for an Audi A4 2.0T FSI S Line special edition 3 weeks ago. I still love the vRS and use it daily and use the Audi for long jaunts at the weekends and prefer it to the STI (I too must be getting old).

Another ex scooby owner here. Only thing I miss is the sound of the scoob. Reason I traded was cause it got nicked! wished they never have found it cause I would have got more money from the insurance, depriciation of 5K in 18 months! I loved the scoob and thought I would miss it terribly when I traded it in but I have not at all. The Vrs is just a great all rounder. Only gripe wish the boot was slightly bigger for the golf clubs but that is all.

Another ex scooby owner here. Only thing I miss is the sound of the scoob. Reason I traded was cause it got nicked! wished they never have found it cause I would have got more money from the insurance, depriciation of 5K in 18 months! I loved the scoob and thought I would miss it terribly when I traded it in but I have not at all. The Vrs is just a great all rounder. Only gripe wish the boot was slightly bigger for the golf clubs but that is all.

If you put your drivers in seperately you can fit 3 bags in the boot!

I downgraded from a Octy vRS to a Fabia vRS, + sided MPG, easy parking etc, - sides the Octy was a bit quicker, you could red line it & not feel like your thrashing it, not as nice inside, seats get grimey (& i keep my cars very clean)

It's your choice but a Octy vRS might be a good compromise, try them both.

OH I miss the Octy vRS.