As some of you may of read a little while ago my Octy 2 went in for some bodywork following an accident. well I got the phone call ive been waiting for saying my car is now ready to come home. This in turn means the Golf hire car ive been using for the last couple of weeks must be returned and I cant say im going to miss it.

After reading good reviews about the Golf and beliving it to be a posh Octavia I can honestly say it left me disapointed. The 1.6 fsi engine was gutless, the boot a lot smaller and the overall feel inside the car was nowhere near as nice as my Octy. In fact it felt a lot smaller inside, rear leg room was really poor.

There were however a couple of things I liked, one being the blue dashboard lights and also the glovebox which was velvet lined and of a more solid construction the the Skodas.

Some of my gripes maybe due to the fact that the Golf was nigh on entry level and not well speced compared to the Octy but im now looking forward to picking up my car on monday and feeling the shove of the diesel once again.

As a finishing note I did find the ride alot more relaxing compared to the Octy with sport suspension.

I've never actually sat in a new Golf but to me, the interior design always looked cheaper than the new Octy's which I think looks fabulous. That may be a poverty spec Golf, but what was the list price and did it have many toys?

I could be wrong but I think list price for the 5 door 1.6fsi is around 15K. Not sure if this model is included in VW discounts at the mo.

No toys at all, even had keep fit windows in the back. In fact it didnt even have a trip computer. Another thing I didnt like was the red "maxidot" display, very distracting, to bright and in your face not as subtle as the Skoda blue. The plastic steering wheel gave it a cheap feel too.

The 1.6 FSI Golf I drove was much the same - but it sounded pretty nice at full chat...

ofcourse a 1.6 petrol is going to feel slow compared to a turbo diesel

1.6 fsi - 113bhp/114lbft

PD140 - 140bhp/236lbft

but the PD140 is only about 1second quicker to 60 than the 1.6 fsi

I too have just returned a Golf rental car after having my own car being repaired after an accident.

How strange is that?

Anyway, I had mine for just over a month.

It was a 2.0TDI Sport.

Compared to my 1.9TDI 110 Mk1 Octy, it was much, much better and faster.

I don't how it would compare to a Mk2 Octy.

It pretty much had everything on it that you would want; sports suspension, leather steering wheel etc, auto wipers, auto lights, foot-well lights, ambient interior lighting, Maxidot display, sport seats.

I likes the sports suspension for the A and B roads around where I live, (had an exciting trip over the Cat&Fiddle), but on the motorway it sometimes got a bit choppy.

The only problem I found with it, was the MPG. In my 110 I can get 60mpg on a motorway run, with the Golf, I was lucky to get 50mpg.

How does this compare to the Mk2 Octy?

Interesting comparisons! I have had an Octy II 140pd Elegance as a loan car for a while and was able to compair directly with my mates Golf mkV 140pd 5 door. I think you would say its swings and roundabouts in some areas & clear differences in others! His golf was a lot snapier in the handeling dept, but way smaller in every aspect inside. I used to think the mkV boot was ok until I bought my Octy! The Golf may have a lower spec, but the materials are finished just a little better (no sharp edges on some of the plastics). Both cars were of similar age & mileage, but the interior trim in the Golf looked less"worn" if you know what I mean, especially the hard plastic trim which didn't seem to scratch as easily. I also like the blue/red dash illumination, and hope that Skoda do a contrast colour soon! Also, why make the maxi dot display an option? Making that standard would at least give a contrast colour and must in reality cost pence in production terms!

Overall I think the Octy has got the package ballance about right, the golf is just too expensive for what you get & just doesn't have the space that I require.

However I do intend to borrow a few VW parts for my Octy! Will swap the grab handles for the soft damped ones in the Golf & will also be fitting a bonnet lifter! Once thats done I think I will be very happy for a long while!

IMO the Octy interior is a lot more aethetically pleasing than the Golf. If you look at the dash materials on the Octy you will find they are a cross between VW and Audi. The Golf hard plastics are nasty in comparison. The detailing is slightly better on the Golf but thats not difficult as VW haven't been anywhere near as adventurous as Skoda in their design.

The cat vision red nightlighting in the golf is nice though as are the damped grab handles, bonnet lifters and lockable glove box but you could add all that to an octy yourself (except the glovebox lock) and it wouldnt cost a fortune. The options on the golf are horrifically priced and you get most of them as standard on a similarly priced Skoda. Even if not standard, the options are a lot cheaper on the Octy too.

ofcourse a 1.6 petrol is going to feel slow compared to a turbo diesel

1.6 fsi - 113bhp/114lbft

PD140 - 140bhp/236lbft

but the PD140 is only about 1second quicker to 60 than the 1.6 fsi

I own a 140 Octy diesel but recently hired a 1.6 fsi golf in Switzerland. 0 to 60 times, whilst fun to discuss, are almost meaningless in day-to-day driving - it's torque that counts. The Octy will waft up steep hills without even changing down whilst the 1.6fsi has to be thrashed at high revs to keep up. Fill both cars with people and luggage and the difference on long, steep gradients is even more marked - the diesel just disappears, literally, from view. Economy: Octy 49.6 m.p.g. over 600 miles the1.6 fsi 36.2 m.p.g.

Having just swapped my 01 Golf 1.6 for an 06 Octy 1.6 I can say categorically that, for similar models, the Octy is a) roomier all round, about 20% more fuel efficient, c) similar in performance (old Golf was 105bhp, Octy is 115bhp), d) better equipped, e) generally quieter and f) cheaper!