Bye bye Skoda

[just music]

I'm in the last two weeks of Skoda ownership! Here's my quick analysis of our four Skodas, and why I'm moving on.

1. 2011 - Fabia Mk 2 (FL) 1.2 TSI SE+ Estate.  This was our first brand new car and replaced a 10 year old Mondeo. Brilliant car: surprisingly brisk, spacious and well equipped.  Better to be inside looking out, than taking in the slightly clumsy proportions!  As the family grew, we needed something a bit bigger so moved up to the Octavia.
2. 2015 - Octavia Mk 3 1.4 TSI SE Estate. Another brilliant car, let down only by the gearbox.  The Fabia's was the best gearshift I ever had; this Octy was a bit notchy and baulky. Brilliant engine: smooth and powerful, pulling strongly at all revs.
3. 2018 - Octavia Mk 3 (FL) 1.5 TSI SE Tech Estate - Personal lease car and the first one we ordered from scratch to our requirements, rather than taken from existing stock.  Our perfect car apart from that engine that they never stopped kangarooing.  In retrospect we should have bought it from BCA when the lease ran out.  Instead we went for...
4. 2021 - Octavia Mk 4 1.5 TSI SE-L Estate. Another lease car. Oh dear, oh dear. This car has rattled and squeaked from new - and has never been sorted. It is uncomfortable over anything other than perfect roads - really crashy and harsh. How on earth did What Car commend the handling and ride! The software has been glitchy and only recently anything approaching stable. Despite being 150hp, it is massively over-geared and has no torque when you need it: such a difference to our Fabia and first Octy.  A/C failed in the summer last year and took nearly 6 weeks to fix.  Went into limp mode on the M1 (and various times after) until a sensor was eventually replaced. Touchscreen for everything is infuriating at times.  I think the DMF is now starting to play up at 22,000 miles! Only good point really has been the economy on a motorway run due to that ridiculously high gearing.  I wouldn't be trusting this car to stay reliable after the warranty expires. This last Skoda has been such a disappointment and I'm counting down the days until it goes back.

Sorry Skoda - we loved the earlier cars but this Mk4 Octy has been so far off our expectations that it's time to move on.

What next?  A Kia Niro.  We're going back to purchase (via PCP) rather than lease. With a 7 year warranty, the intention is for this to be a longer term proposition.

 

Thanks BriSkoda  for the advice over the years.  I should probably have paid more attention to the naysayers who were berating the early Mk4s though!

 

See ya.

 

Edited 17 February by just music