I'm no stranger to Octavia's & not to Skoda's , since 2005 I've had x2 mk1's / x1 mk2 & this is my 2nd mk3 Octavia, they've been a mixture of diesel/petrol/elegance/vrs/hatchback/estate/manual/dsg and all but 1 have been modified, this however is my 1st Scout, I've also had a mk1 fabia vrs and a Yeti SE 140 4x4.

Having had this Scout for 2 months now it is by far the best suited car to our needs and one that we intend to keep for the longer term.

A little more about the car.

2017 Facelift Scout

2l 181bhp diesel

DSG

Full Skoda Service History

Optional Extra's

Panoramic Roof

Rubber floor & boot mat

We live on the edge of the Peak District & have horses & enjoy an extremely outdoor lifestyle so our car's need to be functional (the Yeti was very close to perfect for us). Since collection I've done over 3k miles (2 trips to Fort William/1 trip to Perth) and many trips to family around Yorkshire, so far its proved to be just what we needed.

We bought it from Marshall's Volvo and they were very easy to deal with and despite getting a usual DSG P lever error they booked it straight in to Marshall's Skoda who rectified the fault without any fuss.

I do find the engine a little clattery (perhaps its because our last car had a Volvo 5cylinder diesel engine) but this VAG engine performs really well, nice and smooth, economical & works well with the 6sp DSG.

Things done so far

• swapped the coolant tank for a non silikat tank

• Upgraded the Amundsen firmware

• Cleaned out the panoramic roof drain holes

• Had it serviced Oil + Filter/Fuel Filter/Haldex/DSG/Air & Pollen Filter/Brake Fluid

• Used it and enjoyed it

• Bought a raised boot floor (going to make a frame as I don't need it to be adjustable)

• Rear bumper protector fitted

• A couple of VCDs tweak's

• Front/Rear dashcam's fitted

Things I'd like to do

• Towbar fitted

• Paint work correction

Compared to my last mk3 (2015 220bhp vRS Estate DSG) I do find I miss the vRS seats a little bit but the ride comfort is so much better in the Scout

This won't be much of a 'project' but odd bits and pieces will be getting done but mainly enjoying and using it

Edited 7 May7 May by matt_theforce

Update,

The car has had a whine at speed (65mph upwards) and I noticed a low speed noise starting along with the front wheels breaking traction (some of my driving involves gravel roads and fields) hence wanting the Scout, anyhow the Haldex pump had been diagnosed as failed and fortunately the warranty approved this replacement.

While the car was having the haldex pump replaced I asked for new rear discs & pads to be fitted, glad I booked in to get the rears changed as there were multiple issues due to snapped caliper carrier bolts meaning the upper and lower arms needed removing to make it easier to remove the snapped bolts, guess a bonus to this also meant getting a 4wheel alignment done which showed up the front were a little out of alignment.

I cant comment on the high speed whine being gone due to the time of day that I left the garage but I'm keeping my fingers crossed its now gone.

Long story short, new haldex pump fitted under warranty and new rear discs and pads fitted by DM Keith Wakefield. A fantastic service as usual from this garage.

Edited 1 April1 Apr by matt_theforce

With an impending house move, spending money is hard to justify but this will prove beneficial for the transportation of bikes & allows us to hire a trailer to help with moving and in the longer term allows us to get another horse trailer for the horse.

For a lot of years I've used Mobile Towbar Services from Sheffield and today was no different, pleasant/professional team of mobile engineers, well worth considering if you are in the Sheffield/Rotherham/Barnsley area.

After lots of deliberation I decided on a TowTrust Swan Neck with 7pin dedicated electrics, I would have liked a detachable tow bar but for practicality this suits our needs much better.

With each trip to look at houses being approx 500mile round trip the noise from the tyres (what's been diagnosed as the noise above 65mph) saw-toothing is really quite tiring (my mk2 used to do this too).

so...

I bought 40sheets of the 2mm Silent Coat sound deadening, covered the boot floor, put some in the boot side panels, put some under the back seat and the inner rear wheel arches & also lined as much of all 4 doors as I could (all covered as much as shown), with the little bits I had left I put them on the roof (not much todo as I have the panoramic roof). Its made a huge difference and glad I spent the time doing this (did it on my mk2 too)

I bought a mk3 false floor when I bought the car in August '25 as our cocker spaniel can't see out of the boot without jumping up, just wanted something simple as it will either stay in permanently or just get removed (if more space is needed) so didn't bother with the whole kit and made a simple frame out of spare decking (instead of taking it to the tip).

Edited 7 May7 May by matt_theforce