Good evening

My current daily, a 2004 Saab 9-5, is on it's last legs... and is getting a bit spendy!

Looking to replace with an Octavia estate, but with a similar power and torque to the Saab (190bhp and 300Nm).

Thought about the Superb, but don't need a car quite that large.

The vRS version looks tidy, but I am not so sure about them being looked after as well as they could be.

My Saab is understated, looks "average" but goes like stink and returns 32mpg on a regular basis (7 miles per litre) bit of a sleeper or Q car

Maybe try the Octavia 1.8 petrol version and get it mapped?

Or a diesel, how easy are they to "improve" performance?

What do you experts think?

Cheers

Paul

To be honest, something like a vRS is best looked at without considering the power. You could give a 1.5 Octavia SE L the same 350bhp as my vRS, but it just wouldn't be the same thing - different gearbox, suspension, brakes, steering and drivetrain to name but a few. I remember when I had my Leon FR, a lot of people with the 1.8 FR were approaching the power levels of a Cupra 290 - yet it wasn't even close. The TSI vRS is a GTI with a larger boot. The TDI vRS is a GTD with a larger boot.

Do you need/want a car that is designed with handling and performance in mind? If you just want straight line speed, I'd get a 1.8TSI/2.0TDI L&K with some options and call it a day. That being said, the older TDI vRS models don't really cost that much more than a 'normal' Octavia to maintain - there's less of a difference than now with the vRS 245 compared to a 1.0 SE.

In general, the TSI engines are much more user-friendly when it comes to tuning. For an initial remap, both are similar, however you'll get more gains from a petrol. Beyond that, with a TDI, I wouldn't bother - not unless you plan to spend a chunk at Darkside.