Hello,

I have a problem with my Octavia mk4 1.5tsi e-tec ride quality on standard suspension.

otherwise I'm very pleased with the car but the suspension drives me crazy! Very floaty when cornering and over slow undulations, but very very stiff and and harsh over sharp imperfections (potholes, manholes covers...). I have 205/55 R17 tires, so not very low profile. I tried with lower tyre pressure but no noticable difference. I replaced OEM shocks on the rear axle with Bilstein B4, but again not a noticable difference.

all VW cars on the same platform I drowe have noticable better ride quality!

I came from Ford Focus Mk4 and the susspenion was way way better even with R18 rims on focus.

Anyone found any solution or expirience same thing?

Is it new to you. Have read that sometimes the transport blocks in springs are left in. Check there are no plastic blocks under gator on front as you have changed rear.

Alasdair

Thanks for the heads-up! The mechanics actually checked the entire suspension at the shop and confirmed that there are no transport blocks left. Plus, the car handles larger bumps like speed bumps phenomenally well, the problem are just small quick imperfections like raised manhole covers, where the car hits pretty hard (especialy on rear seats).

My old 1.9tdi and newer 1.6tdi 2012 plate are ok. Seem pretty good on all road conditions. Think the MK4 has torsion beam suspension on rear up to 150hp but the MK2 is multilink so ride is better. Doubt its possible to convert and would hate to think of how much.

Alasdair

For what it's worth, my 2023 octavia is worse than my 2011 Astra and 2016 Meriva when it comes to suspension. Noisier, uncomfortabl3 on sharp stuff, somehow still floatier all around.

Cars have peaked and are getting worse I say.

Maybe comfort tyres on rear. Had them on my folks old 1.9tdi fabia and made a bit of difference to ride smoothness and didnt affect handling to much. Not so good if your carrying heavy loads though.

Alasdair

On 17/07/2026 at 12:35, RokB said:

I have a problem with my Octavia mk4 1.5tsi e-tec ride quality on standard suspension.

otherwise I'm very pleased with the car but the suspension drives me crazy! Very floaty when cornering and over slow undulations, but very very stiff and and harsh over sharp imperfections (potholes, manholes covers...). I have 205/55 R17 tires, so not very low profile. I tried with lower tyre pressure but no noticable difference. I replaced OEM shocks on the rear axle with Bilstein B4, but again not a noticable difference.

all VW cars on the same platform I drowe have noticable better ride quality!

I came from Ford Focus Mk4 and the susspenion was way way better even with R18 rims on focus.

Anyone found any solution or expirience same thing?

On the Octavia MK4, the 205/55R17 are usually fitted to 7J rims (although there are 6.5J rims mainly aimed at winter tyres, but the 6.5J rim could also be used with summer or all-season tyres).

The 205/60R16 are fitted to 6.5J rims, so it isn't just more sidewall height that will improve the ride comfort but the 0.5" narrower rims.

For twice the improvement in ride comfort of going down to 205/60R16 6.5J wheels from 205/55R17 7J wheels, non-standard 205/65R15 6J wheels could be used where the front brake discs aren't bigger than 288x25mm. 6Jx15 ET43 5/112 57.1 rims were used on the Octavia MK3, so that's one option for rims.

Uniroyal RainExpert 5 205/65R15 94V (Euro label C A 71dB) (Example tyre, not a recommendation)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Uniroyal/RainExpert-5/205-65-R15-94V-EVc/D-124253

Alcar 4755 6Jx15 ET43 5/112 57.1 steel rim (Octavia MK3) (non-standard on Octavia MK4)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1229371647597745264&rimCode=ALCAR4755

Edited 18 July18 Jul by Carlston

On 17/07/2026 at 13:35, RokB said:

Very floaty when cornering and over slow undulations, but very very stiff and and harsh over sharp imperfections (potholes, manholes covers...).

My PHEV has the same behavior on 18 wheels. Very floaty despite having more weight and less rubber on the rims, yet small curbs or potholes hit hard. Got used to it.

So it's clearly not just my Octavia (or that there's something wrong with my suspension), others are also experiencing similar problems. The only solution is probably to either accept it or downgrade to 16'' wheels.

I'm really disappointed with the Octavia's suspension, I don't know where all this praise in tests and reviews about comfort comes from.

I think useful tests and reviews don't exist anymore - if they ever did. "Reviewers" just repeat PR bullet points fed to them by the company. I mean, usually half the review is about interior LEDs or quirky design details, bull****.

Best thing to do is to rent the model you're looking to buy for a day or two...

1 hour ago, nin0 said:

I think useful tests and reviews don't exist anymore - if they ever did. "Reviewers" just repeat PR bullet points fed to them by the company. I mean, usually half the review is about interior LEDs or quirky design details, bull****.

Have this impression of Enyaq after a few test drives. Everyone seems to praise the car for its quietness, but in my impression, this is fairly noisy car, way more so than Octavia. So go figure what people compare it to, or indeed just repeating PR crap.