An Octavia 4x4 has caught my eye..

[Interphase]

Unexpectedly

I only went in to look at a Leon Cupra (which turned out to have been through the wars a bit), saw a mint looking 51 plate 4x4 hatch with 48k on the clock, took it for a test drive and was hugely impressed. Not quite as quick as the Cupra, but a wonderful surefooted whoomph of power that had me grinning after just three roundabouts It seems a bit steep at

[Tech1e]

Yes the Octavia uses the same DV as all the other std VAG units.

The 4x4 system only activates if the front end looses gripso under normal driving you probably wont feel the 4x4 drive, cant say ive ever felt one 'engage' but then I havent driven them a lot.

Haldex should have an oil change every 20k and an oil and filter every 40k.

[L&KDET]

You would notice the difference as I did, when the Haldex packed up, It really is good, and I took it up the Hertz mountains, in the snow and it was outstanding. Intresting, I just got rid of my 51 plate 4x4, and it also had 48k on it! don't suppose it's a cayenne red?

[ColinD]

Arh well not mine; unless it didn't move for three years...green?

Even in 150 default power they are surprisngly good I had one for a while and enjoyed it greatly. Not wishing to put temptation in your path, but with a remap they are even better...IRC it's 6.1/6.4 to 60 then.

But the haldex and esp really work wonders, although it might feel a bit boaty on sharp turn in's it does actually stick very well...handy for poorer conditions.

The dv is very quiet on them, and as Ross says haldex every 20k or so. You ocassionally feel the transmission shift power in poorer conditions or hoofing it off a line, 3k drop clutch in the wet it should just go...which is what I miss the most.

[jason]

that mileage and that price i am gob smacked.if i hadn't gone for the vrs a few years back i would be SERIOUSLY tempted. my mate has a 4x4 and we usually swap jealousies.

i want his interior and haldex,he wants various bits off mine,but mine has been fettled with.

i drove the mk1 leon cupra and tbh it felt to skitish at the back end,but i seem to have bought a bad octavia and my ownership has benn tainted,most recently a 500 quid steering rack

my mates 4x4? 700 quid on clutch and dual mass flywheel OUCH!!

[Glider]

Price seems steep, I paid less for a 2003 03 last week with 41k and full history.

From Glasses

Skoda Octavia Elegance

1.8 Petrol 5-door Hatchback

5 Speed Manual Four Wheel Drive

Year: 2001 51

Mileage: 48,000

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:

[bengie]

i have felt my haldex engage in 3 years of ownership and have driven it on snow, ice, wet roads, gravel, wet grass, frozen grass and hot tarmac. what i have noticed it do is virtually never lose traction, ocassionally kicking the back end out on hard shifts or planting it out of bends

[Interphase]

That's great, thanks - I know what to look out for on the service history now. It seems fairly complete, but I need to check that the transmission has been pampered. The car itself is a kind of metallic blue-grey which is pleasant enough and adds to the sleeper image a bit

It'll need a couple of things doing - there's a tiny rattle at about 3k that sounds just like a loose heatshield, and I think it's had the NSF wheel knocked out of alignment because there's a slight pull to the left and the Eagle F1 has been shouldered on the outer edge. This is all fuel to my bargaining strategy

The one thing that concerns me is that there's a bracket on the rear for a removable tow hitch, and I can't vouch for what it's been towing. Was that bracket standard or a factory option? There don't seem to be any electrics to support it though, which is odd. I'm a bit worried that this might have put excessive strain on the transmission but it doesn't feel as if it's having issues.

Have to have a think about this and go back to see them I think - I'd want a few things putting right and a lower price and the dealership is known for offering a good service but charging through the nose. Given the price that Glider has quoted it might be worth pushing a bit or even looking elsewhere.

Damn, I hate being bitten by car bugs - I can't afford this sort of thing

[will_]

I couldn't afford my 4x4 either ... but bought it anyway (very similar age and mileage as the one you're looking at) and have never looked back.

When I was shopping around did notice that the 4x4s seemed to be considerably more expensive, and less negotiable, than the 2WD equivalents. Mine was advertised for just under

[Stuart_J]

Re the strength of the transmission, my 4x4 has been tweaked for most of its life, the first remap was at 8000 & its steadly developed to a point where at around the mid 50,000 it was up to 350 bhp, its completed 3 Cannonball runs, 2 Furballs & generally been very well used. The power crucified the std gearbox & the Rs one I subsiquently fitted failed spectacularly but at 70,000 the haldex is still performing perfectly (runs & touches some wood) so I wouldnt worry too much about the car being worked hard on that point. It also toook 250 bhp to destroy the std clutch so that too is fairly strong. If its been used for towing provided the owner was sensible you shouldnt have any problems, Towing can be no worse than a car with 5 adults & loads of luggage

[Penpusher]

Interesting what Will says about 4x4's being more expensive.

When I went to part-exchange my 4x4 against my Superb, the garage said they hadn't had one for sale before, although I'd bought it from them 5 years ago(!), and they were relunctant to give much on the price as they weren't sure if or how it would sell!

It seems that if you're selling, they are not many around and the price is low, but it's the same reason why the price is high when you're buying!

[Tech1e]

Wouldnt worry about the 4x4 being used as a tow car, more than up to the job and IIRC has won awards for its towing capabilities.

[Guest musky]

Had mine since new and I have felt the power being shifted around but only on snow! The clutch was fine until remapped and then slipped causing a

[Interphase]

I went back in today to have a closer look over it and it seems pretty straight, so I queried the price. I now have a printout from CAP that shows their retail price for that year and that mileage as

[will_]

When I was looking for a 2001/2 model about 6 months ago, dealers were asking for

[Interphase]

I was looking through autotrader the other day and saw an advert for a very similar car to the one I'd tested.. VERY similar, in fact, the same car. It had been brought from a family by another dealer (who hadn't put the things right the needed doing) and this dealer appears to have brought it from him, marked up the price by over a grand and stuck it on the forecourt. Judging by the original advert it would have left the previous dealer for less than 4k. This is the same dealer who told me you can't get them for that money when I pushed them on it. Bugger that for a game of soldiers -the only way I'm touching it is if they bring the price down by a fair chunk.

I also missed a lovely RS last night for a great price - the guy was going to call me back if the buyer he had lined up was a flake, but he would have been mad not to buy it at that price so I assume it went through.

Not having much luck here...

[Dr Zoidberg]

Don't know where you are , but there's a 1.8T 4x4 at one of my local dealers that could be worth a look.

02 plate - 28k miles -

[crazywolf287]

ive had my 4x4 octy since new and can regularily get the 4x4 system kicking in. last car was a 2wd cossie, and the octy showed it up in all aspects of control under pressure. just sadly lacking brake horse at the minute.rpressure. never regreted getting th

[MrChris]

I was looking through autotrader the other day and saw an advert for a very similar car to the one I'd tested.. VERY similar, in fact, the same car. It had been brought from a family by another dealer (who hadn't put the things right the needed doing) and this dealer appears to have brought it from him, marked up the price by over a grand and stuck it on the forecourt. Judging by the original advert it would have left the previous dealer for less than 4k. This is the same dealer who told me you can't get them for that money when I pushed them on it. Bugger that for a game of soldiers -the only way I'm touching it is if they bring the price down by a fair chunk.

I also missed a lovely RS last night for a great price - the guy was going to call me back if the buyer he had lined up was a flake, but he would have been mad not to buy it at that price so I assume it went through.

Not having much luck here...

Considering selling mine at the moment...

Higher mileage than others 64,000. If you are interested drop us a line.

Chris