Looking to be pointed in the right direction

Am about to place an order on sat for a Race Blue Octavia VRS estate but am still unsure on which variant to go for? Going for the estate as i prefered the look and the extra space

After driving them back to back i was left a little confused!

Firstly I wasn't considering the diesel but after reading through common problems etc im now kinda leaning towards it!

The Fsi was impressive in its smoothness but i feel it lacks the low down torque that tdi provides however the engine seemed quite coarse (yes i know its a diesel) but got less noticible longer i drove it.

Just a couple of quick questions?

My dealer has agreed to carry over the free upgrade deal but are there any other options that are a must have? any movement on OTR prices?

Are there any plans for a new VRS if so when as i dont fancy getting caught out as i have done in the past

Whats peoples experience of Skoda Solutions as this is a possible route if my weekend toy doesnt sell before march

Thanks for reading

Wes

if you've decided on an estate then its fairly pointless adding hatch into your poll.

if you want better economy go for the diesel, i believe these also hold the value better but i could be wrong.

if you want the faster of the two and dont mind the fuel bills then the petrol would be a better choice.

i vote not to vote.

what he just said

Go for another test drive of both, preferably same day, same roads. It is surprising the different things you notice the second time around (this helped me choose a 2.0 TFSI RS Octavia Wagon over a Golf GTI)

If you like to surf a wave of torque get the TDI, if you like to rev an engine out a bit get the TFSI. If fuel economy is important to you the TDI will get better mpg.

I personally felt the 170 TDI had some turbo lag and didn't start to really pull hard until nearly 2000rpm (but I'm used to my 2.5 VW Transporter TDI, which comes on stronger at lower revs).

Is there any decision to be made?

Petrol or.... a bus?

Has to be the TFSI IMHO

Billy:)

The free equipment upgrade continues into March....

I went TDi and didn't test the petrol. Absolutely loving the torque. I thought the noise woul dput me off but it doesn't, I actually quite like it now! There is mild turbo lag but you just need to adjust your driving style..which I'm still doing, coming from a 3 litre petrol beemer.

The car is behaving and performing beyond my expectations... Oh and the extra mpg is very welcome.

I had the same dilemma...after factoring in residuals/purchase price/tax/insurance/fuel bills/cost per gallon etc etc, the difference in cost of ownership over 3 years is not as much as you'd initially think, you'll need to be doing over 20k miles a year to make BIG savings back on the diesel.

I went from a megane 120bhp diesel to the TFSI in the end. the petrol engine is still VERY torquey for a petrol - 5th/6th gear overtaking on motorways is effortless due to the sheer grunt it has. less torque yes, but an extra 30 horses to make up for it!

And of course, for those moments when you want some fun, you can give it a good thrashing through the gears.

I travel on A road/motorways to work so get 30-36 mpg during the week driving sensibly with the odd blast to get past slower traffic...of course this drops to 21-25 if driven harder.

No regrets here from going for the TFSI - you can't beat accelerating hard, thinking you've used all the power only for it to keep pulling all the way to the red line!

P

Ciderspace, adjusting your driving style, coming up from a bmw - does that mean you would now let people past you on the motorway, assuming anyone can catch the skud? and do you now drive with the fog lights off? and how does it feel to have a car with real power, which people let out into traffic at queues?

Only joking.

Billy

Thanks for the replies! Have an Evo VI running 380bhp as a weekend driver which is for sale as ideally would like something that could be used by the wife aswell.

Think another testdrive is in order

At the end of the day only you can choose. Personally if I was to change my car today I'd probably go for the VRs TDi estate. I like the looks of the estate now so would have that for a change, and the diesel would probably better suit my lazy style of driving i.e. not having to rev the nuts of it to get decent acceleration! One thing to consider though is that VAG are changing to common rail diesel technology fairly soon I think which may ultimately mean the current TDi using pump diesel technology becomes less desireable. The common rail diesels are apparently more smooth and less 'coarse' as you put it.

If you get the estate then I'd say privacy glass is a must it really finishes the look off.

I'm on my second TFSi and wouldn't consider a TDi myself. SWMBO has a TDi 140 golf which whilst is good is still lacking.

I know there are the obvious wty issues but a remapped TFSi has diesel like torque and a lot more scope on the rev counter.

Ciderspace, adjusting your driving style, coming up from a bmw - does that mean you would now let people past you on the motorway, assuming anyone can catch the skud? and do you now drive with the fog lights off? and how does it feel to have a car with real power, which people let out into traffic at queues?

Only joking.

Billy

I now drive with full beam and fogs on, I still don't indicate when changing lanes, (I never changed lanes anyway - once in the BMW lane on a motorway, one never moves), I never let people out and I still wear a suit, tie, shades and a bluetooth headset (Top Gear anyone?)...

Estates have to have the privacy glass, esp as I have 1 1/2 small ones to cart around! (its nearly here)

I have no worries about letting my mrs have a go once its chipped. I don't even let her near the drivers seat whilst she is pregnant tho - no clue whatsoever!

The APR chip in my old MK1 was fantastic, as smooth as any upgrade should be.

Billy:thumbup:

I now drive with full beam and fogs on, I still don't indicate when changing lanes, (I never changed lanes anyway - once in the BMW lane on a motorway, one never moves), I never let people out and I still wear a suit, tie, shades and a bluetooth headset (Top Gear anyone?)...

arf arf arf.

I also don't travel too close behind Mercs, as the bits falling off them tend to damage my paintwork!!!

I did so used to love handing out £60 tickets for foglights when not required. (using foglights in a manner to dazzle other roadusers or something similar), but then I grew up and got a real job!

Good to see you have a sense of humour Cider.

Billy

I have the vRS TDi hatch, but on reflection wish I'd bougth the Estate. It's one of the few estates you see that doesn't look the worse for it. Plus we have a dog now which we didn't have or plan for when we bought the car.

Dave.

Dont mention modding trying to get out of that phase lol so whats the Skoda warranty like regards modifying e.g revo map

I have an Estate (or Combi to be strictly correct) and agree with the other comments about it looking well integrated, despite the long rear overhang.

Not sure that there's a great difference in load capacity over the hatch though, both are close to top in the class.

Before you choose Race Blue, have a look at the pictures of the white ones, they look very smart and probably get quite a few BMW drivers to evacuate "their" lane on the motorway (failing that, wearing a hi-vis vest seems to help )

In terms of extras, Stu has already mentioned privacy glass, but don't forget rear parking sensors and an absolute must have, maxi-dot (means you can install the factory bluetooth kit if Stu is still taking orders).

The Solutions package seems pretty competitive and also gives you 3 years free servicing (make sure you have the car set to 10K services rather than variable, because you'll get three services instead of one).

Whichever way you go, I doubt you'll be disappointed. As you'll have read, most owners are happy with their cars.

Idespite the long rear overhang.

Not sure that there's a great difference in load capacity over the hatch though, both are close to top in the class.

The rear overhang on the hatch is exactly the same as the estate. Look at the dimensions in the brochure, and the hatch /estate are exactly the same length, width and height. What the estate has, is a lot more height in the loading area.

I also went for the estate, not a vRS though. because I prefer the way the estate looks compared to the hatch. If it were a MK1 octavia I would have gone hatchback, because the estate doesnt look right on the MK1.

I think the estate with privacy glass is one of the best looking in it's class. Good point about load space though, the hatch is cavernous.

Now we're talking options I'd recomend -

Rear Parking Sensors

Maxidot

Cruise

Xenons if you can stretch to it

I also like light assist but some don't rate it.

The current free options of Jumbo Box & Dual Zone are also a must have.

Placed the order today!

Octavia est Race blue 2.0TDi PD 170 VRS

following options:

front & rear parking sensors, maxi dot, heated front seats, curtain airbags, active head restraints, privacy glass, cruise control, auto dimming mirror etc, xenons and the free upgrade

cant wait!

just gotta sell the Evo :-(

following options:

front & rear parking sensors, maxi dot, heated front seats, curtain airbags, active head restraints, privacy glass, cruise control, auto dimming mirror etc, xenons and the free upgrade

Nice spec

Placed the order today!

Octavia est Race blue 2.0TDi PD 170 VRS

following options:

front & rear parking sensors, maxi dot, heated front seats, curtain airbags, active head restraints, privacy glass, cruise control, auto dimming mirror etc, xenons and the free upgrade

cant wait!

just gotta sell the Evo :-(

Top choice; wouldn't it be easier though to list the options you haven't ordered!

Gotta get what you can from the dealers as they were less than helpfull with my part ex

Thank you broadspeed lol

Is there any decision to be made?

Petrol or.... a bus?

Has to be the TFSI IMHO

Billy:)

Bus???? pfffft diesels much better than petrol !!!

Bus???? pfffft diesels much better than petrol !!!

You do realise that this has now started WW3?