Hi folks,

Another newbie asking more newbie type questions.

I made a big mistake 18 months ago of choosing a new Mazda 5 over a Skoda and I've regretted it ever since so this spring I'm going to get shot of the 5 and do what I should have done in the first instance.

I know I want an Octavia Vrs in race blue but it's every thing else that is confusing me.

Firstly, I have two children (9 & 7) plus a small terrier dog, I would prefer to have the hatchback but swmbo reckons we need the estate basically just so the dog can jump in itself. 1st question is is the boot load height/floor height the same on both cars and is there really a visable benefit going estate?

2nd question: I only do around 12,000 miles per annum mainly town/a roads I presume petrol will suit my needs better, also are petrol servicing costs generally lower than diesel?

3rd: I read on some posts that there is a free upgrade on Octavias but can't find anything on the official website. Am I correct in believing it is free "Jumbobox" (does this include rear elec. windows?), and free 18" alloys if I order the car before 31st March?

Sorry for rambling on but I need to get my head round the first 2 questions before I go more indepth with my quest.

Many thanks in advance

Adrian

I can't help with the first two questions unfortunately, have to leave that to the more experienced Briskodians....

Regarding the third question, the "Free Equipment Upgrade" refers to the following kit:

- Jumbo Box (air conditioned) with MP3 input, dual zone climate control, 18" Zenith Alloy wheels, electric rear windows

Take a look here for more details.

My annual mileage is almost exactly the same as you, and I opted for the petrol after lots of ummming and ahhhing!

I think it's easier to judge if I talk miles/tank, rather than mpg, so:

Sedate driving = 375 miles

"Spirited" driving = 320 miles

Being silly = 280 miles

Coming from a diesel, I am noticing the higher fuel bill, but not to the point where it's bothering me. The petrol is smooth, torquey and pulls satisfyingly all the way to the red line. Test drive both, though. Remember the tax cost is higher for the petrol too.

Still, all things considered, I dont regret choosing the petrol version at all.

To give you some idea to your first question we have a rather large loopy Greyhound and he manages just fine in the hatchback boot.

Theres plenty of room in the back of a vrs hatch cant keep my dog out of it .

I do put the parcel shelf in its holder when we go out ,the only slight thing with a tall dog is its head is slightly close to the glass .

My dog doesnt seem to mind it though

Best thing you can do is get yourself over to a dealer and try them all.

I test drove both the petrol and diesel yesterday.

The diesel was no doubt quick (including a few "oh f*ck, I should slow down a bit" moments... ), but lacks the refinement and excitement of the petrol. It was also noticeable heavier at the helm

Theres plenty of room in the back of a vrs hatch cant keep my dog out of it .

I do put the parcel shelf in its holder when we go out ,the only slight thing with a tall dog is its head is slightly close to the glass .

My dog doesnt seem to mind it though

BRISKODA - The Skoda Forum and Community

Who needs an alarm or an immobiliser??

I don't think the load height is any different on the estate.

If I remember right the floor height of the estate is not much different from the estate. What is different is that the opening on the estate goes right down to the floor level while with the hatchback there is a raised lip. Hence you have to lift things higher to get them into the hatchback while you can just slide them in the estate. I have a TDI hatchback in race blue and love the engine (but all depends on what you like I suppose). I used to have a Mk1 VRS and found the Mk2 petrol a little too refined for my taste (went very quickly but did not feel like it- diesel engine gave me much bigger grin on my face when driving). I get around 420 miles from a tank during normal driving too and from work (10 miles with mixture of motorway, A and B roads with roundabouts and lights). If I am doing a long run then can get in excess of 500 miles from a tank. Also car tax is only £125 a year.

We have two large dogs (circa 26" and 28" to the shoulder) and they like the hatchback as there is plenty of headroom from floor to ceiling although as stated their head is closer to the glass but they lie down for most journeys... I reckon anything bigger than a Chihuahua would be able to hop up into a hatchback on it's own

I do put the parcel shelf in its holder when we go out

What's the holder for the parcel shelf? I just stick it on the back seat or leave it at home... I never knew it had a 'holder' :confused:

Off topic, did anyone watch that episode of Used Car Roadshow where the bloke was looking for a large vehicle (4x4 or people carrier) and he insisted on lifting his dog (I think it was a Weimeraner, anyway a laaaaaaaaaaaarge dog) in and out of the cars the thing could have jumped on the roof, probably

Who needs an alarm or an immobiliser??

Can it put fires out?

Dave

My annual mileage is almost exactly the same as you, and I opted for the petrol after lots of ummming and ahhhing!

I think it's easier to judge if I talk miles/tank, rather than mpg, so:

Sedate driving = 375 miles

"Spirited" driving = 320 miles

Being silly = 280 miles

Coming from a diesel, I am noticing the higher fuel bill, but not to the point where it's bothering me. The petrol is smooth, torquey and pulls satisfyingly all the way to the red line. Test drive both, though. Remember the tax cost is higher for the petrol too.

Still, all things considered, I dont regret choosing the petrol version at all.

I'm very similar. I was doing about 12000 when I bought and I worked out that over the 3yr the petrol and diesel would cost the same. Insurance has turned out lower than I thought for the petrol.

I think I get slightly better mileage. Thought it has dropped with the cold weather. In the summer I was getting approx 420 miles to a tank wit the long term average at 35 and going up.

Now in the cold weather I'm getting about 380 and the average is sitting around 33 and going down.

I too came from a diesel (60mpg normally) so the increase in fuel hurts till you get used to it.

It runs on super not normal unleaded so best to factor that in too.

I can't comment on dogs in the boot but it is very big.

I'm very similar. I was doing about 12000 when I bought and I worked out that over the 3yr the petrol and diesel would cost the same. Insurance has turned out lower than I thought for the petrol.

I think I get slightly better mileage. Thought it has dropped with the cold weather. In the summer I was getting approx 420 miles to a tank wit the long term average at 35 and going up.

Now in the cold weather I'm getting about 380 and the average is sitting around 33 and going down.

I too came from a diesel (60mpg normally) so the increase in fuel hurts till you get used to it.

It runs on super not normal unleaded so best to factor that in too.

I can't comment on dogs in the boot but it is very big.

Thanks for all the comments so far. I didn't realise the Tfsi only ran on super unleaded. Is this the same with all fsi engines?

There is a lip in both estate and hatch.

However, both the estate and hatch can have (and is standard on Elegance and L&K estates, excluded on Classic estates) a false raised boot floor with underfloor cubby called "Variable boot floor".

This makes for 1.7m of completely flat (lipless) load bay from boot entry at bumper to back of front seats (when back seats are down). The variable bit is that it can be subsequently removed by the user for full depth boot if required.

PLUS the estate gets a nice "umbrella" storage box behind the rear seats:

Don't forget although the hatch has the biggest load spaces in its class (for hatch) at 1,350 Litres, the estate trumps it with 1,620 Litres.

It's 97RON petrol or better for the TFSi. Not sure about the FSi but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same.

Sedate driving = 375 miles

"Spirited" driving = 320 miles

Being silly = 280 miles

Over a few decent drives I've been getting well over 400 miles to a tank in mine (38mpg+), which is a winner considering its a 200 hp petrol.

I went for the Estate, a) because we have a large Greyhound and because I can now fit luggage and large Greyhound in the boot when we are away for weekends etc... meaning daughter dosen't have a load of bags falling on her every time I go round a sharp corner (in my Golf the dog went in the boot and all the luggage was stacked up on the rear seats).

Hatchback would have been perfectly sufficient though, its just at the time of looking there were more 12-18 month old estates around plus I think the estate has slightly more of a 'stealth' look about it....

Which ever one you go for you'll have a cracking car which is more than suitable for family duties

Edit: Also moved from a 50mpg Diesel, and to be honest yes I am paying more each week in fuel costs but no where near as much as I thought

Over a few decent drives I've been getting well over 400 miles to a tank in mine (38mpg+), which is a winner considering its a 200 hp petrol.

You must have quite a light foot! I do try to drive smoothly and 95% of time time I'm not thrashing it either. How many miles has yours done? I've just passed 16k and the first variable service. I'm wondering if mpg will improve with time?

Theres plenty of room in the back of a vrs hatch cant keep my dog out of it .

I do put the parcel shelf in its holder when we go out ,the only slight thing with a tall dog is its head is slightly close to the glass .

My dog doesnt seem to mind it though

Parcel shelf holder??? where's this???

It's 97RON petrol or better for the TFSi. Not sure about the FSi but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same.

Slightly off topic but whilst out walking the dog I had a nose on the local garages forecourt for the price of super unleaded, it was £1.16/litre (9 pence a litre more than diesel) I may now reconsider diesel as the best option.

Slightly off topic but whilst out walking the dog I had a nose on the local garages forecourt for the price of super unleaded, it was £1.16/litre (9 pence a litre more than diesel) I may now reconsider diesel as the best option.

Need to shop around, near me one Shell station is selling V Power at £1.16/litre, 5 miles away another is selling it at £1.06/litre....

You must have quite a light foot! I do try to drive smoothly and 95% of time time I'm not thrashing it either. How many miles has yours done? I've just passed 16k and the first variable service. I'm wondering if mpg will improve with time?

That was over 650 miles (mainly motorway) doing between 70-80 mph indicated ()....

Car is just over 18 months old and has 9k on it, however I had the first service done early as part of the deal when I bought the car as it would have be due within the next 6 months...

To be honest unless I really want to give it some I tend to drive it in the same way as my previous Golf TDI as it has enough low down torque to make reasonable progress at low down revs i.e. I change up at 4- 4.5k revs.

Edit: Normal 200 - 250 mile weekly use (made up of approx 20 mile journeys, mixture of motorway, 50mph zone A-Roads and town centre crawls returns 31-32mpg, so approx 350 miles per tank).

It's 97RON petrol or better for the TFSi. Not sure about the FSi but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same.

Just looking at the Octavia brochure and it quotes "Lead free petrol with RON 95 or lead free petrol with RON 91*. Only lead free petrol RON 98 or lead free petrol with RON 95* for 1.6FSi/115 bhp" (* = lower efficiency when using lower RON petrol).

What do the dealers advise the customers?

Says Super (98RON) inside the fuel cap. The TFSI will run on normal unleaded but it's made for super.

The car is a little nicer to drive and gets a little more mpg on Super vs UL.

Round my way Super and Diesel are about the same price. It's Super Diesel (Vpower Derv) that is really scary.

Dealer never offered any advice on fuel.