Viewing 35 posts - 1 through 35 (of 35 total)
  • Octavia VRS owners
  • bgd
    Free Member

    Hoping to be changing car soon and being the STW car of choice, the Octavia estate looks like an excellent choice. I need something capable of lugging wife, child and dog around with all manner of bikes, camping equipment etc.

    Tempted by the tdi VRS for a mix of fun and practicality and so looking for any real world experiences of living with one as a family car, and how they cope with being loaded with roof boxes, tow bar bike carriers etc.

    Cheers

    lapierrelady
    Full Member

    Have a petrol VRS (couldn’t countenance diesel) and it’s brilliant. Room for everything with the back seats down (2x paddle boards, MTB kit, road biking kit, rock climbing kit). With the the seats up it’s still massive, and easily fit four bikes on the roof with Thule bars and racks. It also goes like the clappers!

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    Got any real world petrol mpg (Not the dash board lies) lapierrelady? Not expecting anything great but wondered, as this thread is kind of well timed 😉

    lapierrelady
    Full Member

    Um, well on the way to the spa this weekend about 20? But we were running late and the road was twisty! Usually manage about 28-32 with the bikes on top.

    slackboy
    Full Member

    Had a MK2 diesel for 100,000 miles and it was great. Just got a MK3 petrol and its great too. Boot space is excellent – but I’d recommend the variable boot floor to get a flat load bay.

    The petrol is very refined, plenty fast enough and quite diesel like in its initial punch, but I struggle to get more than 300 miles out of a tank, whereas I’d get 450-500 in the diesel.

    I’ve got Thule roof bars with 3 bike racks and it carries them with ease. I friend has a tow bar mounted rack on his octavia with no complaints either.

    We can get the three of us, a big tent, 3 bikes + kit in and only put a couple of things on the back seat. No need for a roof box.

    However, if you are looking at transporting all that stuff at the same time then I’d be looking at a Superb instead.

    Have a look at pistonheads long term reports of the octavia VRS and suberb – they’ve used them as load lugging cars at events all over the UK>

    iainc
    Full Member

    Test drove the diesel 4×4 estate VRS in January and really liked it. It didn’t stack up on a 4 yr PCP though so got an A6 Quattro Avant for a lot less per month with same low deposit.

    lapierrelady
    Full Member

    Second on the variable floor boot- very handy for hiding an umbrella under

    cyclelife
    Free Member

    I’ve got the 1.4 150bhp petrol SEL estate.
    Just over 7 seconds to 60. Easily get 50+mpg loaded with 3 dh bikes on tow bar mount. In daily use there’s not many cars I can’t keep up with. Keeping it at 65mph on motorway commute I get 59mpg Love it!

    bgd
    Free Member

    All good so far, thanks for the replies.

    sing1etrack
    Full Member

    I had a 2011 mk2 TDI estate from new till a couple of weeks ago. Really good car, nice strong engine (not super fast but reasonably quick), great at load lugging (bikes, family stuff, tip runs, b&q trips, house move, you name it!). It’s been to the Alps twice with three blokes, three bikes and roofbox, Alps with two kids and all the gear for a two week holiday, plus two other France trips and numerous trips in the UK – it didn’t miss a beat on any of them. It’s only misdemeanour was a dead battery at four years old, but hardly the end of the world. I looked very seriously at getting a MK3 but ended up with a passat estate instead – the cost of a year old vrs was about £3k more which I baulked at – I might regret that decision yet! (though the Passat is very nice and isn’t that far removed from the Skoda in reality)

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    I had the 2.0 CR tdi VRS with DSG gearbox. It’s was the worst built cars I’ve had. I bought the car on the back of glowing praise on this forum but my experience was anything but. Performance was OK but nothing great, handling the same but beef the anti roll bars and it’s much better. Most interior panels creaked, needed the tracking correcting twice in a year. The heater was very slow to warm up and the condensation inside the car was so bad that I had ice inside the windscreen. Two rear wiper motors failed. Seats would creak in certain positions mainly the ones I found more comfortable. MPG was poor rarely getting above 50 with careful driving. Service costs were quite high, much higher than the BMW it was replaced with. Paint is soft and thin so expect lots of stone chips. Dealerships were horrendous and warranty claims were a constant argument.
    I’d previously had a Mondeo mk3 for 10 years before the Skoda and regretted part-ex it. In all ways the Mondeo was a better car even 120k+ miles on it than the Skoda. I got rid of the Skoda after 18 months, the shortest period of time I’ve ever owned a car but couldn’t put up with it any longer.
    If you think you’re buying a VW with a different badge don’t kid yourself. If you wanted a VW then buy one. All the issues I’ve mentioned you can look up on Briskoda.

    renton
    Free Member

    What year was you car craigxxl

    For those asking about petrol consumption…. I have a current vrs tsi 220 and the computer says our long term average is around 38mpg. Real world calcs find it not far off this.

    Ours has been a great car in the year we have had it. Its on 14k now and the engine has really loosened up. It pulls fantastically now.

    We have a few interior rattles but I will have a look at them when I get chance.

    Leather is pretty crap compared to a BMW interior.

    Heater warms up really quickly.

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    62 plate. Your 38 mpg is more like I was seeing on average unless I took it on a long run.

    The DSG gearbox was nice though.

    sofaboy73
    Free Member

    Not the VRS, but I’ve had the 2ltr diesel SEL from new for just over a year now. Plenty quick enough for everyday use, very comfortable on long journeys, big enough to fit 4 large men and all their kit & supplies in for weekends away biking (including lots of beer – although car was no longer as nippy unsurprisingly) with the bikes in the roof, well though out & practical – things such as variable boot floor & and hooks in the boot to hang your shopping bags off etc. Currently get a long term average of 42mpg with a mixture of long motor way journeys and short commute to work / errands. All the toys I need, although the media interface with my phone can sometimes play up (switch phone off and back on sorts it).

    However in 12 months I’ve had 2 mechanical failures. Second week of owning the car kept going into crawl mode on the motorway (not the kind of exciting you’re after on your commute), turns out it was a bad batch of rubber air hose to the turbo that wasn’t robust enough and would collapse and find choke the turbo under draw – apparently it was a known fault effecting a small number of vehicles. About 6 months later the handbrake assembly spontaneously self destructed 30 seconds after parking up, button shot off across the cab and springs speeed out leading to the handbrake realeasing (luckily it was parked on the flat) – garage had never seen the like the of it before and replaced the whole handbrake assembly straight away. In both cases skoda’s warranty road side assist (skoda assist) was excellent, out to me in less than 30 minutes, sorted temporary fixes on the spot and sorted permanent fixes the next day. I’ve also found the customer service of the local skoda dealership the best I’ve had from a garage

    sargey
    Full Member

    61plate vrs diesel estate here and quite like the car.
    Clutch slave cylinder failed at 44k and because it’s inside the gearbox (clever!)we had to replace the whole clutch assembly at nearly £1000.
    Not as big as some people make out.

    renton
    Free Member

    Sargey the Mk3 is a lot bigger inside than a mk2. I was quite surprised.

    We got three bikes (one a large 29er ) and all the related cycling stuff in the car with 3 people.

    EDIT… And another couple because I like it so much…..

    DaveP
    Full Member

    Had mine for 2 months now. 8k miles on it. It is a manual

    Very little to complain about!

    The size of the fuel tank means I get around 500 miles to a tank – which I would like more. That is my main gripe!

    Fuel consumption ranges from high 40s to 60ish if just pottering along.
    Quiet at speed.

    I had the mirrorlink software coded by the dealer for less than the option price (just because the car had been built without it). that feature is great, but is very annoying when it locks the screen from scrolling for safety (even if the passenger is doing it!!!)

    (Old cars have included 5 series, A6 2.0, Q7)

    bgd
    Free Member

    Definitely some food for thought. Starting to be swayed towards the petrol VRS, just need to arrange some test drives now.

    Have been driving a 57 plate diesel Hyundai Tucson for the past 6 years so looking forward to something a little more spritely!

    renton
    Free Member

    Have been driving a 57 plate diesel Hyundai Tucson for the past 6 years so looking forward to something a little more spritely!

    My wife upset some chap in his new Volvo 4×4 thing the other day, he expected to swerve straight round her coming off an island and zip by.

    He was most disappointed to not be able to do as such. 😆

    I would echo what others have said above about the fuel tank not being very big, hence the low miles per tank.

    buenfoxa
    Free Member

    I’ve got the 1.4 150bhp petrol SEL estate.
    Just over 7 seconds to 60.

    Where have you got that 0-60 figure from?

    renton
    Free Member

    Where have you got that 0-60 figure from?

    Indeed… the 230bhp model does it in 6.7 so cant see the 1.4 only being .3 sec slower

    buenfoxa
    Free Member

    8.2 seconds according to Skoda…..

    Maybe a typo 😆

    renton
    Free Member

    The 1.4 and 2.0 also share a power output, despite their different fuels: 148bhp. The diesel again has more torque, with 251lb ft at 1750rpm to the TSI’s 184lb ft at 1500rpm. And once again, the petrol is the quicker car, reaching 62mph in 8.1sec from rest, to the TDI’s 8.5sec. The TDI 4×4 is actually a little less brisk, covering 0-62mph in 9.1sec

    From evo magazine

    DaveP
    Full Member

    I was very tempted by the petrol one, basically same engine as in S3. So a remap increases the power LOTS. Friend has S3 and in eco mode, crawling to work, he gets ~47mpg (I know, what is the point of an S3 crawling in eco…).

    renton
    Free Member

    A revo stage one remap takes mine from 220 to over 300 !!

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    Had a mk1 petrol and currently got a mk2 diesel (first of the 2 litre common rail and on the VW recall list).

    Like:
    [list][*]Economical. Sits happily with bikes on roof and will get high 40s/low 50s on motorway (petrol mk1 would get 40 if I sat at 60mph for a long time).[/*]
    [*]Big boot, decent passenger space, room for the nipper and her extra-large chair.[/*]
    [*]Relatively quick and pretty torquey.[/*]
    [*]Nice place to be while travelling.[/*]
    [*]We bought it as a quick family car to get round the country in, and for that I can’t really fault it.[/*]
    [/list]

    Dislike:
    [list][*]Boot lip, although if you get a full-size spare it levels the boot out. Similarly I believe you can also get an internal shelf which basically makes a hidden compartment and brings the boot up to the level of the lip.[/*]
    [*]Ours is an ’09 and is developing niggles. Mainly small electricals and known issues (blower motor, rear wiper motor), but there is an annoying and occasional lag I can’t find too.[/*]
    [*]We’ve also got BMW tyre, where a rear tyre develops a serrated edge – apparently common with BMWs and Audis where there’s a little more camber on the rear wheels (so I’ve been lead to believe).
    [*]The mk2 is a nice place to be, and far more refined and grown-up than the mk1. It’s nowhere near as fun to drive though. Definitely a motorway car over a B road hooligan.[/*]
    [/list]

    Tempted by the tdi VRS for a mix of fun and practicality and so looking for any real world experiences of living with one as a family car, and how they cope with being loaded with roof boxes, tow bar bike carriers etc.

    It’s worth noting that older vRSs were not tested with a towbar, so legally cannot have one fitted. There was an arrest near Bristol because a farmer had a mk1 Fabia vRS and was towing a trailer. I can’t imagine it’s more than a tap on the wrist, but it’s worth being aware of. This may be different for the newer marques.

    Would I buy another? Until the recent VW scandal, yes. Now no. I dislike the way VAG owners have been fobbed off in the UK. I’m currently getting letters with red text telling me to get my car retuned, although I know it will lose torque in the lower rev range (the wording in the letter omits this). To me there’s an element of unfairness when VW are paying out to apologise for their misleading practices in other countries, whereas in the UK we’re asked to voluntarily take part in an exercise to reduce performance on a semi-performance car for nothing but a cup of bad coffee and an umbrella.

    neilnevill
    Free Member

    mk3 vrs tsi owner here, its 3 years old today, had it since new. can get 40+mpg on motorway A road runs at 75ish, can get low 20s in london traffic but normally about 30. Min is a hatch and it has swallowed some big loads. I find it fairly comfy and still like getting in it. No major problems, I’d recommend it.

    servo
    Free Member

    I had a mk2 estate and always thought the variable level floor thing was just a bodge to hide the lip. Bet they count the space under the floor as part of the load volume.

    Whydot
    Full Member

    I’ve a 13 plate 1.6 diesel estate, the most basic model (not a VRS, not really my style…) and I love it. It’s massive, does motorway miles in comfort. It’s not the nippiest, but I drive relatively sedately and can get 800 miles from a tank of fuel which I’m a massive fan of.

    The only issue I’ve had was the water pump went at around 60,000, but was covered under the 3 year warranty from Skoda. I’m not sure how pricy it would have been.

    As everyone has said, carried 4 people plus bikes comfortably. I’ve had 5 bouldering pads and three people in mine, or the usual 4 people plus climbing kit and camping stuff for a weekend.

    In terms of downsides, whilst the 1.6 is very efficient, it’s also fairly gutless. And the lip on the boot is a touch annoying. Would be nice to have a flat loading bay. It’s also not quite long enough for someone who’s 6 2 to sleep in comfortably.

    Having been given a 16 plate Vauxhall Insignia to drive recently, I vastly prefer the Skoda. Whilst there were less bells and whistles, it just feels better put together, but I guess you knew that!

    I’d definitely get another.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    The only issue I’ve had was the water pump went at around 60,000, but was covered under the 3 year warranty from Skoda. I’m not sure how pricy it would have been.

    I believe that’s fairly common. It’s usually replaced when replacing the cambelt if memory serves as getting to it is a pig otherwise.

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    Forget to mention the PDC sound continously if they get wet. Skoda seem to change them for fun until the warranty runs out then they just an annoyance.

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    I appreciate you’re asking about the Octavia but have you considered a Seat Leon estate?

    Not quite as big, but mechanically similar, and the Cupra version might give you a bigger smile?

    renton
    Free Member

    Seat build quality is crap compared to the skoda

    GlennQuagmire
    Free Member

    Seat build quality is crap compared to the skoda

    Really? I don’t own one so can’t comment, but the reviews all seem positive.

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    I have a Mk3 hatch which is a smudge over 18minths old and has done 40k.

    It’s a company car and so far I quite like it. It’s far from the most interesting or exciting car I the world, but it has bags of room inside, is comfy, well spec’d, reasonably brisk and goes about its business with minimal fuss. It was a shoot out between the vRS and a diesel Focus St; the latter was just a bit too chavvy really. Fuel economy is Ok; I typically get 500p,us miles before needing to fill it up.

    Unlike Craig, my experience has been good. The dealership was fine when my A/C compressor died and replaced it under warranty without question. The build quality is fine.

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