Evening. The wife has convinced herself we need a new car and after lengthy discussion we seem to be agreed on an estate car. We will be buying used, with an upper budget of about 8k. Ideally I’d like something that’s half decent to drive, decent power for over taking is a must as we regularly visit our families which can be 160 mile round trips.

We both like the octavia vrs, insurance seems reasonable and we’ve seen a few we like in our budget. Any owners on here care to share their impressions? Others we’ve looked at are the toyota avensis 2.2, which appeals because of the vast boot and the subaru legacy because I just like them, and the idea of the faster versions (thought they seem to get pretty lousy mpg).

Thoughts?

EDIT: I am also pondering whether we “need” a diesel or not. Annual mileage in the car will be roughly 10k. I would definitely prefer a petrol, and I know conventional wisdom says you need to do space shuttle miles to save on a diesel, but I fear a heavy right foot might see me drinking fuel in the petrol.

mrs tts has the estate i drove it saturday 220 miles to the coast.. the cd player is broken ( at least two cds jammed in). all the door pockets are full of empty water bottles the drivers door has chocolate melted on the handle the glove box was full of wet wipes. who the two noisy erks in the back were eating mcdonalds shouting ”are we nearly there yet?” i have no idea. oh its silver.the clock was three minutes fast. it was 18.5c in bridlington and i could nt leave quick enough it was no warmer in scarbrough but at least there were people breathing on the beach. we got home late. mrs tts wont let me use it again.

I think they look great and from what ive heard the VRs goes like stink and is great to drive.
I thoroughly recommend a test drive as it will probably sell itself to you.
Tons of room in the boot too, great for bikes.

+100 kudos points if you buy one.

Don’t know what a petrol one puts out, and TBH, I’m not even really sure if there’s a petrol version of the current VRs, all the one’s I see are diesel, which puts out 170bhp, IIRC. The thing about doing high milages to get the best out of diesels I think actually referrs to the premium you pay for a new diesel car. Buy the time you’re buying a secondhand one, that’s been eaten up by depreciation. There may be a difference of a few pence/litre between petrol and diesel, but you do get better consumption out of the higher power diesels in the likes of the Octi’s. They’re fantastic value for money for the performance you get too.
I just really wish I had one instead of the 110bhp 1.9TDi Octi I do own.

the boot is no bigger than the saloon just higher because of the estate rear door

slimjim78 – Member
+100 kudos points

I like the VRS but not so sure about any Kudos…

I’ve got an 18 month old petrol vrs estate. It is simply the best car i’ve ever owned. Comfortable for long trips, massive boot, roof bars for bikes, just about the perfect bike car.

Is the VRS the 4wd version?

If you want space go for some thing like a Modneo Estate which is far far bigger than a Octavia.

I dont see the point in a VRs theyre not a sports car and 130-140bhp is enough in any car to make rapid progress…

Is the VRS the 4wd version?

No, there are/were 4wd normal cars i.e. estate and hatchback and there is the scout, which has raised suspension and some plastic panel bumpers which is Estate only

I have an avensis estate and far bigger in every way than an Octavia which is golf based IIRC. Very unassuming car and the grunt of the diesel is far more pokey than the BHP it puts out. 10Kpa mileage is enough to go for a derv, better torque, 45mpg easy as opposed to 35mpg at best from Vrs…

Hard to beat really Jammer. Will do everything you want and then some. You’ll probably save a few bob initially going for the petrol version but the diesel will be a more relaxed drive.

Kinda agree with FunkyDunc though. 170 horses is quite a lot for a car that handles like a bus. Don’t know if they do a 120-140bhp version (i.e. not a VRs) but might be worth a check. Still plenty fast enough and a bit cheaper (you wanted new forks, right? :D)

You’ll easily fit 3 guys + 3 bikes inside most estates (or 4 sheep you deviant!) just by removing the front wheels, but I think the Mondeo has a slightly bigger boot if that’s a priority.

Or you could join team Passat.

For the vrs range on it’s 197bhp for petrol ( golf gti engine) and 170bhp for the diesel. Driven the petrol estate. Goes very well and loads of space! Just those White inserts on the seats tend to get a bit mucky after a while. But besides that an excellent car.

our diesel vrs got better mpg on the motorway than our previous octavia diesel due to the sixth gear
they go like stink and do not handle like a bus !!!!!! very hard to get mine to break traction on normal roads

For the vrs range on it’s 197bhp for petrol

Only as it comes from the factory. Mine’s had that “defect” sorted out. 🙂 255bhp and erm… some more torque just under 300lbs/ft I think.

Sam thats got to be a seriously awful car to drive then all that power in an floppy normal road car is just pointless.

I agree it maybe slightly pointless, but it’s far from awful. Sure, if you boot it to early coming out of a corner it’ll spin the wheels and traction control will tell you to stop being an idiot (but any powerful fwd will do that). But it’s actually more efficient with the remap (under normal driving conditions) so it’s a win win. It’s a really smooth remap that drives very much like the original just with more power. No horrible power spikes like some remappers are churning out.

Sam i’m thinking of getting a VRS also, as getting rid of my Astra VXR. Your ‘defect’ sounds interesting….who done the remap?

It’s the thinking persons VAG car. If you’re shallow or stupid buy a slightly inferior VW or Audi equivalent.

They’re as practical and usable as any Octavia ie: bloody brilliant! You can get 2 bikes and a weekends camping gear in no bother. And more importantly you can get 140mph no bother on the M6 toll. Ahem…. So I’ve heard 😉

donkeysrock – Member

do not handle like a bus !!!!!! very hard to get mine to break traction on normal roads

Not driving hard enough. I rest my case 😉

Can’t comment on the VRS specifically as we’ve got the Scout 4×4 version of the Octavia estate (which is 150bhp v 170 in the VRS), but I have to say it is just a fantastic car. Really tough and solid, great to drive, quick enough for our needs, comfy for driver and passengers and really practical as a family vehicle. The boot is massive.

Not relevant to the VRS, but the Haldex 4×4 system is great – in normal mode the power goes to the front wheels, but if any wheel slippage is detected it starts distributing power to the rear. It kicks in automatically and is more than sufficient to get out of most sticky situations – it was a godsend last winter, and we were able to get through stuff that full size chelsea tractors were struggling in.

Apart from this and the engine output, the VRS has a few more toys than ours and a nicer interior, and obviously has a more sporty suspension set up (they’re about a foot lower when I park next to one!), but I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

We did have a problem with ours in the first couple of weeks (the DPF failed, which is a really expensive part), but it was fixed by Skoda without any quibbles under warranty and has been fine since, touch wood. Apparently fairly common on some of the older models so do be aware.

Check out the briskoda forum for further info:

http://briskoda.net/

santacruzsi :
Shark Performance

Really genuine chap running the show. He’s had really great feedback on briskoda forums. Give him a call and have a chat.

How about a Mondeo ST TDCi estate? Or if you aren’t too bothered about a ‘sporty’ one you could probably get a very well specced ‘Titanium’ for £8k.

EDIT – Or just had a thought…how about the Seat Exeo estate. I’d have thought you could just about get them for about £8k now, although haven’t looked myself.
It’s basically a last generation A4 estate with a Seat badge. Size-wise nearer the Octavia than the Mondeo, I reckon.

Having spent 10 hours on a skodia octavia scout last night, I can say I quite like them. Its not as “jacked up” as you’d think and has plenty of go to it.. Handles really well (perhaps too well as I keep finding myself going a bit too quick!)

I’ve had my Octabvia Scout for about a year now, and it’s a cracker.
It’s comfortable, quiet, quick, very roomy (considering it’s based on the Golf platform), and hasn’t missed a beat.

Would I buy another – in a heartbeat!

FunkyDunc – Member
Sam thats got to be a seriously awful car to drive then all that power in an floppy normal road car is just pointless.

Why? The Octavia VRs is regarded as a having a brilliant chasis. In fact there was a lot of talk at it’s release that VAG should have had the balls to put the higher output 2 litre in it from one of it’s cousins (Leon Cupra/Golf GTI Ed30/S3) but they obviously elected to save the more “premium” brand’s blushes.

I’ve had my VRS diesel estate since March and I love it – a really impressive all round motor. I possibly would have settled for the 140 but the offers Skoda were doing on new VRSs before Christmas in terms of VAT free and 0% meant the VRS made more sense, and it looks a nicer car than the models further down the range. As someone’s said before, it’s no bigger than the hatch length-wise, but I prefered the look of the estate and it does give a bit more practicality. Bear in mind there was a facelift a couple of years ago which not only changed the look of the car for the better but added rear electric windows, bigger alloys and a few other nice litle bits. I found Briskoda a great source of info, once you get past the posts about colour coding grilles and painting wheels a slightly different colour!

Edit – apparently the 200bhp petrol is actually the same 210bhp used in the VWs/Audis, just VAG don’t like to admit it!

2nd edit – my colleague who swears by his higher end German cars has just leased an Octy after seeing mine, and has declared it the best car he’s owned – if you knew the guy, this really says something about the Octy.

I might go & test drive one see what all the fuss is about!

Mk. 1 vRS here and very happy.

Not quite as big as the Mk.1 Focus it replaced and doesn’t handle *quite* as well on twisty Bs IMHO, but genuinely think it’s a great car.

Bad:
[list] [*]lip in the boot where the seats fold[/*]
[*]lip at the end on the boot (the Focus was flat so you could slide kit straight in)[/*]
[*]the curve of the rear windshield is quite pronounced, robbing a bit of bootspace (and even more pronounced on the Mk.2)[/*]
[*]not as big as something like a Mondeo[/*]
[*]you occasionally get hassled by Scoobys and the like who want to play 😉 [/*]
[*]35mpg under normal commuting conditions (about the same as the 1.8 Focus)[/*]
[*]daft white semi-leather seats[/*]
[/list]

Good:
[list][*]genuinely really good fun to drive[/*]
[*]will sit happily at well over a tonne (apparently)[/*]
[*]will get you to over a tonne very quickly (apparently)[/*]
[*]will do it with a good load in the back[/*]
[*]petrol quick, turbo torque[/*]
[*]comfortable on long journeys[/*]
[*]comfortable in town traffic – not too big, light clutch and throttle, reasonable turning circle[/*]
[*]definite Q-car/sheep in wolf’s clothing – people usually don’t know what they’re looking at. It does just look like a tidy Octavia[/*]
[*]Not too silly on the insurance[/*]
[*]fewer niggles than the Ford, despite the Ford ‘feeling’ better put together[/*]
[/list]

Final verdict? Love it. Great car. Would buy another without hesitation. Mine’s getting stage 1 love as soon as I can afford it.

…but added rear electric windows, bigger alloys and a few other nice litle bits.

Do they not normally come with rear ‘lecce windows?

Edit – apparently the 200bhp petrol is actually the same 210bhp used in the VWs/Audis, just VAG don’t like to admit it!

Yes, it is. The earlier 1.8 was the same as the 1.8 in the TT, just slightly detuned.

I’m going to apologise in advance for this post, it’s a slow day in the office.

Mk2 non face lifted VRS – TFSI (200PS) – engine out of mk5 Golf GTI. Face lifted VRS – TSI (200PS in brochure, but as sing1track says more like 211PS) – engine out mk6 Golf GTI.

The chassis is decent and could probabaly have had TFSI K04 engine out of faster VAGs like Cupra, Golf Ed30, Golf R etc (230-270PS).

I’ll get my coat…

Do they not normally come with rear ‘lecce windows?

Not the pre-FL, I don’t think.

Bad:

lip in the boot where the seats fold
lip at the end on the boot (the Focus was flat so you could slide kit straight in)

There’s a raised floor for the MKII which is available as an option or can be picked up off fleabay which solves this.

There’s a raised floor for the MKII which is available as an option or can be picked up off fleabay which solves this.

Nice. I know it’s an option with the mk. 2 and can be used to hide a regular spare (as opposed to a spacesaver).

The chassis is decent and could probabaly have had TFSI K04 engine out of faster VAGs like Cupra, Golf Ed30, Golf R etc (230-270PS).

Or the lump supplied can be tuned way past 200bhp, with a significant increase in torque (certainly on the petrol).

I’m not convinced that anything much past 200bhp is a good idea in a FWD car tho…!

(Stage One tuning I’m looking at goes to between 205-220bhp – more than enough)

Well, mate has one and we’ve just driven it to Morzine and back so I’ve spent the best part of 24hours in one in the last week.

Lovely car, really comfortable.

Easily fitted 2 bikes, spares and a weeks worth of clothes in the back, and we still got the parcel shelf on.

Plenty quick enough, slightly thirsty on fuel, nice solid steering, felt very well made.

Only things I didn’t like was the lack of cruise control and I couldn’t get the steering wheel/seat setup right to be able to easily get my foot on the brake without bumping the wheel. That could be due to the way my mate has it setup and I didn’t want to fiddle with it too much.

If you want space go for some thing like a Modneo Estate which is far far bigger than a Octavia.

Octavia boot is largest in its class, inc Mondeo (I can dig the figures out tonight, GF works for Skoda and have all the comparison charts at home).

I have a mk2 vRS 2.0 TSI estate and its brilliant.

Had a Mondeo ST TDCI hatchback before this and in terms of build quality, the Skoda is far, far better and in terms of handling, its on a different planet. The big diesel lump in the Mondeo made fast A and B road driving ‘interesting’ – no such problems with the Octy which feels like a much lighter car.

The boot isn’t as big as the Mondeo estate but I knew about that before I got it but its plenty big enough for all our gear for biking/surfing/holidays even with a 2 year old and the massive pile of associated junk we need to carry around for him.

Bike carrying ability is excellent too – roofbars take my Thule setup no problems and even with 3 bikes on the roof, 3 people in the car and a boot full of stuff, I still averaged 35mpg on the M62/M6/M56 the other week.

One thing to look out for and something I wasn’t full aware of when we got ours is the stereo options. Ours has the boggo standard Cd player with no CD changer and no iPod connectivity. I’d definitely reccommend shopping around for one that does have these as I really miss it – going to get a new headunit fitted sometime but I want to keep the parking sensor display so need to look into other OEM VAG units.

Excellent cars though… missus loves it because its understated. I love it because even with a bootload of stuff and the bikes on the roof, it flies!

Have read about the Shark performance upgrades. On the list… along with coding the spare chrome grill I have in the cellar, dropping it a bit on coilers, LCR splitter and a wheel refurb…

Do they not normally come with rear ‘lecce windows?
Not the pre-FL, I don’t think.

This was an optional extra but then Skoda UK added it to all new cars during 2007.

Look out fro ones that have a Jumbo box. This is the central console that runs through the car. It contains AC ducts for the back of the car. Cars that have this will also have the rear electric windows.

I’ve been running a 57 plate VRS TDI hatch for almost 4yrs. Its the longest I have ever owned a car. Which says a great deal about how good the cars are.

Watch out for delaminating windscreens, common issue on the Octavia and some Audis. You get a pasty white band at the bottom of the windscreen. This can happen to front or back.

Cruise control can be added for just over £100.

I have a mk2 vRS 2.0 TSI estate and its brilliant.

Had a Mondeo ST TDCI hatchback before this and in terms of build quality, the Skoda is far, far better and in terms of handling, its on a different planet. The big diesel lump in the Mondeo made fast A and B road driving ‘interesting’ – no such problems with the Octy which feels like a much lighter car.

I’m confused with this as I have a Mondeo 2.2 TitX and my brother has the Octavia VRS TDi. We both agree that in terms of power and handling mine has a noticable edge over his VRS even without the lowered ST supension. On country roads I’ll leave him behind quite easily and when driving his it feels harder work to try and keep up. The VRS has better braking without a doubt but still not up with a BMW.
The interior build quality and paint feel and look better on the Skoda but mine hasn’t been back for repairs yet unlike my brothers which has had problems with the DPF and ECU (twice).

Mine has now been remapped by CNL, decated, uprated aircooler and hoses. My brothers VRS is left for dead through the gears or any in gear acceleration and still returns average of 45mpg or nearly 56mpg on a run.