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...
