As above really, been looking at an Octavia Estate Elegance 1.4 petrol through work lease. Very nice car, lots of kit etc etc.

However, have looked again and I can get a BMW 320d Touring Efficiency thing for £30 a month more.

Performance wise there isnt much in 0-60 times (yes I know that doesnt mean anything) but the BM has bags more torque, so should be more usable when lugging bikes/kids/holidays etc.

I have not driven a BMW 3 series touring so will arange a test drive, but is it a better car?

Also on my daily commute of 20 miles back road fun B roads, will the BM be more entertaining, some people say so, others say you wouldnt be able to tell they are actually rwd.

It’ll be a lot more “entertaining” come the snow/ice!
Me personally is go down the bimmer route. Couldn’t imagine driving an Octavia estate with a measly 1.4 petrol in it. Overtaking would always be “entertaining” I imagine as well 😯

Are they the only choices? What’s the boot size like on the BMW? Skoda with a proper engine would be a good option.

Bmw all the way, what’s 30quid by you these days anyhow?

earl_brutus – Member
Bmw all the way, what’s 30quid by you these days anyhow?

Lunch?

BMW + winter tyres, sorted.

I test drove a 318d Touring M Sport and it was a great drive – I was in it just to test out the M Sport suspension. I went for a 320d GT M Sport and am very happy with it. More than enough power, and really fun to drive.

Couldn’t imagine driving an Octavia estate with a measly 1.4 petrol in it. Overtaking would always be “entertaining” I imagine as well

Think you’ll find it’s the Turbo TSI engine so puts out about 140bhp..not so bad.

>Performance wise there isnt much in 0-60 times (yes I know that doesnt mean anything) <

Correct, the pick up speeds in 3rd 4th 5th are far more relevant. And the Beemer will leave the Skoda for dead in that regard. The fuel economy on that 320 engine is staggering given the performance. Costs aside you’re not comparing apples with apples in my view.

320d every time.

^^^ what he said. 320d every time. I bought a 320d M Sport Touring in Feb this year. Brilliant car. Quick. Frugal. Comfortable. Refined. Looks good.

How much is the 330d? 😀

I’ve got the exact BMW you’re looking at, well the company I work for has leased me one. I can’t fault it. It’s saved me loads on company car tax (will do 60mpg quite easily). Drives nicely and has a sport switch if you want to make it faster. I’ve found the boot ample. Got a free satnav upgrade. Don’t know about the Skoda, supposed to be good cars.

I currently have a BMW320D – saloon though. I’ve recently plaved an order for an Octavia 2.0D vRS estate (arriving mid december – yay!).

Power wise, there’s nothing in it. If anything the new vRS engine slightly outpulls my 2009 320D.

Economy. New Skoda is significantly better than my current BMW but the more modern beemers are better still.

Build quality. The 320D is better – but not by much.

Cabin space. The vRS is a more comfortable place, particularly for rear passengers.

Load capacity. No contest, the vRS wins by miles.

Have a look at the 2.0D Elegance. More toys than the vrs and only slightly down on power (150ps vs 184ps).

Are there other options, yes there are basically i will pay up to £370 pm, which is where the BM is. A 2.0 diesel Octavia would cost the same money.

I cant afford the M Sport variety unfortunately.

currently we have own car on HP, that cost £370 including insurance, we were looking at moving to co lease to save a little cash, but hay 🙂

Wrecker what standard equipment do you get?

And do the alloys look ok because they are only 16’s as opposed to others which are normally 17-18’s.

Having driven a 1.4 Polo, and owned an Octavia Elegance & 3 series, BM every day. Nicer car to drive, nicer place to be

I found the BMW very reasonably priced for leases (due to the high resale on them). Couldn’t get a Merc, VW or suchlike for anywhere near what BMW would do. That and the low tax got my business.

Wrecker what standard equipment do you get?

Normal stuff; aircon, DAB radio, auto wipers, parking sensors, computer thingy. what else do you want to know?

And do the alloys look ok because they are only 16’s as opposed to others which are normally 17-18’s.

They are small due to the efficiency thing. You may have noticed that you cannot upgrade them on the BMW site. I’m not a loon driver, but it seems to have plenty of grip to me.

I’m not a big car enthusiast, but I’m happy with this one.

I can answer this definitively as my beloved 320d SE was taken away and replaced with an Octavia last year.

The BMW was better in EVERY way except boot space, so, if boot space is your number one concern then get the BMW and suck it up.

seriously, there’s a lot of reasons they cost a lot more

Pictonroad – I guess yours is the MKII Octavia? The MKIII’s are a quantum leap over them.

Although I am looking forward to taking delivery of my new vRS, I’ll be gutted to see my 320D (also an SE) go. I love it.

The reason I’m leaving BMW is purely down to cost. The company I work for changed the rules on our leased cars – they must now have a P11D value of less than £25K (which includes all optional add-ons) and maximum emissions of 139g CO2/km (I think – may be slightly less).

This ruled out getting another 3-series. I could have gone for a 1-series, but it’s not much good for a growing family – my current 3-series can just about cope with us.

Unless the finishing kit in the Skoda is top of the range the Beemer will be much nicer all round.

There is some realy duff info spouted above ref the Skoda

The old and new Octavias are quite different I know as I had a late saloon and have just got a new SE estate 1.6 oil burner.
The interious is much better than the old one as is the whole car tbh.

So if you are to compare you need to compare like with like (which it seem you are) can you get the diesel as according to the reviews it is better than the petrol.

As for which one to get and which is better only you can judge that as everybodies requirements are different, the only thing I would to be to look at comcar and see how much tax you would pay, just had a quick look and its £500 more for the beemer add that to the extra lease and its about £1300 a year more if a 20% tax payer and double that if 40%

Ps the beemer does look nice

I’ve got a new model 320d, with ‘efficient dynamics’ (This was only available to the fleet market when I made the choice). It’s basically an SE model.

Lovely car, not huge bootspace though (Compared with say a 5 series) but very nice in all other respects. Drives well, 65mpg, you can turn the efficient dynamics off, and it becomes a lively 180bhp BMW.

I’m no fan of BMW’s but Skoda v BMW…..you cannot be serious! 😯

I want a 320d, but KJ02 is spending all the cash in Nursery.

Only 3 years to go.

I want a 320d, but KJ02 is spending all the cash in Nursery.

I hear you Brother.

What we’ll do with the extra 700 quid we pay now in three years I don’t know, but a new car will be top of the list.

I’m waiting to see the company car rules for my new job but these two are at the top of my wishlist.

The main thing the BMW has over the skoda for me is that BMW bother swapping the handbrake over for RHD cars which VAG don’t and it really pisses me off 👿

Also, the company car tax on the skoda is about £30 a month less, but that handbrake, AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

I have a 320d m sport estate and it is fine in all regards,

It is not the most entertaining car to drive but is quick(ish) and very good on petrol (25k in last year or so and about 50mpg average.

However Mercedes seem to be giving their cars away to leasing companies at the moment. I am sure a quick google will show C220 or C250d at less than £400, some of them even cover maintenance and tyres too!

I don’t think I would pay approx. £100 premium for a BM over the Merc!

What we’ll do with the extra 700 quid we pay now in three years I don’t know, but a new car will be top of the list.

Don’t kid yourself!

We thought the same – our two are 17 months apart so Nursery seemed to go on forever. We’re now skinter-er than ever before. 😐

just let me dream Freddy 🙂

I’m waiting to see the company car rules for my new job but these two are at the top of my wishlist.

The main thing the BMW has over the skoda for me is that BMW bother swapping the handbrake over for RHD cars which VAG don’t and it really pisses me off

Also, the company car tax on the skoda is about £30 a month less, but that handbrake, AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

The handbrake initially pissed me off no end when I had a demo car for a weekend. A couple of hours driving later and it was okay. I still can’t say I like it, but it isn’t a deal-breaker.

If you’ve got boys you’ll be spending £700 per month on trousers. As soon as they get to school trouser knees disappear at an alarming rate.

You dream on Warton. The bairns are worth every penny. 😀

Prawny, you don’t mention school shoes? My lad managed to scuff a pair while we were in the shop trying them on!!

@freddy, I had a C-max a while ago that was the same, like you say you get used to it fairly quickly, but I think it’s bad that a ‘premium’ brand does something so slapdash. They don’t even bother to swap it on A4s with a proper handbrake, and I’m fairly sure the e-brake is the wrong side. Slack.

Oh god, shoes!I’ve had more use out of condoms

@Prawny. While downselecting cars before ordering the vRS, I had a Golf. That had the e-brake and despite putting 400+ miles on it over a weekend, I just couldn’t get used to it. Bloody awful thing.

freddyg – Member
What we’ll do with the extra 700 quid we pay now in three years I don’t know, but a new car will be top of the list.
Don’t kid yourself!

We thought the same – our two are 17 months apart so Nursery seemed to go on forever. We’re now skinter-er than ever before.

Sigh.

Kryton57 – Member

freddyg – Member
What we’ll do with the extra 700 quid we pay now in three years I don’t know, but a new car will be top of the list.
Don’t kid yourself!

We thought the same – our three are all over 20 so University seemed to go on forever. We’re now skinter-er than ever before.

Sigh.
Sigh.

Says Mr New Bike ^^^ 😉

I have a 2011 320d auto estate (privately owned). Pretty basic in terms of kit (SE Model, heated seats, leather, DAB, windows…).

Drives nicely, plenty of power and comfortable. However, I was lucky as our car came with a full set of BMW alloys with winter tyres. Makes a massive difference, auto rear wheel drive would not be the first choice of car in crap weather.

I have had problems with the N47 engine (would not care if it was a company car though). Chain guides replaced twice under warranty – at around 6k and 22k miles. Engine is good apart from that issue though, very economical, accelerates with gusto (leave bike racks on and it is still 45+ mpg). Think the engine is still in the line up.

However, I sat in a new VRS estate and they are smart inside, loads of kit and probably a lot of fun to drive. Would consider one myself, if buying again, but the wife likes German stuff. 🙄 Boot can’t be beat either.

Drove a new 3 series (320d ‘luxury’) and the interior was nice (fancy sat nav, nicely built, good wireless etc). Even the saloon had a decent boot, slid a mtb right in.

The new Octavia estate is subject to delays of up to 3months. This might affect your decision
There’s a problem (I think it’s Front Assist) that Skoda are fixing at the factory rather than doing a recall.

Probably a bit of a no brainer this one. Of the two cars, if someone was giving me one, it would be the BMW every time. However, the boot is probably not as generous as the Skoda and there will almost certainly be a sizeable difference in the company car tax (if it is being seen as a company car). If I was spending my own money I would probably be tempted by the Skoda though as it is a lot cheaper and therefore I wouldn’t need to spend so much money and I can live with the compromise. Of cars that size (if you have a wider choice) then don’t discount the Astra Estate or the Focus estate as both are also very good cars and will weigh in cheaper (in company car tax at least) than the BMW.