Czech out my family wagon - Skoda Octavia VRS estate
Discussion
With my children finally exiting private childcare I no longer needed to drive the motoring equivalent of purgatory (Kia Ceed SW) as my family car but still needed a lot of boot space. I also wanted some pace with decent handling whilst not being too expensive to run.
My favourite thread on PH is the smoker barge one so naturally I looked at BMW E61s and Mercedes E-classes but my appetite was not whetted.
I somehow ended up with rampant budget creep and ended up looking at mk3 Octavia estates. I also considered the Leon Cupra estate and Golf R estate but the greater space and more staid image of the Skoda appealed.
I picked this up on Tuesday and have been enjoying driving it since then, including a 150 mile journey back from the dealer. I love the colour (but realise it's a bit marmite) and is in excellent condition. I'm not a fan of the alloys which I think are overly large and a bit garish. I may change these. Also not a fan of the fake exhaust tips and fake engine noise in sport mode.
It rides and handles well for what it is and the performance feels very strong for the quoted power and torque figures.
Enough rambling, here's a picture.
My favourite thread on PH is the smoker barge one so naturally I looked at BMW E61s and Mercedes E-classes but my appetite was not whetted.
I somehow ended up with rampant budget creep and ended up looking at mk3 Octavia estates. I also considered the Leon Cupra estate and Golf R estate but the greater space and more staid image of the Skoda appealed.
I picked this up on Tuesday and have been enjoying driving it since then, including a 150 mile journey back from the dealer. I love the colour (but realise it's a bit marmite) and is in excellent condition. I'm not a fan of the alloys which I think are overly large and a bit garish. I may change these. Also not a fan of the fake exhaust tips and fake engine noise in sport mode.
It rides and handles well for what it is and the performance feels very strong for the quoted power and torque figures.
Enough rambling, here's a picture.
I’m looking for an estate atm and keep coming back to either an Octavia 245 or a Superb 206 (or tbh a Kodiaq). Like you I’ve been browsing things like Mercs and BMWs but they are all a lot older with higher mileage than equivalently priced Skodas.
I like the grey: it is a proper grey, none of that metallic nonsense
I’d be interested to know what you think of it.
I like the grey: it is a proper grey, none of that metallic nonsense
I’d be interested to know what you think of it.
Agreed on the wheels, I don't get why Skoda thought they were a good idea as they're completely out of keeping with the rest of the car and the more sober image these have. Anyway, these are really nice cars - whenever I've been looking for a new motor, these have been a consideration but for whatever reason (mainly price tbfh), I've not gone for one yet.
Brompty said:
I am sorely tempted by these. What is it actually like to drive? I like the colour, but prefer that weird green that Skoda uses.
Drives well for what it is, a decent sized family bus. It's pretty keen to change direction and doesn't roll or wallow. Seems to have a good balance between ride and handling, even on the 19s. The body control is good over some of the b-roads here and the control weights feel good and well matched.
On the downside there isn't much steering feel, though it's quick and accurate enough, it'll struggle to put the power down out of tight corners if you're really on it and I don't think it's adjustable at the rear in any shape or form, not on the road anyway.
I have the manual and I like that it gives a little more interaction. I'm told the DSG is a good 'box though.
Thank you for your comments all.
Initial thoughts are mainly positive but with some negatives.
Let's do the positives first:
I love the colour
The car is in excellent condition, though it should be as a Skoda approved car
I got 12 months manufacturer warranty and breakdown cover so that was nice
The ride quality on the 19s is surprisingly good
I think it's a handsome car for a family estate
The boot and rear space
The car feels very good for the quoted power and torque figures
Handles well enough
Glad I went for the manual gearbox
Infotainment and the toys are nice to have in day to day motoring
Negatives:
I'm not a fan of the alloys which I think are overly large and a bit garish. I may change these
Also not a fan of the fake exhaust tips and fake engine noise in sport mode
Booms a bit at motorway speeds
Not much steering feel
Wheel hop...
Before I bought it I thought about a stage 1 remap and fitting an underseat sub but I don't think either are must haves. I will probably get the underside and cavities dinitrolled as I plan on keeping the car for a long while.
Initial thoughts are mainly positive but with some negatives.
Let's do the positives first:
I love the colour
The car is in excellent condition, though it should be as a Skoda approved car
I got 12 months manufacturer warranty and breakdown cover so that was nice
The ride quality on the 19s is surprisingly good
I think it's a handsome car for a family estate
The boot and rear space
The car feels very good for the quoted power and torque figures
Handles well enough
Glad I went for the manual gearbox
Infotainment and the toys are nice to have in day to day motoring
Negatives:
I'm not a fan of the alloys which I think are overly large and a bit garish. I may change these
Also not a fan of the fake exhaust tips and fake engine noise in sport mode
Booms a bit at motorway speeds
Not much steering feel
Wheel hop...
Before I bought it I thought about a stage 1 remap and fitting an underseat sub but I don't think either are must haves. I will probably get the underside and cavities dinitrolled as I plan on keeping the car for a long while.
Phil, love these! Great family cars with decent turn of speed. I had the Mk3 petrol 220 vRS DSG estate for 2 years. It was white with Pano roof and Columbus. Cracking car.
Sold it privately for strong money almost immediately - there was loads of interest.
Previously I had a Mk2 petrol DSG estate for 7 years and 90k miles!
Love the colour choice too!! My current car is also in ‘Primer’, haha.
Enjoy it, great choice.
Sold it privately for strong money almost immediately - there was loads of interest.
Previously I had a Mk2 petrol DSG estate for 7 years and 90k miles!
Love the colour choice too!! My current car is also in ‘Primer’, haha.
Enjoy it, great choice.
phil_cardiff said:
It's a petrol and I'm considering turning off the fake noise thingy under the windscreen but I think you can turn it right down in the driving modes anyway.
I'll work on the interior pics but the kids have been at it already! Mats, rear seat covers, boot liner all on order...
You can in the custom settings but it never goes to zero. I think it's like 'Engine' to 'Comfort' setting. I'll work on the interior pics but the kids have been at it already! Mats, rear seat covers, boot liner all on order...
We have a 230vRS DSG (pre facelift) in the same colour. We love it!
We've owned it from new, and it's been very good. I think it must be 3 years old now and has almost 70k km on the clock.
I managed to find some replacement (brand new) 19" alloys with tyres locally after Mrs RC kerbed 3/4 wheels, 2 of them beyond repair.
I'm taking the car back to it's home at the end of next week as a mate and I are heading to Prague to drink beer for a few days.
We had a previous vRS 170 diseasal that we had for 4 years and 80k km (50k miles). The only thing that went "wrong" with that was a small paint job under warranty where the under bonnet rubber trim rubbed the underside of the bonnet. The service mechanic noticed it and it was sorted very quickly.
We've owned it from new, and it's been very good. I think it must be 3 years old now and has almost 70k km on the clock.
I managed to find some replacement (brand new) 19" alloys with tyres locally after Mrs RC kerbed 3/4 wheels, 2 of them beyond repair.
I'm taking the car back to it's home at the end of next week as a mate and I are heading to Prague to drink beer for a few days.
We had a previous vRS 170 diseasal that we had for 4 years and 80k km (50k miles). The only thing that went "wrong" with that was a small paint job under warranty where the under bonnet rubber trim rubbed the underside of the bonnet. The service mechanic noticed it and it was sorted very quickly.
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