New Passat or New Octavia vRS 170 Diesel ?

[jvaughan]

Time has come to make a decision on the company car. Ive been toying with a Volvo, but cannot bring myself to like it.

Looked at the new Passat ... Lots of room, and this morning, I saw a new Skoda Octavia vRS Diesel in my local dealers for less than £19000.

This has thrown a spanner in the works ... anyone got any opinions on them ?

[agent006]

We've had lots of niggly nasty little problems with our Octavia 140 diesel. Quality and (especially) dealer service not up to what you'd expect based on the usual reliability surveys. The core engineering of the car is good and reliable but there are some shocking bits of poor design and places where the car has obviously been engineered down to a price. But i've also heard all that about the new passat too. Octavia is much bigger than the Golf though, we certainly don't miss any of the size of our old Laguna.

You mention Volvo, have you tried the V50? Was very impressed with the one i drove a while back. 2.0d not as quick or economical as the VW diesels but a step up in quality.

[jvaughan]

The V50 really did things for me but it would have to be the D5 engined car, and I would like a manual box. Currently the V50 isnt available with that option. (vRS is also £4000 cheaper)

New Passat has the edge wrt capacity, but ive just seen the vRS and its made an impression. Obviously it uses the same VAG 170TDI engine.. Build quality is a concern though.

[monkeyhanger]

jvaughan said:

Build quality is a concern though.

Why, because a post on here says someone had problems? My Mk1 RS has been excellent, save for the old VAG coil pack issue which was sorted under warranty.

If you put all your faith in internet forums you'll never buy a car. Test drive one and then decide

[jvaughan]

Thanks for that gem there.... I dont live my life by internet forums, and swear by their advice, but as SKODA are the budget side of VAG, if im spending £19,000 on a car, I want one that lives up to the build quality I would expect from a German Manufacturer. Likewise, if the Passat gave me the same warm feeling as the skoda does when I look at it, I would expect the car to be build solidly.

you can never have too many oppinions, personally, I like to make up my own mind, but who can predict 2 years down the line >?