Motoring Discussion > Skoda Octavia vrs? Buying / Selling
Thread Author: sooty123 Replies: 23

 Skoda Octavia vrs? - sooty123
Anyone got one of these on about a 05 plate, looking at a diesel but if you have a petrol I would be interested to know your thoughts on the car. They look very nice and skoda come out well in most surveys. Also thinking of a golf in the 9k bracket but I think I like the look of the skoda better, but the golf will probably hold it's money better.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Skoda
Brilliant :-) I think avant's got a diesel Vrs but on an ~08 plate? Mine is a petrol / face lift but i absolutely love it. Can't knock it.

The xenon headlamps are worth seeking out in a used buy. The leather's easy to keep clean but it's not got the highest quality feel that i've ever come across. The heated seats are on the weak side, on max setting it will never get to "ouch it's too hot to sit here", but they will do the job. The touchscreen stereo's very good, the GPS version has enough cool features that you wouldn't regret buying it, but being sensible about it a tomtom kicks it into touch for the money difference. EDIT: the rear visibility is ok but not astounding, i'm glad mine has reverse parking sensors for extra confidence.

Steering's pretty sharp. The engine's always ready to go. The brakes are a good step up from the ordinary. If you're buying automatic/DSG make sure it's had it's 40k oil change.
Last edited by: Skoda on Wed 8 Sep 10 at 08:43
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Hard Cheese

I have done a couple of hundred miles in a '10 CR diesel estate, not much to fault but for a little wind noise at speed and rather a lot of road noise from the rear, more than my Focus ST for instance.

However an '05 would be a grumbly, rumbly PD diesel so I would look for a petrol.

 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Fenlander
For a while now I've been a big supporter of the Octavia but couldn't quite come to buy one in the end at a recent swap. I wonder what you have at the moment Sooty?

Having run a Mondeo sized car for a good few years I found the Octavia felt just a little cramped in comparison. Probably the main decider though... following up on Cheddar's comments... was the firm ride, and road/wind noise. The refinement of both the 05 and 10 plate Skoda's I've been in was a fair bit down on my 01 Mondeo.

If you are OK with those aspects though then they've a lot going for them.

I do intend to try one again in 2yrs at the next change and see if I feel any different.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 8 Sep 10 at 09:33
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Zero
Yup great cars, but there is a LOT of road noise. Enough that it made go for an Altea XL instead.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Skoda
>> a little wind noise at speed and rather a lot of road noise from the rear

>> and road/wind noise

>> Yup great cars, but there is a LOT of road noise

I reckon these are all fair criticism of the Octy. The road noise is something you should check out, can you live with it?

The prescribed fix is sound deadening material under the boot floor and rear seats. It's about £40 delivered for a big roll of the cheap stuff off ebay with spare leftover.


 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Glaikit Wee Scunner Snr. {P}
It's about £40 delivered for a big roll of the cheap stuff off ebay with spare leftover.

I'm interested at that price. Can you be more specific please. Lots of sound proofing/deadening materials around.
I have got an Octavia Elegance which also suffers with road noise.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Skoda
>> Can you be more specific please

Yeah sure (credit where it's due, this is all pinched off the excellent briskoda.net site).

To do a complete job, you add weight to the big panels that vibrate, this dampens any low frequency sound, bitumen tape is the cheap option rather than dynamat or its clones. Most commonly folks will only do the bit to stop the high frequencies - you "carpet" everything with an air gap. Thick woolen underlay is the cheapest method.

Cut some thick underlay to shape of the wheel well, boot, and rear bench and lay over, it should cover everything, within reason - doesn't need to be perfect.

Sample stuff £30 / delivered -->

cgi.ebay.co.uk/10mm-Thick-Wool-Rich-Felt-Carpet-Underlay-/170531854417?pt=UK_Home_Garden_FittedCarpets_Underlay_SM&hash=item27b47d9851#ht_1529wt_911

But...

To do a complete job (and it's very cheap), you want to apply "Flashing tape" under the underlay, and generously, directly to the metal centre of larger panels.

e.g. the boot floor, under the rear seat. It's not important to cover everything, the idea is to add weight to the parts of the panels which flex / vibrate (the centres). Don't cover fixings / bolts etc. because the glue's strong.

Sample stuff -->

www.toolstation.com/shop/Structural/Roofline+Ventilation/Flashing+Tape+225+mm+x+10+m/d210/sd2747/p44914


Again, this is thanks to the excellent folks on briskoda.net


Last edited by: Skoda on Wed 8 Sep 10 at 19:41
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - BobbyG
>>Yup great cars, but there is a LOT of road noise. Enough that it made go for an Altea XL instead.

Interesting as I find my Altea XL very noisy with road noise. In fact even back to my first test drive, I remember commenting on this to the salesman and at that time I was comparing to a Scenic that I had.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Zero
Yeah, worse than the Altea.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Woodster
I simply don't get the road noise thing. I test drove 2 hatchbacks on the same dual carriageway that I drive on every day specifically to listen for the road noise. Absolutely no different to the Golf I had. Bought the Octavia and I've just been to the South of France in it, fully loaded. 85 all the way, air con all the time, 45 mpg overall. I can't fault it and I've driven countless cars at work over the years.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - sooty123
Thanks for all info so far. I shall take one for a test drive and see if the road noise bothers me. I think some people seem to be more susceptible to road noise than others, I've seen people swear blind hatchbacks are alot noisier than saloons, yet I could never tell the difference.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Alastairw
I have found that my Octy is noticeable quieter when fully laden. The full boot must absorb the road noise I suppose.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Bellboy
>> I have found that my Octy is noticeable quieter when fully laden. The full boot
>> must absorb the road noise I suppose.
>>
>>>> interesting,must tell the boys that one next time we shift some cadavers,,,,,,,, :-)
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - CGNorwich
Have an Octavia and whilst it is definitely at the the noisier end of the road noise spectrum you have to see this in proportion. You can't expect the vehicle to be as quite as a BMW or Audi costing much more and whilst I think it is more prone to road noise than a Golf it is not that much more noisy. The problem I think is mainly due to the large boot floor. It is by no means anywhere near unacceptable (to me at least) and this slight negative is more than outweighed by the other very positive features of the car. Like Woodster I will be taking the car to the south of France next week and I won't be worrying about road noise. I would say that if you are interested in an Octavia don't be put off by others , just try one for yourself
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Thu 9 Sep 10 at 10:24
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Iffy
Road noise seems to be a common complaint from owners of several makes and models of cars.

The one thing all these vehicles have in common is low profile tyres.

Perhaps they are inherently noisy.

 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Zero

>> You can't expect the vehicle
>> to be as quite as a BMW or Audi costing much more

Why not? Its much much more noisy than my much much cheaper Lancer. Its more noisy than a Mondeo, or Vectra.

>> in an Octavia don't be put off by others , just try one for yourself

I did, it was unaceptable for its class and it put me off.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Zhukov
The diesel vrs is top of my list of possibles when I change my car in a years time.

I had a pre facelift Mk2 Octavia previously and put 90,000 miles on it in 2 years. It felt bomb proof and although it was a bit noisier than the Passat that replaced it, the solidity, reliability and practicality outweighed that one difference.



Last edited by: Zhukov on Thu 9 Sep 10 at 10:35
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Avant
Sorry - missed this one yesterday.

My vRS estate is an 09 and it's a CR diesel. The main differences between this and the PD engine that was fitted in 08 and before are:

- the CR is much quieter
- its acceleration is more linear: less initial turbo lag but little of the PD 'thump' of acceleration that some people like
- I've read on here and on other forums (inclusing Briskoda) that the CR is less likely to have DPF problems.

Generally if you're buying a five-year-old car, I think a petrol may be a better bet. There are too many horror stories of expensive repairs to diesels as the get older. The vRS petrol has a similar engine to the Golf GTI and feels subjectively almost as torquey as the diesel.

Road noise seems to depend to some extent on which tyres are fitted; if I had a choice I wouldn't have the low-profile tyres that are on the vRS. On mine the road noise is tolerable but I need winter tyres in snow.

That said, so far the Octavia has been excellent. An A4 Avant with the same engine us worth perhaps £1,000 more interms of quality of fittings, but not the £7,000 extra that it costs at list price.
Last edited by: Avant on Thu 9 Sep 10 at 21:06
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - BobbyG
This appeals to me:

www.autoquake.com/used-skoda-octavia/2.0t-fsi-vrs-5dr-petrol-manual/inspid=24635

 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Skoda
Is that pink staining on the outside of the coolant header tank?

Pink G12+ is rated for 10 (or 12?) years. How come that's been overflowing or needing topped up without a funnel?

Cracking car though, corrida red would be my choice if i did it again!
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - Zero
Its got 4 completely different tread patterns.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - crocks
And the discs look none too healthy.
 Skoda Octavia vrs? - BobbyG
My Fabia vrS was Corrada Red.
Washed and polished up very well, was alaways gleaming!

Have I ever mentioned that I miss it?? :(
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