I posted this on HJ: possible some of you on here might be interested in some thoughts on the past 30,000 miles - almost all positive thoughts. Not really a running report, as nothing's gone wrong (so far of course).
This is my third vRS estate - the first was a diesel manual, the second a petrol DSG, and this one a petrol manual. This isn't just me being fickle: I did 20,000 a year when I went for the diesel, following several other diesel cars. Mileage decreased to about 12,000 and the next one was fine except that I always felt that the DSG (although totally reliable) was holding the car's acceleration back. That certainly isn't the case with the current manual, which has the 217 bhp GTI engine and goes like a bomb.
As many of us have commented on here, the torque on this engine is superb. Although it's great to be able to use the performance from time to time (not least when joining a motorway or doing a quick overtake), the designer was well aware that the great majority of one's driving is spent pootling.
The 30,000 mark came up in the middle of the last 2 weeks' trip to Scotland: I did two lectures in Glasgow after which SWMBO and I made a holiday of it and stayed with friends near Aberdeen, then a couple of nights each in Plockton, then the Lodge by Loch Lomond, then Langdale in the Lake District, then Symonds Yat. The Skoda never missed a beat and averaged an excellent 40 mpg (the car computer is accurate and I believe the odometer is also). And of course we didn't have to travel light, for which SWMBO as you can imagine was thankful.
The miles have happened in only 18 months, more than I expected to do: moving to north Dorset meant a lot of barrelling up and down the A303, and still does, two or three times a month. Reliability excellent once again.
So it's a Golf GTI with space (and cheaper to buy and insure). It's surprising how often, even in semi-retirement, one needs that space, so I'm glad I went for another Octavia rather than being seduced by the GTI itself.
I'd give it 8.5 out of 10: half a point off for restricting the colours you can have a vRS in (mine is red but I'd rather have had the very pleasant light 'denim blue' metallic that is available on lesser Octavias). And the other point off is for the excessively hard ride, partially caused by the 225/40/18 tyres which are too low-profile for my taste (and particularly SWMBO's, although her Mini Roadster is just as unforgiving).
If I find I can't afford a new car next year, this is one I'd be happy to keep. But if I can, something a little higher off the ground and more softly sprung might beckon.
A final thought, with which some of you will disagree. The more I read of tales of woe on here from people incurring expensive repairs on middle-aged cars, most likely due to abuse or neglect by previous owners, the less I wonder (as I have each time I buy a new car) whether I should have had a used 'premium brand' for the same money as a new Skoda.
The logical choices seem to me to be (1) buy a new car if you can afford it, or (2) buy an old quality car and cherish it, like GB's Mercedes, or (3) go the bangernomics route. And don't buy a used diesel.
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It's good to read about cars that people have really got to know well. My Ling leased C250 estate goes back in 9 months, so I will have to start thinking about a replacement soon. The C250 has good points, but I'd also have to mark it down for excessively hard ride, which has increasingly got to me over time. So, I think I too will be looking for something a little higher off the ground and more softly sprung - do you have a short list that you think will tick thoses boxes?
My neighbour has replaced their vRS estate with a Discovery, that may be taking higher off the ground and more softly sprung to the extreme!
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Lots of sense there Avant. 99% of driving time is spent pootling along, and only rarely do you use the full performance potential. Nice to have though, and it certainly helps when overtaking ( without it you sometimes wouldn't I suppose!). Despite a few long runs recently, Edinburgh to Settle, making progress as they say, I still return 33mpg from the 330.
Made me laugh a few weeks ago when after a long distance walking weekend a passenger fell asleep en route home, and waking up on the A74M told me she thought she had fallen asleep in a car and awoken in a train. The scenery was going past quite rapidly. We were definitely sucking gas at the time!
I assume the build quality is ok, no squeaks or rattles, but then it is still almost new. Last weekend i spent aseveral hours in a new 308, and thought the build quality inferior to my 11yo BMW, which is still completely rattle free. I am away most of the year until Nov, maybe longer, so when the time does come to change maybe I should consider a second hand Octavia vRS. I too will be staying with a petrol. Shame the Golf R estate is DSG only, and the fast Leon only comes on 19" rims.
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>> The logical choices seem to me to be (1) buy a new car if you
>> can afford it, or (2) buy an old quality car and cherish it, like GB's
>> Mercedes, or (3) go the bangernomics route. And don't buy a used diesel.
>>
Option 1 is a bit hit and miss in our recent experience.
1st car was fine, second car a lemon and the third is off to a shaky start.
Fine if you can afford to replace every two, three or four years but my current mileage does not warrant that and sinking £30+k in option 1 could be a financial disaster.
You may cry the warranty, the warranty. Our second car crashed the gearbox with six months of the warranty left to run. Barge pole touch with would not it a.
Last edited by: gmac on Sun 24 May 15 at 17:44
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Do tell us what the three cars in question are, Gmac!
Paul and LL - I think we have some of the same priorities. It's a pity that so many manufacturers assume that if you want a car with a bit of zing, you therefore want a boneshaking ride to go with it. I suspect that a new BMW 330i wouldn't ride as well as yours does.
Audi offer a no-cost option to delete the sports suspension, which is worth a look. A Q3 could be a possibility so equipped, although a friend in our village has one, a 2.0 TDI, and is disappointed with it. He says it's a 'lump' - no fun to drive.
Others which might tick the boxes:
BMW 2-series Active Tourer - silly name but seems a nice car. I tried, and was impressed by, the 218i that was available as a demonstrator: with a bit more power, as in the 220i, it could be even better.
VW Golf SV - I'd want the GT with the 1.4 TSI engine and 150 bhp: this has harder suspension but apparently adaptive dampers are available.
Volvo V60 - had a good long run in one and liked it: but do I want to go back to diesel? (Volvo only offer a 1.6 petrol unless you go for the Polestar which costs £50,000). Perhaps next year it'll be clear whether the scare stories are well-founded or not. In the Sunday Times today it appears that the tests for Euro 6 compliance have been carried out in laboratories which don't reflect reality on the road.
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV - expensive, and unlike other hybrids the electric motor doesn't give a lively step-off from rest. Very ponderous.
Mazda CX-5 - too big for our Dorset lanes (as is the Discovery Sport mentioned above - and I don't think I'd have been writing a report about 30,000 trouble-free miles if I'd had one of those....)
Ford C-Max - new model coming so haven't tried one. But likely to be mostly diesel.
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>> Do tell us what the three cars in question are, Gmac!
>>
1) 2009 Citroën Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi EGS
2) 2012 Citroën Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi EGS stop/start
3) 2015 Toyota Auris Touring Sport hybrid
>> Volvo V60 - had a good long run in one and liked it: but do
>> I want to go back to diesel? (Volvo only offer a 1.6 petrol unless you
>> go for the Polestar which costs £50,000). Perhaps next year it'll be clear whether the
>> scare stories are well-founded or not. In the Sunday Times today it appears that the
>> tests for Euro 6 compliance have been carried out in laboratories which don't reflect reality
>> on the road.
>>
The new engines are all 2.0 VEA four pots regardless of fuel consumed. T2,3,4,5,6; D2,3,4,5,6 are all denominations of power and nothing to do with engine size.
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Missed the edit, a bit BMW'ey with regards to engine size vs power output.
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Thanks for sharing your short list Avant - I'll nominate a wild card for you:
Peugeot 3008 1.6 THP 156 Allure
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Not forgetting the SEAT Leon jacket-up-thingumybob. They look handy.
Volvo have a jacked up S and V60 now too. Reduced engine option but must have a pensioner special in there ;-)
Last edited by: gmac on Sun 24 May 15 at 19:41
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...V40 too. That was the demo I had. It's horrible; avoid.
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Sounds an interesting car, although it would be interesting to hear what the reliability at 60000 is. VAG cars are not on my shopping list, I prefer Japanese or Ford (petrol only).
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I had a V40 D2 when my car was in for work.
I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Horrible, horrible effort !!!
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"Peugeot 3008 1.6 THP 156 Allure "
Thanks Paul - in theory that should make perfect sense. But....
I had a look at one in a showroom and there's nowhere to put a spare wheel, so even a spacesaver isn't offered as an extra. And according to the road tests, you have to fiddle with menus just to change the temperature inside the car. Both of those might sound trivial, but I couldn't live with them.
A Mercedes GLA also has nowhere to put a spare wheel, but if that isn't an issue for you, Paul, it might be more comfortable than your C250. The B-class has room for a space-saver: I hated the diesel one I had a few years ago, but it's a new model now and a petrol might be a possibility.
A lot of my mileage - when not barrelling up the A303 - is local trips which are under 10 miles there and back. In theory a plug-in hybrid would make sense, but the extra initial cost of, for example, the A3 e-tron over the ordinary 1.4 TSI would take forever to recoup.
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Interesting, the things that are important to us as individuals - must make life difficult for car companies. My last few cars with climate control have been set to 21C and auto and I've not touched the controls again, so having to fiddle with menus wouldn't be an issue for me.
The third priority of me will be a more refined engine, so a GLA is unlikely, but as with all these things there's always a compromise to be made...
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>> My last few cars with climate control have been set to 21C
>> and auto and I've not touched the controls again,
Same here, automatic climate control is an excellent set and forget system.
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...until the windscreen needs full demist on a cold day, or you just feel like something a bit different. I vary mine from 18°C up to 22 depending on the outside weather and how I'm feeling. A click-stopped dial in my eyeline makes that easy; a touch screen makes it difficult verging on dangerous.
Cheaper for the makers, though - and a handy showroom gimmick to impress the easily impressed.
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Skoda - 30,000 miles with an Octavia vRS estate - Paul Robinson
