MK1 Octavia VRS, an Owners review.
Discussion
The MK1 Octavia VRS then… I found when looking at these, there were a few threads around the internet asking “Are these s
t, or not?”. Well, something to that effect anyway. So thought I’d do a little write up, now I’m a few months into ownership, answering questions I always get asked.
How did you end up here?
Well its a long and convoluted story, to stay the least. But after doing a little “downsizing” from my MK5 GTI, I found myself in a Mk2 Mazda MX5 RS. Now, this was a truly epic car that I got for a very good price. However, I must’ve been using Man Maths as I completely forgot about the traffic I often sit in and the fact that I’m 6ft 4. Cue some Man Maths again, and I ended up with a Manual BMW 330ci. Again, I forgot that I dont like throwing money away on unreliable German cars…. so here I am. An Octavia VRS.
After a good trawl through classifieds, I found myself once again making a last minute dash to buy one I liked. I was struggling to find ones under £2k, with under 100k on the clock. However, when this one popped up on ebay I had to enquire. The owner should’ve rang alarm bells really, ticking the “Difficult to contact” and “Worryingly low price” boxes. An 86k car, with a FULL skoda history and a fair bit of recent work on it too!
However, upon finally getting ahold of him and having a chat, I found myself on a train to Bognor. The owner picked me up from the station, and I was pretty much given the keys and told “Take it as far as you want”. Turns out he had the thing for 11 years, he’d kept every tax disc and only used it for weekends and holidays. A deal was struck, including 2 full size spare wheels for £1400.
You do realise its yellow, right?
Yes, its the colour I wanted. No, seriously. As much as I consider myself a petrol head, I often get drawn in by a colour I like. The BMW previous to this is a great example of me being a fking moron and going “oooooh its RED!”. Anyway, the Skoda is a very dull looking car. The VRS makes a big improvement but its still pretty “Meh”, paint it yellow and in my opinion its brilliant.
How Reliable has it been?
It’s been pretty good, actually. I’ve had one issue with it going into an awful misfire and giving me a bit of a scare, which I tracked down to just cleaning some electrical parts. Another thing I’ve had to replace is the Thermostat, and Temp Sensor. Other than that and “Maintenance” its been good. It probably helps that I know a lot of VAG specialists, but honestly you can buy cheap eBay VAGCOM leads for this car that work for reading codes. And then there’s the “Briskoda” forum, which is single handedly the most helpful one make forum I’ve ever come across.
Where have you taken it?
Well, as a bit of a baptism of fire, within a month or two of ownership it went on a small roadtrip. I say small, the round trip was 4150+ miles. Taking it to the Nurburgring, Munich, Lake Como, Rome, Sicily, and back. On the long boring stuff, it wasn’t perfect but it was damn good! On the Autobahn, it was a little out of its comfort zone but I managed 140mph which is pretty much its book figure. Not bad for a 13 year old Skoda? On the Nurburgring, it was a proper giggle. Especially in the really twisty sections, and the surrounding roads. The same goes for the Stelvio Pass, it just ate the steep roads and tight corners. In the same way it dodged mad italians in busy city centres. I honestly think, as an all rounder, it was perfect for the trip. At least, at my budget.
Well whats the Performance like?
I truly think its one of the best MK4 Golf Chassis out there. I know thats a bit like saying, I think falling down the stairs is better than falling down 2 flights of stairs. Which is actually a good metaphor for the way the MK4 Golf GTI handles. The Skoda, although it feels a little stiffer and more “Chuckable” is still not a light car, you have to get used to throwing the weight around. But once you do, it does reward you. Since I’ve owned it, I’ve thrown on a white-line adjustable RARB. which makes the lift off oversteer a lot easier to engage, if a little too easy. Now I’ve gotten used to it, it actually puts a bigger smile on my face than a lot of stuff I’ve driven. I think a lot of it is the suspension travel, it means you’re never scared to hammer down a backroad as all the wheels are always touching tarmac and the bottom isn't bouncing off the floor. And as I said, its got that “Chuckable” feel to it. It’s just a giggle.
As for Power, well the mighty 180bhp is about enough I’d say. You could always get more out of these pretty easy (The 1.8T being one of the most fked with engines of all time) and I may do at some point, but for now its just right. “It gets down the road well” as people a fair bit older than me might say…. probably.
What have you done to it? You closet chav.
Well, as mentioned before the White-Line ARB is a must have, it really has made a fantastic difference. This, coupled with BrakeDepots cheapest “Grooved and dimpled” discs with mintex pads have made it a very capable car. It also has, what is becoming my trademark, Alpine head unit and JL Audio Door speakers. Mainly because the standard system is so terrible. I’ve also thrown on a Cupra R Splitter on, because I like to be a massive cliche.
What don’t you like?
There isn’t that much that annoys me, but if its one thing that annoys me its… cheapness? It may have a nice soft touch dash (well, the top part) and it does feel very well put together, don’t get me wrong. However, there is definitely a lot of cabin noise compared to the Golf. I guess thats part of VW’s genius way of putting their own brands in their classes. It’s not got that VW premium feel entirely, but at the same time it doesn't feel rattly and french.
Are you still talking? Just give us a bloody summary.
In summary, its a fantastic thing. The boot is absolutely huge, it handles pretty well, goes pretty well and I think looks pretty good too. And when comparing it to the Mk4 GTI, I’d go as far as saying it’s better than that too.. and usually cheaper. I'll admit I've been luckily and found a really, really clean car. However, a guy I work with has had his 160k car for quite a few years now and, although ropey as hell (Tatty, not unreliable), he loves it too.
I’d also like to apologise for the terrible photos, I normally take “okay” ones (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasoneaston/) but I just havent with this.
t, or not?”. Well, something to that effect anyway. So thought I’d do a little write up, now I’m a few months into ownership, answering questions I always get asked.How did you end up here?
Well its a long and convoluted story, to stay the least. But after doing a little “downsizing” from my MK5 GTI, I found myself in a Mk2 Mazda MX5 RS. Now, this was a truly epic car that I got for a very good price. However, I must’ve been using Man Maths as I completely forgot about the traffic I often sit in and the fact that I’m 6ft 4. Cue some Man Maths again, and I ended up with a Manual BMW 330ci. Again, I forgot that I dont like throwing money away on unreliable German cars…. so here I am. An Octavia VRS.
After a good trawl through classifieds, I found myself once again making a last minute dash to buy one I liked. I was struggling to find ones under £2k, with under 100k on the clock. However, when this one popped up on ebay I had to enquire. The owner should’ve rang alarm bells really, ticking the “Difficult to contact” and “Worryingly low price” boxes. An 86k car, with a FULL skoda history and a fair bit of recent work on it too!
However, upon finally getting ahold of him and having a chat, I found myself on a train to Bognor. The owner picked me up from the station, and I was pretty much given the keys and told “Take it as far as you want”. Turns out he had the thing for 11 years, he’d kept every tax disc and only used it for weekends and holidays. A deal was struck, including 2 full size spare wheels for £1400.
You do realise its yellow, right?
Yes, its the colour I wanted. No, seriously. As much as I consider myself a petrol head, I often get drawn in by a colour I like. The BMW previous to this is a great example of me being a f
king moron and going “oooooh its RED!”. Anyway, the Skoda is a very dull looking car. The VRS makes a big improvement but its still pretty “Meh”, paint it yellow and in my opinion its brilliant.How Reliable has it been?
It’s been pretty good, actually. I’ve had one issue with it going into an awful misfire and giving me a bit of a scare, which I tracked down to just cleaning some electrical parts. Another thing I’ve had to replace is the Thermostat, and Temp Sensor. Other than that and “Maintenance” its been good. It probably helps that I know a lot of VAG specialists, but honestly you can buy cheap eBay VAGCOM leads for this car that work for reading codes. And then there’s the “Briskoda” forum, which is single handedly the most helpful one make forum I’ve ever come across.
Where have you taken it?
Well, as a bit of a baptism of fire, within a month or two of ownership it went on a small roadtrip. I say small, the round trip was 4150+ miles. Taking it to the Nurburgring, Munich, Lake Como, Rome, Sicily, and back. On the long boring stuff, it wasn’t perfect but it was damn good! On the Autobahn, it was a little out of its comfort zone but I managed 140mph which is pretty much its book figure. Not bad for a 13 year old Skoda? On the Nurburgring, it was a proper giggle. Especially in the really twisty sections, and the surrounding roads. The same goes for the Stelvio Pass, it just ate the steep roads and tight corners. In the same way it dodged mad italians in busy city centres. I honestly think, as an all rounder, it was perfect for the trip. At least, at my budget.
Well whats the Performance like?
I truly think its one of the best MK4 Golf Chassis out there. I know thats a bit like saying, I think falling down the stairs is better than falling down 2 flights of stairs. Which is actually a good metaphor for the way the MK4 Golf GTI handles. The Skoda, although it feels a little stiffer and more “Chuckable” is still not a light car, you have to get used to throwing the weight around. But once you do, it does reward you. Since I’ve owned it, I’ve thrown on a white-line adjustable RARB. which makes the lift off oversteer a lot easier to engage, if a little too easy. Now I’ve gotten used to it, it actually puts a bigger smile on my face than a lot of stuff I’ve driven. I think a lot of it is the suspension travel, it means you’re never scared to hammer down a backroad as all the wheels are always touching tarmac and the bottom isn't bouncing off the floor. And as I said, its got that “Chuckable” feel to it. It’s just a giggle.
As for Power, well the mighty 180bhp is about enough I’d say. You could always get more out of these pretty easy (The 1.8T being one of the most f
ked with engines of all time) and I may do at some point, but for now its just right. “It gets down the road well” as people a fair bit older than me might say…. probably.What have you done to it? You closet chav.
Well, as mentioned before the White-Line ARB is a must have, it really has made a fantastic difference. This, coupled with BrakeDepots cheapest “Grooved and dimpled” discs with mintex pads have made it a very capable car. It also has, what is becoming my trademark, Alpine head unit and JL Audio Door speakers. Mainly because the standard system is so terrible. I’ve also thrown on a Cupra R Splitter on, because I like to be a massive cliche.
What don’t you like?
There isn’t that much that annoys me, but if its one thing that annoys me its… cheapness? It may have a nice soft touch dash (well, the top part) and it does feel very well put together, don’t get me wrong. However, there is definitely a lot of cabin noise compared to the Golf. I guess thats part of VW’s genius way of putting their own brands in their classes. It’s not got that VW premium feel entirely, but at the same time it doesn't feel rattly and french.
Are you still talking? Just give us a bloody summary.
In summary, its a fantastic thing. The boot is absolutely huge, it handles pretty well, goes pretty well and I think looks pretty good too. And when comparing it to the Mk4 GTI, I’d go as far as saying it’s better than that too.. and usually cheaper. I'll admit I've been luckily and found a really, really clean car. However, a guy I work with has had his 160k car for quite a few years now and, although ropey as hell (Tatty, not unreliable), he loves it too.
I’d also like to apologise for the terrible photos, I normally take “okay” ones (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasoneaston/) but I just havent with this.
Edited by LankyLegoHead on Tuesday 18th August 20:11
Podie said:
Strangely the yellow ones (including the Fabia vRS) always seem to be the tatty ones - nice to see an exception.
Any plans for the car? Any tinkering?
Other than what I've already done, I'm tempted to upgrade the dampers to some Koni ones along with 20mm Springs (its an ST Suspensions kit I think). But for now, its actually pretty pleasing as it is. Plus the whole idea of downgrading from the MK5 Golf GTI was to "Save Money" Whatever that means.Any plans for the car? Any tinkering?
Snap!
Great car. I had mine from 05-08, if memory serves. Not quite as I'd hoped, nothing major went wrong, just lots of little stupid things, temperature gauge sensor, coil pack, header tank, etc.
If I needed a cheap set of wheels for £1500 for some reason, they would be right at the top of the list. It's a shame they never did a 4WD version, that in estate format, with a liberal application of boost would an epic car.
Great car. I had mine from 05-08, if memory serves. Not quite as I'd hoped, nothing major went wrong, just lots of little stupid things, temperature gauge sensor, coil pack, header tank, etc.
If I needed a cheap set of wheels for £1500 for some reason, they would be right at the top of the list. It's a shame they never did a 4WD version, that in estate format, with a liberal application of boost would an epic car.
Edited by Megaflow on Wednesday 19th August 12:20
Megaflow said:
Snap!
[img]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j141/Megaflow07/C1EED67C-A1A7-4684-B654-23954E14F18A_zpsx3obybcj.jpg[img]
Great car. I had mine from 05-08, if memory serves. Not quite as I'd hoped, nothing major went wrong, just lots of little stupid things, temperature gauge sensor, coil pack, header tank, etc.
If I needed a cheap set of wheels for £1500 for some reason, they would be right at the top of the list. It's a shame they never did a 4WD version, that in estate format, with a liberal application of boost would an epic car.
They do have their "Common problems" Which is pretty much all of what you listed. The Coil Packs on this car got done under warranty by Skoda this year! Dont ask dont get I suppose? Compared to my E46 BMW 330ci (which is the most unreliable thing I've ever owned) its fantastic in that only one or two things have needed to be done.[img]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j141/Megaflow07/C1EED67C-A1A7-4684-B654-23954E14F18A_zpsx3obybcj.jpg[img]
Great car. I had mine from 05-08, if memory serves. Not quite as I'd hoped, nothing major went wrong, just lots of little stupid things, temperature gauge sensor, coil pack, header tank, etc.
If I needed a cheap set of wheels for £1500 for some reason, they would be right at the top of the list. It's a shame they never did a 4WD version, that in estate format, with a liberal application of boost would an epic car.
As for 4wd, well they did a 150bhp 1.8T with 4wd (it wasnt a VRS0, and a lot of people are playing with them! Like you say, it would make an epic sleeper.
Awesome, good write up.
I've had two Skodas now (a Fabia mk1 1.4 and an octavia mk1 tdi) as my first and second cars, and I'd love to have another one because, as you mentioned, they're decent cars, but the Briskoda forum is such a useful source of information, it makes a lot of the DIY stuff dead easy. I did loads of work on my Fabia myself.
I also know what you mean about the cabin quality, after the octavia I had a B5 passat, and the interior just felt that little bit better quality - less road noise, a bit more comfy and better speakers etc. - and the comment about rattly french cars also rings true as I'm now on a Renault Kangoo van (for mountain-bike lugging duties), and it's noisy as hell! The interior is also pretty nasty by comparison.
Hoping one day to return to the Skoda club, probably with a mk1 Octavia VRS. They're lovely looking cars, and my old octavia handled much better than the passat, though the passat had the 1.8t engine, which was sublime. I can imagine the Octavia VRS being a lovely car to drive!
I've had two Skodas now (a Fabia mk1 1.4 and an octavia mk1 tdi) as my first and second cars, and I'd love to have another one because, as you mentioned, they're decent cars, but the Briskoda forum is such a useful source of information, it makes a lot of the DIY stuff dead easy. I did loads of work on my Fabia myself.
I also know what you mean about the cabin quality, after the octavia I had a B5 passat, and the interior just felt that little bit better quality - less road noise, a bit more comfy and better speakers etc. - and the comment about rattly french cars also rings true as I'm now on a Renault Kangoo van (for mountain-bike lugging duties), and it's noisy as hell! The interior is also pretty nasty by comparison.
Hoping one day to return to the Skoda club, probably with a mk1 Octavia VRS. They're lovely looking cars, and my old octavia handled much better than the passat, though the passat had the 1.8t engine, which was sublime. I can imagine the Octavia VRS being a lovely car to drive!
If you guys like reading me go on and on about car related stuff, I've started up a blog (yes, yet another car blog) where I and others will continue to do so..
http://www.tyredformat.com/
And yes, i think the VRS is probably the best car to come out of the MK4 chassis since owning one. The 180bhp 1.8t is a great compromise of performance, reliability and economy.
http://www.tyredformat.com/
And yes, i think the VRS is probably the best car to come out of the MK4 chassis since owning one. The 180bhp 1.8t is a great compromise of performance, reliability and economy.
Outstanding post!
I've liked these since the start, fuelled by a mate buying a brand new Ibiza Cupra back in 2001 and then tuning it to 230bhp and kicking it's hole for 80,000 miles with minimal fuss. I absolutely get the "ticks all boxes" thing and at £1400, it seems like a bit of a bargain. Liking your work sir!
I've liked these since the start, fuelled by a mate buying a brand new Ibiza Cupra back in 2001 and then tuning it to 230bhp and kicking it's hole for 80,000 miles with minimal fuss. I absolutely get the "ticks all boxes" thing and at £1400, it seems like a bit of a bargain. Liking your work sir!
Brilliant write-up OP!
I had an X-plate Leon Cupra back in 2003 and loved it - I can't compare the two but from what I have read I think the Cupra and VRS were probably the best interpretations of that platform.
Now that I have been BMW only for the last decade it's a shame your 330Ci wasn't a good experience - I just love anything RWD with an N/A straight 6! (So won't be looking at anything VAG again)
But enjoy your Octavia.
I had an X-plate Leon Cupra back in 2003 and loved it - I can't compare the two but from what I have read I think the Cupra and VRS were probably the best interpretations of that platform.
Now that I have been BMW only for the last decade it's a shame your 330Ci wasn't a good experience - I just love anything RWD with an N/A straight 6! (So won't be looking at anything VAG again)
But enjoy your Octavia.
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/EHCd3j7v.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/lpH58SEl" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/lpH58SEl.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/V4feraUu" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/V4feraUu.jpg)
ScorpZA said:
Doubt it, the seller claims to have owned it for 6+ years.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff