RE: Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate: PH Fleet

RE: Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate: PH Fleet

Thursday 30th June 2016

Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate: PH Fleet

Meteor Grey too 'grey'? Le Mans livery puts some colour into James's hard-working vRS



In my last update I mentioned how hard the Skoda has been working, racking up nearly 4,000 miles in its first month. Even with a week in Heathrow long-stay it's done almost the same this month too - this is one hard-working car!


Regular hacking up and down the M1 accounts for a lot of that and the vRS excels at the job. This and last month's track tomfoolery has seen the engine loosen up further, with corresponding improvements to both performance and fuel economy. Win-win! Day to day it's just more enjoyable; overtaking is a breeze, cross-country 'diversions' are more fun and I'm getting more miles between fuel stops (about 385 for anyone interested).

Indeed, even the exhaust has clearly been broken in a bit as I'm even getting the very occasional pop-and-bang on gear changes and over-run. They're rare, but all the more satisfying for that. I'd still like a little more bass though - in general use the car sounds quite ordinary.

Track use has left its hangovers though. Aside from fingernail marks in the dash and a bit of strain to the passenger side grab handle the nearside front tyre looks to have had an especially hard time. Traction is suffering as a result, thanks to both the engine's new-found enthusiasm and the conditions offered up by the 'summer' weather of late. One result is ever more intrusive interventions by the traction control as it attempts to make up for the shortfall.


It's so sensitive it seemingly negates the point of having the clever VAQ 'differential', cutting the throttle before the system has even had a chance to wake up. Turning off the ESP completely just highlights the apparent 'soft' configuration for VAQ in the Skoda; it never seems to be doing that much. Maybe the uneven wear across the two front tyres is a factor - we'll see if things improve with fresh rubber.

In the meantime many of those additional miles have been racked up as part of our Le Mans activitives. After making not one but two trips down to Le Mans, plus additional related errands, it's little wonder the miles are accruing so fast. But the combination of a very large boot and an ability to cover ground quickly makes it the perfect tool for the job. Meteor Grey paint was perhaps a little subtle for a trip to the La Sarthe region in June though. A suitable livery update was required.

The nice people at Wrapcube made the magic happen across the whole PH fleet, but I personally think the 'Hot Magenta' scheme on the Octavia was the best. Not that I'm biased.


Further preparations for Le Mans came courtesy of Thule and Next Base. In what might be a world first, we managed to completely fill the boot of a Skoda Octavia. We had so much stuff to carry for the Pit Stop, Friday Service and PH campsites we couldn't fit it all in. There was only one option - a loft conversion.

I don't like to brag, but during my formative years I was a pretty valued member of staff at the Guildford branch of Halfords. I know, impressive stuff. Accordingly I've seen my fair share of roof boxes and, when not skiving off in the warehouse, I've even fitted a few. Meaning I wasn't especially looking forward to installing the Thule Wing Bars and Dynamic L roof box. Seems things have moved on a bit since I was a lad. Fitting was straightforward courtesy of the built-in torque-settings on all the knobs and attachments. In use, the roof box swallowed a huge amount of gear and, despite a slight dent in the fuel economy, it was quiet, secure and even made the car look quite cool in a expedition vehicle kind of a way. Also from Thule was our now well-used VeloSpace 2 tow bar mounted bike carrier. Because Le Mans just isn't the same without a bike to get you out and about around the circuit. It carried the bikes with no fuss and made getting all the clobber out of the boot nice and easy thanks to its fold-down design.


The final addition was a Nextbase 512 HD dash cam. After some seemingly aribtrary interactions with Les Flics on previous occasions I figured it was a good idea to have it for some back-up, just in case. It also took less than a minute to set up and fit, and is so unintrusive that it has also remained in the car since.

All of these changes made the car quite distinctive, in a good way. A view seemingly shared, given the number of people showing their approval at our Pit Stop and Friday service. I guess the combination of hot hatch performance, a big boot and the Thule 'lifestyle' mods made it seem like the ultimate utility vehicle.

New tyres and further exploration of the VAQ's abilities need addressing but I'm still loving life with the vRS. And its workhorse abilities will continue to be tested, with another trip to Le Mans for the Classic next week. If you're heading down, make sure you drop in and see us (and the Skoda!) at our Le Mans Classic Pit Stop.


FACT SHEET
Car
: 2016 Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate
Run by: James
On fleet since: April 2016
Mileage: 7,742 (and counting...)
List price new: £29,910 (Basic list of £27,800 plus £550 for tow bar, £765 for Adaptive Cruise Control, Crew Protection Assist for £150, Heated seats for £200, Simply Clever package for £85 and Meteor Grey paint for £360)
Last month at a glance: Two trips to Le Mans down, another one to go...

Previous reports:
Yes, really, a grey Skoda estate on the PH Fleet
Practical family estate into track car does go!

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
There is just something about the alloys that really makes the vRS very appealing.

James Drake

2,668 posts

116 months

PH TEAM

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
ELUSIVEJIM said:
There is just something about the alloys that really makes the vRS very appealing.
When the car arrived I have to say that I wasn't a massive fan of them, but they've really grown on me. They also look better dirty too as they're just a bit too glossy otherwise (which suits my somewhat lacklustre approach to vehicle detailing!)

I think it is fair to say that they remain a bit Marmite though...

JD

havoc

29,929 posts

234 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
James, back in April in one of the earlier updates you said this about the diff:-

James Drake said:
I also believe the Skoda differs (no pun intended) from the Golf GTI PP in that you can independently adjust the VAQ "differential" and engine (noise) modes. If there are any GTI PP owners that can confirm / deny this it'd be appreciated as we're going off memory!
...but your recent posts have said the diff feels a little too subtle in action. Is the locking-effect adjustable or not?

RichardR

2,890 posts

267 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
What's that Grand Cherokee heading into the workshop?



It looks like an even more pumped up SRT!

James Drake

2,668 posts

116 months

PH TEAM

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
havoc said:
James, back in April in one of the earlier updates you said this about the diff:-

James Drake said:
I also believe the Skoda differs (no pun intended) from the Golf GTI PP in that you can independently adjust the VAQ "differential" and engine (noise) modes. If there are any GTI PP owners that can confirm / deny this it'd be appreciated as we're going off memory!
...but your recent posts have said the diff feels a little too subtle in action. Is the locking-effect adjustable or not?
Hi,

The differential is indeed adjustable and has three modes - Eco, Normal and Sport - these correspond to the 3 pre-set "Driver modes" that the car has on offer. Also, there is an "individual mode' that allows any combination of the adjustable attributes, meaning you can have normal steering combined with "sport" engine mode, normal interior sound and sport differential... which is my go-to set up. (the other adjustable attributes are all things like Air-con, cruse control and adaptive headlamp settings, so do not effect the way the car drives)

However, regardless of this, even with the differential in the most aggressive mode it just doesn't react like the same hardware does in, say, a Seat Leon Cupra. As previously mentioned this can only really be down to the software of the differential or perhaps the longer wheelbase and heavier weight (and being made worse by the oddly worn tyres) of the car in comparison to the Leon. I suspect it is down to the calibration, which is strange given that this is the "most extreme" vRS they've made, and the fact that differential is switchable anyway - meaning that a more aggressive set up could have been applied to the "sport" mode, leaving normal and Eco to be more suitable for gentle day-to-day driving duties. Surely this would have been a win-win?

As previously stated we're going to see if we can get a Seat Leon Cupra ST in, as that should be the most similar car in the VW stable as they do not offer the GTI PP in estate form.

JD

Helicopter944

15 posts

105 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
I think the wheels have been lifted straight out of the hurrican parts bin, which in my opinion is no bad thing. Have to love the VRS loadlugger

samliggett

125 posts

147 months

The Partnerships Guy

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
RichardR said:
What's that Grand Cherokee heading into the workshop?



It looks like an even more pumped up SRT!
It's Nene Overland's "Wild" version tuned to 550BHP they kindly loaned it to us for the trip!

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

They also do a supercharged 700BHP Wild which also joined the LeMans convoy ...certainly worthy of its name!!

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

SuperchargedVR6

3,138 posts

219 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
ELUSIVEJIM said:
There is just something about the alloys that really makes the vRS very appealing.
There is just something about the alloys that really makes me want to vomit. They're hideous.

And not only that, the design of them makes the tyres look too thin and the wheels a bit lost in the arches. I can't believe that styling packaged got signed off.

havoc

29,929 posts

234 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
James Drake said:
As previously stated we're going to see if we can get a Seat Leon Cupra ST in, as that should be the most similar car in the VW stable as they do not offer the GTI PP in estate form.

JD
Cool...look forward to that. My 230 should arrive sometime in September, but I'm used to fwd cars with quite aggressive ATB diffs (albeit rather less torque! wink ), so any way of 'turning the wick up' on the locking would be very welcome...wonder if the likes of Revo would do something like that...

James Drake

2,668 posts

116 months

PH TEAM

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
havoc said:
so any way of 'turning the wick up' on the locking would be very welcome...wonder if the likes of Revo would do something like that...
I did ask them when we were there for the recent Sunday Service and they said it was something they'd look into... I'm sure it is possible as it is just software!

Witchfinder

6,250 posts

251 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
I remember when I bought my first Octavia vRS, it was brand new (52 plate), and specced with Black Magic paint and parking sensors. I paid £14,100 for it. List price on this is more than double that. Even accounting for inflation, this is no longer a performance bargain.

Edited by Witchfinder on Thursday 30th June 16:11

Vroom101

828 posts

132 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
samliggett said:
RichardR said:
What's that Grand Cherokee heading into the workshop?



It looks like an even more pumped up SRT!
It's Nene Overland's "Wild" version tuned to 550BHP they kindly loaned it to us for the trip!


They also do a supercharged 700BHP Wild which also joined the LeMans convoy ...certainly worthy of its name!


It looks miles better from the back. The front looks like there's a piece of trim missing from the lower grill.

I bet it shifts though biggrin

NAB

10 posts

93 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
The wrap looks great. After a test drive of a standard vRS and following you updates. I have just pulled the trigger and ordered a 230 estate in grey. I love the slightly "tuber" alloys and as the standard spec is so good, the only options I ordered was the simply clever pack and a spare wheel. Ten week wait unfortunately.
Hoping it will be a very long term keeper.

James Drake

2,668 posts

116 months

PH TEAM

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
NAB said:
The wrap looks great. After a test drive of a standard vRS and following you updates. I have just pulled the trigger and ordered a 230 estate in grey. I love the slightly "tuber" alloys and as the standard spec is so good, the only options I ordered was the simply clever pack and a spare wheel. Ten week wait unfortunately.
Hoping it will be a very long term keeper.
Great news! (Except the bit about the 10 week wait, but that is less time than ours took to arrive and I'm sure it'll fly by!)

JD

havoc

29,929 posts

234 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
NAB said:
Ten week wait unfortunately.
Double-check that - my quoted 12-13 week lead-time turned into >20 weeks suspiciously soon after paying the deposit!!!

NAB

10 posts

93 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
Will check, the salesman reckoned it might even be before the plate change. My last Skoda arrived early, so we live in hope....

PorkRind

3,053 posts

204 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
Urgh, wheels.

lord trumpton

7,321 posts

125 months

Friday 1st July 2016
quotequote all
Absolutely love everything about this car - colour, styling and practicality too. I'm looking into buying one without haste to replace the current ed30 daily

xj53c

1 posts

167 months

Saturday 2nd July 2016
quotequote all
I'm sorry, but the RS blue is the best colour for the Skoda. Never buy a grey or brown or white car. Dpn't get me started on those wheels.

But seriously, there is generally a lack of strong performing affordable cars. Oftentimes one has to get whistles and bells to get power on mainstream/reliable brands. But then at touching £30k this isn't so affordable either.

NAB

10 posts

93 months

Sunday 3rd July 2016
quotequote all
I agree RS blue is great colour. You can't get a 230 in blue. The grey is very distinctive in the flesh though. Forget 30k if you go easy on the options you can get one for £25k. Skoda's Pcp are always competitive as well. The boot is so massive there isn't really a family wagon that's as fast, cheap and as big.