RE: Skoda Octavia vRS: The Antidote To The MPV

RE: Skoda Octavia vRS: The Antidote To The MPV

Author
Discussion

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Dick_Phallus said:
alock said:
jamieboy said:
cheadle hulme said:
Why pay 50% more for an equivalent 3 series touring?
Partly because the 3-series interior is likely to be less cheap and nasty*.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect they make the vRS interior so bad purely so they sell more Audis. scratchchin

* based on whichever version of vRS was current this time last year
In the quantities BMW purchase, any quality difference in material is a few hundred pounds at most. Where's the other £10K?
The badge on the front. BMW = successful to the majority of the population.
In my experience, VW sourced interiors are way better than BMW interiors, also it might have a skud badge on the front but at least people won't think you're an arse hole i.e what most people think about BMW drivers ( before you shout at me, I'm not one of those people)

Bullett

10,873 posts

183 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
As I'm going to be a dad in December this is exactly the sort of thing that appeals as I catagorically refuse to buy an MPV or Softroader and would only consider a Cayenne (it's too big says MrsB - Not that she says that too often) as it's a Porsche.

So I just need a good sized boot and Isofix.

I also need something newish to qualify for my car allowance.


matchmaker

8,463 posts

199 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Japcarnut said:
If buying & you see a mk1 vRS for sale that is white, beware as your local police dept would ahve been running it at high output from new. Red, black, yellow or silver (only colours mk1 came in).
Not quite - WRC limited edition was white

http://briskoda.net/skodas-sale/skoda-octavia-100-...

Pooh

3,692 posts

252 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
zebedee said:
Pooh said:
What a daft article, it only has 5 seats so how is it an antidote to a proper(more than 5 seat)MPV?
because most MPVs you see only have 5 seats set up and a boot, rather than seats in the boot. Parents just buy MPVs thinking its the norm (look at the Picasso for goodness sake, what does that have going for it but as soon as you are out of the maternity ward it seems 95% of parents make for the nearest Citroen dealer! Kids are small so why buy cars with huge headroom?! My Mondeo estate has as much bootspace as many MPVs but I'll wager its far more fun to drive than most of these dreary topple-boxes.

Likewise the Skoda, a good, fun estate that you can pack the kids and their stuff in - but 3 series beemers and octavia estates are a bit deficient in space anyway.
I agree 5 seat MPVs are a waste of time but there are plenty of people who make full use of all the seats in proper MPvs, so this car is not an alternative to MPVs in general just the 5 seat variety. I would be happy to get rid of my 7 seat MPV and have a fun estate car(not this one) but I have too many people and dogs to ferry around to make it practical.

Republik

4,525 posts

189 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
jamieboy said:
alock said:
jamieboy said:
Partly because the 3-series interior is likely to be less cheap and nasty*.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect they make the vRS interior so bad purely so they sell more Audis. scratchchin

* based on whichever version of vRS was current this time last year
In the quantities BMW purchase, any quality difference in material is a few hundred pounds at most. Where's the other £10K?
Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending BMW's ridiculously inlfated prices for some of their cars.

Just that the nasty interior was the main thing that put me off the Octavia - yes, the car is cheap, but not cheap enough to suffer that interior.
The interior is lifted straight out of a Golf with a few tweaks. It isn't nasty, just not as nice as an Audi.

jamieboy

5,910 posts

228 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Republik said:
The interior is lifted straight out of a Golf with a few tweaks.
I'll take your word for it - the things I particularly disliked were the too-super-shiny chrome, and the garish red-and-green logos embroidered on the not-especially-comfortable-or-supportive seats. Not sure how much of that is the same as the Golf. The poor fit of the centre console could have been specific to the one I tried.

Republik said:
It isn't nasty
I guess we all like different things. smile

RacingPete

8,845 posts

203 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
J111 said:
VW group products rarely flow down the road with the aplomb of a well-sorted Ford...As an alternative to the automotive lobotomy that is the MPV, the Octavia vRS has got what it takes.

Didn't PH have an S-Max at one point confused ?
Ahhh... the lovely S-Max, really the answer to all the problems. Nice chassis (if a little top heavy) seats 7 and can transport you quickly to the Alps. Shame I never got a chance in the Octavia vRS to see how it compared.

zebedee

4,589 posts

277 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Pooh said:
I agree 5 seat MPVs are a waste of time but there are plenty of people who make full use of all the seats in proper MPvs, so this car is not an alternative to MPVs in general just the 5 seat variety. I would be happy to get rid of my 7 seat MPV and have a fun estate car(not this one) but I have too many people and dogs to ferry around to make it practical.
People - yes, dogs no, unless yours sit in seats?

Edited by zebedee on Monday 14th September 14:30

Belfast Boy

855 posts

181 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I've had both the BMW 320D M SPORT and MK2 VRS estate Diesel on my drive at the same time, the Beemer felt cramped and obviously slower than the Skoda but the Seat and Steering wheel in the Beemer I prefered, my wife wouldn't let me take them out of her car and put in the Skoda!
I actually prefered the looks of the Race blue Skoda than the Indianapolis blue Beemer too!?
The problem with the Skoda was it was either poodling around or OOORRRRFFF like a scalded cat no happy medium!
But I have driven the new Skoda, with that sound system is the nuts and the SD car reader makes alot of sense as my music collection is vast!

As for MPVs I'd rather cut my penis of and serve it to myself with sweet chilli sauce than drive one of those tall hatchbacks!!!!

Jim V-6

42 posts

185 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Belfast Boy said:
As for MPVs I'd rather cut my penis of and serve it to myself with sweet chilli sauce than drive one of those tall hatchbacks!!!!
rofl

MotorUniverse

11 posts

223 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I've driven a tubo diesel version of this, a couple of years old. And they are rather nice with full cream leather all over + a sunroof.

The interior is better than my current 99' Mustang GT convetible, so is the handling. wink
Well, that isn't really a compliment smile

Pooh

3,692 posts

252 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
zebedee said:
Pooh said:
I agree 5 seat MPVs are a waste of time but there are plenty of people who make full use of all the seats in proper MPvs, so this car is not an alternative to MPVs in general just the 5 seat variety. I would be happy to get rid of my 7 seat MPV and have a fun estate car(not this one) but I have too many people and dogs to ferry around to make it practical.
People - yes, dogs no, unless yours sit in seats?

Edited by zebedee on Monday 14th September 14:30
laugh
They do sometimes.



I need to be able to carry up to 7 people and 2 Labradors so I need flexibility between seats and boot space for dogs, which I could not get from an estate car.

Cozzie Bhoy

5 posts

193 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I have a '06 vRS hatch, 2.0L Petrol and couldn't fault it. Drove to south of France in it last year and didn't get as much as a puncture in it. Can be driven sensibly as a family car or has the poke to upset boy racers in hot hatches. In the article it says it has the engine from the previous generation gti, As far as I'm aware its the same engine as the current gti.

marcosgt

11,011 posts

175 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I saved 10K buying a ver 1 vRS instead of a 325i.

The 325i was a lot nicer (the Octavia Mk1's rear seat was incredibly thin, but a lot of that was to increase rear seat space - The Golf platform is too short for a full sized saloon), but not enough to justify a £10K bank loan vs £0...

6 years and 95,000 miles later I'd been very happy with my Octavia and only parted with it because I was worried about owning a 100K mile car on a day to day basis.

That said, the fat boy looks of the newer Octavia (and a significant price hike) didn't do it for me, so I didn't consider one (to be fair I've bought the same type of car twice anyway).

Good choice for a load lugger and a lot more fun for many who choose a People Carrier, but obviously there are better cars if you're prepared to pay more or buy used.

jamoor

14,506 posts

214 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Yawn, coffee another piece of Badge engineering from VW.

SleeperCell

5,591 posts

241 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
jamieboy said:
cheadle hulme said:
Why pay 50% more for an equivalent 3 series touring?
Partly because the 3-series interior is likely to be less cheap and nasty*.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect they make the vRS interior so bad purely so they sell more Audis. scratchchin

* based on whichever version of vRS was current this time last year
and there I was thinking it would be the RWD handling and straight six engines that would be the first things mentioned since this is supposed to be a site for car enthusiasts, but no, it's interior materials...

Stevesh

87 posts

211 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
I drive a TDi vRS with the earlier PD engine.

It's fast but a little unrefined but the real reason I chose it is this...

It's a co. car for which I have a set monthly lease budget. I could have had a bog standard 1.9 SE A4, a 140BHP A3 Sport, a Passat of some description or a 140bhp Golf. Most others vehicles in the car park are a mix of the affore mentioned cars in metallic grey.

I have a Skoda, with all the toys in bright red that on straight roads is fast enough for safe overtaking and real world driving.

If the lease budget goes up or I get promoted, I'll swap it for a 320D M Sport though...

Steve

jamieboy

5,910 posts

228 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
SleeperCell said:
jamieboy said:
cheadle hulme said:
Why pay 50% more for an equivalent 3 series touring?
Partly because the 3-series interior is likely to be less cheap and nasty*.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect they make the vRS interior so bad purely so they sell more Audis. scratchchin

* based on whichever version of vRS was current this time last year
and there I was thinking it would be the RWD handling and straight six engines that would be the first things mentioned since this is supposed to be a site for car enthusiasts, but no, it's interior materials...
...no straight six in the 318d or 320d. And despite what they might try to tell you, neither of those two is the epitome of RWD handling. wink

Mr Whippy

28,944 posts

240 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
SleeperCell said:
jamieboy said:
cheadle hulme said:
Why pay 50% more for an equivalent 3 series touring?
Partly because the 3-series interior is likely to be less cheap and nasty*.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect they make the vRS interior so bad purely so they sell more Audis. scratchchin

* based on whichever version of vRS was current this time last year
and there I was thinking it would be the RWD handling and straight six engines that would be the first things mentioned since this is supposed to be a site for car enthusiasts, but no, it's interior materials...
Yeah, a little odd that one.


The antidote to an MPV is something that is not an MPV. An estate Skoda Octavia with a 2.0 turbo petrol 4 potter isn't special by any stretch, imho. If you want to avoid the humdrum of an MPV, you won't have moved far with a generic and anodyne experience of an estate Skoda with 200bhp, or about 135bhp/tonne.

Honestly, what is it offering?

Fair do's for company car owners or those on car budgets who are constrained, but if you want a car with some space and some thrills, there is TONS of stuff out there for less money and better all round.

A 2.7 RS4 despite being VAG and a bit soft is at least a bit interesting, and you can get a nice one for the same money as this new. The RS4 won't depreciate anywhere near as much, if at all, which easily offsets the higher running costs.

You would have to be a person with no idea to get a vRS over the RS4, and if you did, then you have to wonder why they are getting the vRS if they care that little for the performance aspects of a car etc. Ie, they may as well just get the diesel one.

Dave

RobCrezz

7,892 posts

207 months

Monday 14th September 2009
quotequote all
Somnophore said:
The gf text me this morning saying "Octavia vRS is faaaast" she got burnt off by one at the lights and she's pretty quick in her 1.7 vct Puma with a couple of performance mods. Think she just doesn't know anything about skodas so when he was looking for a bit of a race she thought shed just blow past easy, hence the surprise.
You can get a switch to turn off the torque limiter in 1st and 2nd gear on the puma, makes it much quicker off the line. Still wouldnt be faster than a vRS though.

Edited by RobCrezz on Monday 14th September 16:10