Octavia vRS245 Liftback

[antipodes40]

My trusty manual B6 S4 was getting a little long in the tooth, so I decided it was time for a change.



The problem was, what to replace it with. Had to have plenty of room, decent performance, and towing capability. I also love my manuals, so that was a must, and not fond of diesels. That pretty much narrowed the field down to Skoda Octavias. Trying to find a decent one of the correct spec in NZ, where they are fairly thin on the ground anyway, was nigh on impossible, so I started looking at bringing in a car from the UK. I was originally set on an estate, but when a VAT qualifying, very low mileage (7500 miles) 2019 lift-back popped up at a good price, my interest was piqued. Got an agent in the UK to look it over and when the report came back A-OK I took the plunge.

Fast forward 10 weeks and I flew to Auckland to pick this up.




Then came the 880 mile drive back to my home in Dunedin. Have to say I was impressed. Not quite the ultimate grunt of the S4, but plenty of performance on tap, handles better, and is much, much more frugal. I averaged 43.7 mpg for the trip, despite some city driving, lots of twisty bits, and some spirited bursts to see what it would do. OK, it's not as plush as the Audi was (even a 17 year old Audi is a nice place to sit), and it lacks the surety of the quattro system when the road is wet. It will take me a while to figure out all the toys, and not quite as much room as an estate would have, but the boot is cavernous, and with the seats folded down has more space than I generally need. Overall, well pleased.

The engine note is not in the same territory as a V8, but if I really want the noise I have this to play with.



And this if the all wheel drive itch needs scratching.

[The Ors]

antipodes40 said:

Have to say I was impressed. Not quite the ultimate grunt of the S4, but plenty of performance on tap, handles better, and is much, much more frugal.

This bit (in bold) surprised me.

[HughG]

Nice car OP

The Ors said:

antipodes40 said:

Have to say I was impressed. Not quite the ultimate grunt of the S4, but plenty of performance on tap, handles better, and is much, much more frugal.

This bit (in bold) surprised me.

I'm not that surprised, it hasn't got a V8 hanging out over the front axle so should be less under-steer prone, and potentially new vs. used shocks/tyres/bushes etc. etc.

[Court_S]

The Ors said:

antipodes40 said:

Have to say I was impressed. Not quite the ultimate grunt of the S4, but plenty of performance on tap, handles better, and is much, much more frugal.

This bit (in bold) surprised me.

Really? The S4 of that era had a stonking engine but was never known for its handling and feel. Admittedly the vRS is full of feel either but as an ex owner they’re bloody good cars.

Op - it looks good in red with the black pack. I had one for four years and it was bloody brilliant, did everything I needed it to in terms of lugging family stuff around etc. Was really reliable in the 84k I did in it.