# My new car â€" Skoda Octavia VRS Estate



## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

Last year, following a family weekend cursing the lack of space we had in my wife's Ford Focus; we bought a VW Touran which has been my daily driver for over 12 months. Despite my best efforts to influence my wife that _"really the best thing is for you to drive the Touran every day, dear" _she was having none of it; _"It's too big"â€¦.."I can't park it" _ etc etcâ€¦She wanted to keep the Focus.

Initially this was a disappointment however; every cloud has a silver lining :wink: My wife's belligerence has provided me with an opportunity to chop the Touran in, and find a car which ticks all the "family" boxes: space, safety, economy and give me back a but of the enjoyment factor. Price was a key influencing factor here; it had to be close to the Touran.

After much research I decided on exactly what I wanted and contacted an excellent broker (who sourced the Touran for me last year. 1 week later and he has a dealer taking the Touran off my hands for a very reasonable price + brand new Octavia VRS Estate meeting my options list + a significant discount off list price: done deal [smiley=thumbsup.gif] . I've had the car for 1 month now and what can I say, expectations: exceededâ€¦.by a mile.

*Practical bits* : Boot-space in this car is massive at 560 litres. (like-for-like with largest load space in an estate with the Honda Accord Tourer @ 572 litres) but whilst Honda looks like it rear-ended a funeral parlour with it's enormous overhang, the Octavia is far more compact.

Skoda gives you a lot of kit for your money these days: ESP, Air-con and 6 CD autochanger are standard. The quality in the cabin really stands out as well: doors close with a highly reassuring clunk and the seating position is excellent: I'm particular (verging on obsessive) about my driving position and the level of adjustability in the seats, steering wheel (height & reach-adjustable) is excellent.

Front and rear seats are upholstered in grey alcantara, mesh fabric and black leather and are hugely supportive, especially when pressing on a bit. I also like the VRS-branded theme, which is embroidered on all the seats, brushed aluminium styling on the dash, doors, steering wheel and gearknob (dash console lifted straight from GTi). Additional extras I went for: 18" wheels, dual zone air conditioning and cruise control. I've just had privacy glass fitted by *Pentagon* (I chose the "Smoke" tint. It looks dark in the photo's but isn't even as dark as the standard OEM privacy glass).

The car's biggest appeal is the engine and dynamics. I drove a MkV GTi recently and whilst it's not an identical driving experience; it's not far off.

For the run to work I like to press on in busy traffic; I need a nice torquey engine to nip into gaps and get off the mark at roundabouts - this VW lump hits the mark: it has so much torque I rarely exceed 3,000 revs on the run to work and, on the few times I've given it a good ragging, it pulls hard to the redline with a rorty induction noise, easily into licence-losing territory in 3rd gear.

*B-roads* - (where admittedly I didn't expect the car to deliver): stitching a series of fast sweepers together is fantastically rewarding. The chassis feels overwhelmingly capable, to the point where I forget I'm driving an estate car; turn-in is sharp (better than the Focus), lots of feedback and it's not difficult to get the back-end out. Also, they've managed to dial out a significant proportion of torque-steer; hard acceleration in 3rd gear whilst pressing on through a series of empty roundabouts on the A43 last week wouldn't unsettle it. The brakes are excellent â€" the review in Evo Magazine mentioned they were a little snatchy but for me this inspires confidence, and the stopping power is highly impressive.

So, 1 month in and I am hugely pleased with the car; signified by the fact I haven't taken the VX out for a run in 4 weeks . The fact that all of this is packaged under the Skoda badge makes the ownership proposition even more compelling, none in the least when i see the reaction of my business partners (who, by coincidence drive BMW's) _"why ON EARTH did you buy a Skoda?"_ My smug grin grows wider every day :roll:


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## genocidalduck (May 19, 2005)

The Octavia is really a good car. I use alot of them as cabs. Only thing is the fact that they have crept up in price over the last few years but that aside you still get alot of motor for your money. I test drove the new Octavia a few weeks back. You could easily thing you was in an A4 with the levels off equpiment and build quality.


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## DXN (May 18, 2002)

Nice one Stu 

The build quality is excellent and you cant really fault them. Good choice.

The glass just finishes it off nicely. 8)


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

I really like those Stu, I think our next Family car may well be an Octavia although probably an oil-burner, even though the 2.0T is a good engine


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## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

Very nice.

So, if you don`t mind me asking, how much did you pay?


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## PaulS (Jun 15, 2002)

Very good choice. Glad to hear it's built well, fun to drive and good inside.

I looked at the earlier model, when considering a replacement for my 405 TD est. At the time, I couldn't find a VRS diesel though, don't think they did one then.

I particularly want the sport suspension of the VRS, but with diesel economy/performance.

Is (or will) the VRS estate be available in Diesel?


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## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

PaulS said:


> Very good choice. Glad to hear it's built well, fun to drive and good inside.
> 
> I looked at the earlier model, when considering a replacement for my 405 TD est. At the time, I couldn't find a VRS diesel though, don't think they did one then.
> 
> ...


The new 170bhp diesel engine will find its way into the vRS soonish I think.


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## paulatt (Oct 28, 2002)

I have had an Octavia VRS saloon for a year now and it is an excellent car. I test drove A4, etc before buying but chose the Skoda because it is all the things that Stu has identified, it felt sporty and responsive and it is very quick too. I cant fault the dealer's after care either.
I would highly recommend you drive one.

On the downside, you will have to endure the endless 'skip' jokes...... :lol:


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

Nice cars, and good value. My mate's got one, and is very pleased with it.



Stu-Oxfordshire said:


> contacted an excellent broker


Who did you use? We are going to be looking into a Golf GTi at the weekend, and potentially contacting a couple of brokers, so any recommendations would be useful, ta


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## omen666 (Oct 10, 2004)

Stu, that is an excellent choice of motor...the only car I would buy if looking for a reasonably priced new car.

Love it


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## omen666 (Oct 10, 2004)

neil1003 said:


> Nice cars, and good value. My mate's got one, and is very pleased with it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can't recommend Gareth from Bespoke Auto enough, source me two cars and the finance deals are the best you can find, much better than VW, Audi or BMW could do.

01276 855171 (Office) or 07887 950400 (Mobile)

Tell him I recommended you and he'll look after you :wink:


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

omen666 said:


> I can't recommend Gareth from Bespoke Auto enough, source me two cars and the finance deals are the best you can find, much better than VW, Audi or BMW could do.
> 
> 01276 855171 (Office) or 07887 950400 (Mobile)
> 
> Tell him I recommended you and he'll look after you :wink:


Thanks 

I'm sure I've seen his name on the BMW forums (BM3W maybe?). Does he cover all marques then? (I'd assumed (wrongly maybe) he was just BMW). Not after finance though, straight cash purchase / trade-in, but if he covers VW I'll definitely give him a try, cheers.


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## omen666 (Oct 10, 2004)

Yep bm3w, but he will source other cars too.

He can do what ever you need, I found one car and just left him to negotiate, I could believe the amount he got off it!

Give him a call, doesn't cost much and you never know.


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

omen666 said:


> Yep bm3w, but he will source other cars too.
> 
> He can do what ever you need, I found one car and just left him to negotiate, I could believe the amount he got off it!
> 
> Give him a call, doesn't cost much and you never know.


Thanks, will do  . You have PM (off topic and all that :roll: )


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

neil1003 said:


> Nice cars, and good value. My mate's got one, and is very pleased with it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Its Joe Sardo at www.pfinance.co.uk.

He's not a "broker" as such but will source the car quickly from a UK main dealer at a very good discount (compared to what you could get as a walk-in punter). The only downside is that you have to finance it through him, but every time I've used him (5 cars now) he has been very competitive.


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## Hilly10 (Feb 4, 2004)

It just shows how far they have come under VAG Group years ago you would never admitted owning a Skoda. They are a cracking car


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Still wouldnt have one regardless of the price. Good luck tho.


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## GW1970 (Jul 4, 2005)

Hilly10 said:


> It just shows how far they have come under VAG Group years ago you would never admitted owning a Skoda. They are a cracking car


Absolutely, come a hell of a long way and great cars but.... the badge


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## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

Wolfsburger said:


> Very nice.
> So, if you don`t mind me asking, how much did you pay?


List price is Â£ 18,500 OTR. My options came to more than Â£ 1K. What I paid was less than the list OTR price, including the options, not by much though.



neil1003 said:


> Nice cars, and good value. My mate's got one, and is very pleased with it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As Carl said, it's Joe Sardo at Premier Finance; excellent service and very prompt.


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## Wolfsburger (Oct 21, 2002)

Stu-Oxfordshire said:


> List price is Â£ 18,500 OTR. My options came to more than Â£ 1K. What I paid was less than the list OTR price, including the options, not by much though.


Not a bad deal then, enjoy!


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