Skoda Octavia VRS, any thoughts from owners here?

onlyfoolsandparking

Well I think the time has come to scrap/sell my trusty old banger (Citroen C4 Picasso) of 5+ years reliability and cheap(ish) running costs as my gearbox has developed a rattle (something to do with a first motion sensor bearing?? or whatever my mechanic told me and it's either £300 for a second hand box or £500 to fix it and renew all bearings).

Anyway rather than pump another 3-500 into the old Citroen I'm looking at maybe upgrading to something with a bit more technology, looks nice, reliable etc and a car I might actually enjoy cleaning and polishing. So the Skoda Octavia VRS has got my attention, probably go for petrol and DSG. I am going for the Skoda as I like the size of them and the VRS model is reasonably pleasing to my eye? I've heard these are Golf GTI engines and boxes, Audi running gear and are pretty reliable, they are supposed to be a nice drive with a fair bit of oomph when you want it and decent stoppers too. I know I'll get better economy with a diesel but I fancy a bit of zip under foot as I've not had anything powerful for a while now and it will make a nice change. I don't think the diesel will save me fortunes anyway with the mileage and type of driving I do, very little motorway miles and I believe that's where diesels are best, DPF etc

I've only just started looking so not fully clued up (yet) on what model to get or indeed year. my budget is around 10K and I've seen a few 13/14 and one 15 plate going for that. I could save around 5K and get one pre-facelift which would be anything around 11/12 plate but I'm slightly preferring the look of the 13 onwards facelift. I've no real preference on whether it will be estate or hatchback although I think the estate would come a little bit more in handy but it will depend on the deal ultimately.

I've looked at quite a few reviews and watched a dozen or so Youtube reviews, all very positive imo but I believe you can't beat getting info directly from owners who runs one of these, especially the VRS model. 

Thoughts and advice (good or bad) welcome.  


   

Stubod

..Probably not relevant now but I had one of the first Octavia VRS's...(a Mk1) as a company car when they first came out, an absolutely cracking car for the money, (I seem to remember around 170bhp). A real boy racer car, bags (too much) performance, and reasonable economy if driven sensibly. Also very practical with a huge boot, (I had 2 Octavia's after this, a 2ltr diesel, (the replacement VRS was outside budget ..or I would have had another), and then a 1.4 petrol.

Then as now (I think) they are based on the Golf platform, (as are a lot of VAG cars).

Only real problem was the "skinny" tyres as not particularly comfortable on our rough roads and pricey to replace..(I trashed 2 on a road in Scotland...glad the company was paying!).

Altogether a brilliant car if you like that sort of thing!!

daveyjp

The biggest potential headache is the DSG.  It has had problems since it was introduced and 15 years later it is still far from trouble free.

If you think your old car needs an expensive gearbox repair, its nothing compared to what a DSG can cost you so do plenty of research before making a decision.

I have had a troublesome DSG gearbox and I wouldn't have one outside of warranty.

briskoda is the go to website for detailed info on all things Skoda.

onlyfoolsandparking

daveyjp said:

The biggest potential headache is the DSG.  It has had problems since it was introduced and 15 years later it is still far from trouble free.

If you think your old car needs an expensive gearbox repair, its nothing compared to what a DSG can cost you so do plenty of research before making a decision.

I have had a troublesome DSG gearbox and I wouldn't have one outside of warranty.

briskoda is the go to website for detailed info on all things Skoda.

Thanks for the link to briskoda, plenty of good info there to get my head around. Oh by the way I'm not saying my car gearbox repair is expensive, It just isn't worth it when the car is only worth around £500, or maybe it is, not rushing into anything yet. 

oh_really

Get a diesel and a remap, sorted.

I have a 5yo golf Gtd, remapped and it's now got around 150k on it, still tight as a drum and can easily keep up with GTi' s and return high 40's, more if sedately driven.

Ensure cam belt and pump has been changed, biggish job.

Archie_Duke

I’ve got a late 2013 (63 plate) Mk 3 Octavia vRS. Petrol, DSG: exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve owned it for about 5 years and 20,000 miles and it’s been reliable and a great car to own. Not planning on selling it any time soon. I’d probably replace it with a later version of the Octavia.

Power is great, delivery of brisk acceleration with almost no delay. On a motorway run it’ll average about 38 mpg, sticking to speed limits. Week-to-week about 35 mpg for commuting. My DSG gearbox has been fine, I did once have an Audi A3 with DSG that needed replacing and it cost a lot, that was under a used car warranty. DSG in the petrol vRS works brilliantly. It has a sports as well as a normal Drive mode, changes gears slickly and way faster than I could do manually. The semi-auto paddles are there if you want to play a bit more, but I probably use them less than 1% of the time. Different driving modes can be set for the steering, engine and gearbox. Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual. I have mine in individual all the time. Eco doesn’t seem to help save fuel and in Sports the fake engine noise generator (Sound Aktuator) is unpleasant.

For space it’s fantastic. Build quality and interior layout are good. vRS seats are comfortable as is the driving position generally. Mine has the larger Columbus infotainment screen with navigation and I find the interface pretty easy to use. vRS’ have cruise control as standard and high-power xenon headlights. Like you, I like the design and it’s only been facelifted a bit for the Mk4.
I hope you track down a nice one.

noclaf

Op this is a car that is also high on my wish list...practical, decent shove when you need it and IMO they look great.
Same concerns about the DSG though after seeing all the horror stories..I just wonder though if some of the DSG issues are due to owners not having the required servicing done on time e.g: huge intervals between oil changes. 
I was looking on the classifieds and not that many petrol DSG'S below £15k...gold dust!

onlyfoolsandparking

Archie_Duke said:

I’ve got a late 2013 (63 plate) Mk 3 Octavia vRS. Petrol, DSG: exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve owned it for about 5 years and 20,000 miles and it’s been reliable and a great car to own. Not planning on selling it any time soon. I’d probably replace it with a later version of the Octavia.

Power is great, delivery of brisk acceleration with almost no delay. On a motorway run it’ll average about 38 mpg, sticking to speed limits. Week-to-week about 35 mpg for commuting. My DSG gearbox has been fine, I did once have an Audi A3 with DSG that needed replacing and it cost a lot, that was under a used car warranty. DSG in the petrol vRS works brilliantly. It has a sports as well as a normal Drive mode, changes gears slickly and way faster than I could do manually. The semi-auto paddles are there if you want to play a bit more, but I probably use them less than 1% of the time. Different driving modes can be set for the steering, engine and gearbox. Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual. I have mine in individual all the time. Eco doesn’t seem to help save fuel and in Sports the fake engine noise generator (Sound Aktuator) is unpleasant.

For space it’s fantastic. Build quality and interior layout are good. vRS seats are comfortable as is the driving position generally. Mine has the larger Columbus infotainment screen with navigation and I find the interface pretty easy to use. vRS’ have cruise control as standard and high-power xenon headlights. Like you, I like the design and it’s only been facelifted a bit for the Mk4.
I hope you track down a nice one.

Thanks for that info, a good read and confirms what I'm thinking (albeit I'm early in exploring) what the vRS is all about. To me they look a lot of car for the money and perfect for people that don't care about 'badges' although I'm not saying that VAG, BMW or MERC aren't quality marques, I've owned a fair few and the quality engineering is/was there.

I have been reading up (after being pointed to a good site by a helpful poster) on DSG boxes and I have determined that the 6 speed DSG is quoted as being reliable and able to withstand the power the vRS throws at it, whereas the 'dry clutch' 7 speed is better suited to lower bhp cars and the 7 speed is not used on the vRS anyway so a bit of a moot point (could be wrong on that of course, still learning and doing plenty of reading)

Can I ask about the paddles on the steering wheel, I too cannot see me using them although one never knows, I said that about hands free car kits years ago lol. Do they come as standard on vRS? or were they an optional extra, I ask this because as I'm not buying new so may? be in that position where I have to settle for what I can get within my budget but if owners like yourself say they are a 'must' then that will certainly help with my decision making.

Feel free to point out any extras that I should be looking to find in the car OR extras that I probably don't need and should not put me off buying, I assume Sat nav, parking sensors for starters are a must as they would be an expensive retro fit ?   

onlyfoolsandparking

noclaf said:

Op this is a car that is also high on my wish list...practical, decent shove when you need it and IMO they look great.
Same concerns about the DSG though after seeing all the horror stories..I just wonder though if some of the DSG issues are due to owners not having the required servicing done on time e.g: huge intervals between oil changes. 
I was looking on the classifieds and not that many petrol DSG'S below £15k...gold dust!

Gold dust indeed, I have found a few around 10-11K maybe a bit high on mileage? but I'm not looking to buy immediately so I'll see how the market pans out into next year, I'm getting less concerned about the DSG the more I read, my mechanic rates the VAG DSG,s (not that I knew what he was talking about, never heard of DSG until I started looking at the Skodas lol) I think the oil service change on DSG is every 40K so that sounds encouraging provided of course the car I/you buy is from a responsible owner?

More homework to do but the replies on here are helpful.

billy2shots

I had -
2005 manual Golf GTi

2006 DSG Golf R32

2008 Golf Gti Pirelli DSG

2011 2.0 Diesel Caddy maxi life DSG

I currently have-

2010 2l Diesel Caddy Manual
2020 2l Diesel Caddy DSG

As long as the car has been looked after with the regular serviciy, seperate DSG oil change and 3 yearly/ mileage(whatever comes first) belt and water pump change then the DSG is no worse than other clutch less manuals/semi autos. 
I certainly wouldn't continue buying them if they were. 
How the DSG drives is a different factor. I personally prefer my ZF box in my BMW X4 M40i but that is an autobox rather than the double clutch offering in the Vrs. 

As you stated, the Vrs is basically a Golf in Skoda clothing (forget the Audi running gear, they are all VAG so the Audi A3 is based on the Golf)
Audi are slightly dearer than VW due to supposed better fit and finish and materials used. Skoda slightly cheaper for the opposite reason. 

I have recommended people buy the Octy and they certainly are more practical in a lot of ways than their sister cars. 

Zellah

noclaf said:

Op this is a car that is also high on my wish list...practical, decent shove when you need it and IMO they look great.
Same concerns about the DSG though after seeing all the horror stories..I just wonder though if some of the DSG issues are due to owners not having the required servicing done on time e.g: huge intervals between oil changes. 
I was looking on the classifieds and not that many petrol DSG'S below £15k...gold dust!

The VAG DSG gearbox had huge reliability issues at first around 2005-2010 but in the last 10 years or so these have been fixed and its fairly reliable now - I've owned a few Audi's with S-Tronic transmission (Audi's name for DSG) over the years and never had any issues. Of course you will still some horror stories about DSG but they are fairly rare now. As long as the DSG gearbox is post 2010 and has been serviced properly then you've got nothing to worry about.