Skoda Octavia VRS, any thoughts from owners here?

Biggus_Dickus

onlyfoolsandparking said:

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 ?   

I know nothing about Skoda semi-auto ‘paddles’ specifically but the only time I ever touch them on my car is to switch the function ‘off’ when it’s been accidentally activated.

Some people like using them;...however, my view is ‘why have a dog and bark yourself’.

onlyfoolsandparking

Biggus_Dickus said:

onlyfoolsandparking said:

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 ?   

I know nothing about Skoda semi-auto ‘paddles’ specifically but the only time I ever touch them on my car is to switch the function ‘off’ when it’s been accidentally activated.

Some people like using them;...however, my view is ‘why have a dog and bark yourself’.

Well as I said I can't see me using them either but never say never, I'm more interested in whether they come as standard on vRs with the DSG box and whether they are desirable to buyers or not? 

Archie_Duke

onlyfoolsandparking said:

Biggus_Dickus said:

onlyfoolsandparking said:

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 ?   

I know nothing about Skoda semi-auto ‘paddles’ specifically but the only time I ever touch them on my car is to switch the function ‘off’ when it’s been accidentally activated.

Some people like using them;...however, my view is ‘why have a dog and bark yourself’.

Well as I said I can't see me using them either but never say never, I'm more interested in whether they come as standard on vRs with the DSG box and whether they are desirable to buyers or not? 

You’ll probably get this answered best on Briskoda, as far as I know paddles are standard on vRS with DSG, but I could be wrong! The main time I’d use them is going for a straighter piece of road into a twisty corner where I might want to be in 3rd at better revs, rather than in, say, 5th where the gearbox is happy to be. It cant go into the manual mode accidentally, you either activate it by paddle-shifting up/down, or moving the shift lever into the +/- position (from there you change gear on the paddles or the lever itself). It’s not difficult to get used to what does what after a couple of drives.
There isn’t much to choose as far as extras go, I suppose panoramic roof was an option. Otherwise they were pretty much top of the range, L&K apart. Servicing is the most vital factor for peace of mind with any you are interested in.