I bought my 53 reg Skoda VRS when it was 18 months old with 9,200 miles on the clock for £9200, I've now owned it just over 4 years and it's just ticked over to 40,000 miles with full Skoda history.
What can I say about this car.. firstly as you all know its based on the VW Golf chassis ... Read review
Advantages: BHP for £ - practical, fast, overall reliability Disadvantages: Immage, Niggly repetative faults, finding something to replace it
I bought my 53 reg Skoda VRS when it was 18 months old with 9,200 miles on the clock for £9200, I've now owned it just over 4 years and it's just ticked over to 40,000 miles with full Skoda history.
What can I say about this car.. firstly as you all know its based on the VW Golf chassis (I think its a Hatch back version of the Bora if you sit 2 next to each other you will see what I mean) as standard it comes with the 1.8turbo engine ... ...the Skoda VRS has the 180bhp flavour seen in the Audi TT. (This is important if you plan to tune the car)
I'm a big fan of turbo charged cars, they suite my driving abilities and style - I love the way you get big engine power, but (when driven sensibly) small engine fuel consumption - I've owned a lot of turbo cars prior to this Escort RST, 3x Celica GT4's Audi A4 sport.
My reason for picking the Skoda was I wanted ... more
I bought my 53 reg Skoda VRS when it was 18 months old with 9,200 miles on the clock for £9200, I've now owned it just over 4 years and it's just ticked over to 40,000 miles with full Skoda history.
What can I say about this car.. firstly as you all know its based on the VW Golf chassis (I think its a Hatch back version of the Bora if you sit 2 next to each other you will see what I mean) as standard it comes with the 1.8turbo engine fitted to loads of VW's Audi's Skoda's and Seats but the Skoda VRS has the 180bhp flavour seen in the Audi TT. (This is important if you plan to tune the car)
I'm a big fan of turbo charged cars, they suite my driving abilities and style - I love the way you get big engine power, but (when driven sensibly) small engine fuel consumption - I've owned a lot of turbo cars prior to this Escort RST, 3x Celica GT4's Audi A4 sport.
My reason for picking the Skoda was I wanted the fastest (tuneable), 2 wheel drive car with a big boot that could be parked inner city and get too much attention.
The model I have has the optional extras of a Black metallic paint, Sunroof and cruise control
Overall the car has been exceptionally good - I drive quite enthusiastically, my main daily trip is a commute of about 9 miles and I still see an average of 32mpg - on longer trips this can easily go upto 35 providing you keep the car below 90mph - I can easily see 280 to 300 miles on £45 of fuel.
I had the ecu remapped at around 20,000 miles and it's now meant to be approx 215-220hp. this REALLY brings the car to life and if your a competent driver, I highly recommend it - a basic remap can cost anything from £79! (I was shocked too!) to £499 and should see a healthy 220 hp - Anything higher than this and you need to look into exhaust, catalyst & induction mods and it becomes expensive, Don't confuse this engine with the 1.8t found in the Seat Cupra the Audi S3 or the 225hp TT these can all be remapped to 265ish bhp but they have different internals which I won't go into here.
In my opinion 220hp with 240lb of torque is getting fairly close for daily useable power through front wheels - any careful owner of a turbo car knows not to rev the car too high or use too much boost while the engine warming up - also 1st gear traffic light drag starts with turbo cars will cost you a lot in new clutches, once you can learn to not accelerate too hard until in 2nd gear you will do yourself, your car and your wallet a huge favour, however in the dry the car is very quick, 60 to 100mph is easily achieved without any need to change down from 5th gear - it has quite a small turbo so there's very little lag, as long as the car is kept above 2,000rpm the acceleration is very strong in any gear - on paper 220 hp may not sound a lot, but when you look at other cars like the Mazda RX8 with 231hp, it only has 159lb of torque - I have friends with both the Mazda and a Celica 190 both cars need to be revved hard to make their power, and in gear acceleration which is where you overtake etc - the Skoda wins hands down - to keep up with me the Rx8 needs to change down 2 gears.. in the wet pushing too hard on the loud peddle will see the front wheels skittering for grip and your soon reminded this is a tuned hot family hatchback rather than a focused coup'e
Servicing has been fairly reasonable - minor service cost me £150 but the major service at 36,000 cost clost to £600 (with a £200 central door locking motor) the car has long life service intervals, and will need to be serviced more regularly the harder it's driven. oddly though even after 40,000 and 5 yrs mines still not had a cambelt change..
Owning Pro's and Cons
Some people will NEVER see past the Skoda badge, while at first this was fun, after a few years it gets tiresome, people will talk about how nippy their xxxxx is but when you mention you have a Skoda they switch off etc or worse just tease the car - maybe it's just me but it DOES get annoying after a while.
I've had a few niggly issues with the car - every winter since owning the rear washer pipe freezes, even with screen wash and pops off the washer jet - which isn't apparent until you try to use it, and water fills up the boot - it's easy to push back on, unlike the boot trim which needs to be removed first.. don't be tempted like I was to cable tie the pipe to the washer jet - as its now found the next week spot in the system and the pipes come away from the washer pump in the engine bay and pours water onto the road - making it a lot harder to fix.
Front & Rear Anti roll bar bushes - these mysteriously 'rust' around 3.5 yrs old - during the winter your subjected to a knocking thump noise over bumps or swift direction changes, in the dry heat of summer you get a nice crunching sound when you go over bumps in the road - Skoda are obviously aware of this as they've totally changed the design of the bushes, the brackets and the Anti roll bar themselves - but have issued no recall and no good will - changing the front bar at a dealer will set you back between £290 and £400.
If the cars parked outside - it can (and mine has) suffered from Central door locking motor failing - water runs down the front door glass and onto the contacts which then rust up and corrode - you will first notice the alarm not working - or one door will not lock / unlock. - this is quite an expensive fix (around £230-£260 fitted) and very common on VW's - This isn't something I expected to fail on a 3.5yr old car)
The seats are reasonably comfortable - I'm 6ft 4 and have driven the car over 240 miles in a single trip without any real concerns, as others have said the White/Grey carpet is a real pain to try and keep clean - as are the white mesh seats and door trims, if I had to pick fault - wearing a short sleeved shirt in the summer on long trips - the mesh door trims will start to rub your elbow and leave you with a mesh pattern on your skin! but that's being picky.
The dashboard / interior is reasonable for a car in this class, the dash itself looks and feels quite plasticy though - and I'm not a huge fan of the green speedo/clocks display - this looks a lot older compared to the VW blue or Audi red but I guess its personal preference, most VW's come with centre consoles - and sourcing one from a Bora or Golf will fit.
The car came new with Continental tires, by 20,000 miles ALL 5 of mine went off shape while still having 1/2 of the tread remaining, I would not recommend these - I replaced mine with Good Year NCT Sports and these tyres have given me fantastic wear, road noise, grip and life, the fronts are about 60% worn after 20,000 miles, with the backs not even worn down a 3rd.
I appreciate the car is now 5 yrs old, but mine has developed several annoying rattles, that have taken me weeks to find - turns out the silver button on the end of the hand brake leaver rattles as you drive along.
As mentioned earlier - I'm 6ft 4, while the front seats have ample legroom, for a 4 door car the rear legroom is lacking just like it's Golf or Audi A4 cousins, don't expect 4 full grown adults to travel in this car comfortably for long trips - however 2 adults and 2 kids or someone under 6ft would be just fine - the boot is massive, and can easily fit 2 or 3 full size suitcases, or a pushbike and golf clubs
The standard Skoda stereo system with 6 disc changer, although doesn't play MP3's is actually a very good system, however the standard speakers, especially the front door speakers are quite poor - there's a waterproof membrane behind the door trim which gets too close to the speakers and will vibrate if played too loud.
This brings me to my biggest problem - Finding something to replace the Skoda with, I have a 2nd car - a Lotus Elise - so am looking for something as an every day car. But the Octavia VRS does everything just a little too well.. Any other car I get now, will either be slower, less practical, or do a lot less MPG - it's strange to explain but am finding it very hard getting something else and have been looking over a year now.
For the first 2 - 3 years of ownership depreciation was minimal - mine is still fairly low millage and upto about a year ago they were still selling for close to £6,000 this has now dropped to £4500-5 tops with the current climate. If you're happier with higher millage you can pick these cars up from £2000 and it's an awful lot of car for the money - but be warned, anything afterwards will find it very hard to come close to the practicality of the Octavia VRS.
Advantages: Comfort, Performance and Economy. This great car is a pleasure to own and drive Disadvantages: Minor niggle is no radio controls on the steering wheel
...sees both me and my Skoda Octavia enjoying a golden jubilee! I neither mean to imply that I bought it the year of my birth nor my car has lasted 50 years. But on January the 6th 1959, the Czech car manufacturer Skoda introduced its newest car model to replace the Skoda 440, also known as 'Spartak'. Reported in their company magazine Ventil, they announced "Our new vehicle has a new name too - the Skoda Octavia, as it is the eighth model produced ... ...to be developed 1989 after Skoda became part of VW. The first concept car was created in 1992 and was finally launched in 1996 as a hatchback followed by the estate version and 4-by-4 two years later. In 2000 a new, modernised Skoda Octavia was introduced that is still manufactured in Mlada Boleslav to this day as the Octavia Tour. The new Skoda Octavia, was launched in 2004 then facelifted in 2008. More than two million have been produced and boasts ...
bigdoug 19.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Skoda Octavia RS
Advantages: Fast, reliable, fun to drive, cheap. Disadvantages: Skoda badge.
...is the car that put Skoda on the road map. No longer is it a car to mock and joke about, well not too much anyway. I bought mine thinking, great car, but it's not something I can brag about down my local. As usual I was wrong. I soon found that only the least concerning of motorist found this car close to being funny. With comments like "That's pretty, quick isn't it?" or "nice car" I soon realised that the vRS had dispelled the image of old about ... ...all this is a car which performs well, is fun to drive but you can still carry the family around and live with it day to day. If all this isn't enough then the Octavia came third in this years TopGear survey, with Skoda becoming the number one manufacturer. ...
ciaoauthor 11.03.2007 (12.03.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Skoda Octavia RS
Advantages: Family saloon by day, sports car by night. Disadvantages: Low front skirt
I have now owned my Skoda Octavia VRS for 5 months and I am very impressed with it as an all rounder.
I am lead to believe that the Octavia is built on the VW Golf chassis and has the same engine as the Audi TT. Inspection under the bonnet reveals parts with the VW/Audi logo printed on them. An Audi with a Skoda badge but much cheaper!
The VRS is impressive as both a performance saloon and a family car. The 1800cc turbo charged engine boasts an ... ...Great acceleration pushes you back into the seat and the disc brakes all round with ABS ensure you can rein it in quickly.
A rigid chassis and firm, low suspension give great cornering and road holding, very similar to the Audi A4 with lowered sports suspension.
Good boot space and cabin space turn the Octavia into a roomy family car, plenty of space for 4 adults and a fair amount of luggage.
Fuel consumption on my Octavia is averaging around ...
Ravid21 19.02.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Skoda Octavia RS
Advantages: It's a VW in drag Disadvantages: Styling and loud yellow paint scheme not to everyone's taste
...announced that you had a Skoda parked on your drive, you would have been laughed at, spat on, and then you would have been made to leave wherever you were at the time. Not so today.
Skoda makes some of the best economic and downright honest family cars today, and recently they also make one of the best value hot hatch-come-mini super saloons.
The vRS uses the same chassis derived from the golf, tweaked of course to give a sportier ride. As Skoda ... ...the same turbocharged 1,781cc 20-valve power plant that is found in everything from the TT to your local taxi firm's Passat, while it may have 'been around a bit' it's still a feisty little number pumping out 180bhp at 5,500rpm and 173ib ft of pulling power at 1,950-5,000rpm.
I have (older) friends who own a vRS, and they tell me that it is very exhilarating to drive and entertaining with it. They frequently mumble on about it's sporty but not loud ...
topgeartom 14.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Skoda Octavia RS
Advantages: Fast, reliable, comfortable, fully loaded Disadvantages: The front skirt is a touch to close to the floor
I have ownded my Octavia Vrs since 26/09/03 & think its a fantastic drive, after having many different cars from Corsas to a MGZS, and many older cars like a Rover SD1 i can honestly say the Vrs is the best car i have ever driven.
You get so much car for your money and if you shop around you can get cracking deals even on new ones, best method would be internet shop then get a dealer to match thats what I did.
If you are considering buying a new ... ...one you wont be regret it. The car reacts at the slightest touch of the 'gas' the turbo lag is very small & when it kicks it kicks.
electric windows all round, massive boot, 16" alloys, climate control, onboard computer that gives MPG, time, etc. For the money not many other cars give you this.
The only downfall of the car is really the front skirt is too low and if you are not careful it is easy to catch on kerbs, in car parks & even going onto ...
MrInformation 08.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Skoda Octavia RS
