Another Hexus which car thread... 182 or vRS?

[doll]

You're comparing a couple of different cars there really. I have always been a Renault fan and I was going to get a 182 myself, but bought the Fabia vRS in the end.

Interestingly though, I dont think I would have given the Fabia a single look if I had not have also owned an Octavia vRS. We bought the Octavia as an ex-lease car from my work whilst I still owned my previous Clio. I was nothing but impressed with the car when I took it for a drive and decided to buy it. The Octavia is a very capable car, but very different from the Clio and it depends on what you want out of a car.

My Octavia is re-mapped (215bhp) and has uprated brakes (though not necessarily needed on the Octy, but they look good! ), it's got all the toys we will ever need, is very comfortable and can fit 5 big adults in with luggage no problem (I even had two interior doors in the back the other day with the seats down). The only problem I have had with the car is a broken anti-roll bar link (my bad!) and a dodgy lambda sensor and the car had 87k on the clock when we bought it. I doubt the Clio would have given me that little trouble. The other thing I like, is that very few people know what the car is capable of (as Neo said with the Fabia), so play time is even more fun (especially with BMW drivers ). You won't get five minutes peice from the Chavvy's in a 182! Economy won't be much different between the two cars if that is an issue, although theres nothing better than not having to change gear when you want to give it some (torque for the win, lol!)!

Like I say, the Clio was one of my options when I was looking to replace my Clio 16v, but my experience with the Octavia made me look down a different avenue, which I dont regret as the Fabia is also a great car.

Here's a piccy of the Octy:

[TiG]

Having had my Octavia VRS for just over 2 years now, from 10k to nearly 40k now, i have to say i couldn't have bought a better car to suit my needs. Its quick enough for me, its great if you need space to transport 5 adults, and the boot is huge.

I've moved house recently, and you simply cannot imagine how useful this car was. I mean everything including the kitchen sink etc etc went in here.

Its soo utterly comfortable to drive and servicing and standard maintainence as well as insurance is so good.

But i am biased

TiG

[Howard]

What insurance group is the Oct vRS?

[doll]

What insurance group is the Oct vRS?

16D

[TiG]

still its better than the Golf with the same engine... Plus even with such a high group i seem to get better quotes than other cars. Not many people really want to joyride in a skoda heh.

TiG

[Ant]

To be honest, I had my heart set on the Clio right from the start, and didn't really think of what else I could get for the money.

It was actually my dad who got me thinking about the Skoda. In his line of work, they use a whole fleet of Skoda Octavia vRS's (mostly Estates), and they are quite often driven to their limits. My dad loves them, which is why I thought I'd go get a test drive and see what all the fuss was about.

I must admit, the Clio put a much bigger grin on my face while I was driving it, and having owned 2 Clios already, I was instantly used to the interior, driving position and size of the car. It felt very familier to me, just with tons more power.

But with the Skoda I could tell straight away that it was better built. Even the doors shut with a proper clunk. Although I don't need the space, as its normally only my girlfriend and I in the car, it may be a nice change from my a tiny supermini. The power was nice too.

Insurance for the two cars are the same for me... both expensive!! The clio is in group 16 too.

At the moment I am swaying towards the Skoda, because of its build quality and reliabilty, and the fact that its something different for me, ie not a clio. Its more of a long termer too I guess, especially with the option of remapping it down the line!

The Fabia is a great car too, and I was very impressed when I saw it going around the track on top or fifth gear. I was even more surprised when they said it was a diesel! But I'm just not so keen on its looks to be honest... Can't deny its an awesome car tho.

How have you guys found the servicing costs like on the Octavia? I was told the service intervals were variable, that true?

Thanks for your comments, they've been really useful! Its always good to hear from people's own experiences, rather than just believing what a salesman says.

Ant

[Taz]

The Skoda Octavia vRS won the What Car? Car of the Year 2006 award for 'Best Hot Hatch'.

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-specia...154&EL=3147085

[Neo_VR]

regarding my clio statement.... it still stands.

the missus has a clio 1.2 16v its only just 2 years old and its just broken down today for the 2nd time in 3 months.. had to go and rescue her from a rough area and wait for the tow-truck to arrive

[Ant]

The Skoda Octavia vRS won the What Car? Car of the Year 2006 award for 'Best Hot Hatch'.

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-specia...154&EL=3147085

That can't be bad hey!

regarding my clio statement.... it still stands.

the missus has a clio 1.2 16v its only just 2 years old and its just broken down today for the 2nd time in 3 months.. had to go and rescue her from a rough area and wait for the tow-truck to arrive

Yeah, I know what you're saying. You don't want that happening all the time.

My friend's clio has been in quite a few times with coil packs going, and I've read endless stories of people having problems... I think I have been pretty lucky, touch wood. Other than a few rattles, I've never had any problems with my clio, also 2 years old. The dealer here doesn't seem that bad either. Maybe thats why I've considered another one... My good luck has probably blinded me from seeing all the faults other people are having.

Ant

PS Doll, your car looks great btw! Looks so much better than silver!

[davidstone28]

By conincidence last Saturday's Telephone had a big review/roadtest of the vRS and also another section on what car to buy for £10k (fun 4 seater). Check the motoring section of their website. Funnily enough their choice for the best "fun four seater" to choose as a car for the reader profile wasn't the vRS, or Cupra R or Civic Type R....

[Ant]

By conincidence last Saturday's Telephone had a big review/roadtest of the vRS and also another section on what car to buy for £10k (fun 4 seater). Check the motoring section of their website. Funnily enough their choice for the best "fun four seater" to choose as a car for the reader profile wasn't the vRS, or Cupra R or Civic Type R....

Cool, I'll check it out! Thanks

Ant

Edit: Don't you mean Telegraph?

[doll]

At the moment I am swaying towards the Skoda, because of its build quality and reliabilty, and the fact that its something different for me, ie not a clio. Its more of a long termer too I guess, especially with the option of remapping it down the line!

With prices the way they are at the moment and with the arrival of the new vRS, there are lots of deals to be done at the dealers. You might just pick yourself up a real bargain if you shop around a little. You can get a little more than mine out of a re-map, but you juggle the economy scale more the further you go. You could probably squeeze anything up to 240bhp, with decent breathing mods as well.

How have you guys found the servicing costs like on the Octavia? I was told the service intervals were variable, that true?

I have to say this is one of the best features of this car! You can have the car on variable or fixed servicing and if you follow the service book, you wont be servicing it often (every 10k at least) and the first cambelt change isnt needed until 120,000. Admitably, mine does get serviced more regularly and I had the cambelt and tensioners changed at 90k, not long after we bought it (bad experience with other cars, which were Renaults funny enough ). A normal dealer service is only about £120 IIRC, but mines out of warranty and gets done by either myself or a family Mechanic (dependant on the weather!).

Doll, your car looks great btw! Looks so much better than silver!

Black FTW!

[5lab]

you should bare in mind that the reviews of octavias in the papers etc are of brand new ones - the 'new' one has just come out now so if you're looking at 2nd hand, you wont get one..

[TiG]

servicing is well cheap relative, sadly i don't have doll's level of mechanical expertise and don't have a friendly mechanic tucked away so i'm stuck with the main dealer.

Services have come in at around £170 for the light and recently £393 for the big service. I'm on variable services and i have to admit i love it. The car tells me when it wants its service 1000 miles before it needs it. so i can book it in and get things organised.

I love not being fixed to x thousand miles or 12 months etc.

TiG

[dangel]

Occy.

Easy to tune, more comfortable, better built, and far more likely to save you life in an accident..

[Lowe]

And to think Doll was gonna order a silver Fabia. Pah, I had to threaten to beat him with a large fish before he chose the right colour!