prolfe
26-01-2010, 07:06 PM
Here is a big old review with some pictures towards the bottom. Thanks for looking.
My Skoda Octavia 2.0 CR vRS Hatchback – Candy White
Previous car: Audi A3 2.0 TDi 170 PD Sportback Sport in Black
7-1000 Miles in just eight days. (It’s been a bitch of a week)
Exterior
Firstly I know all I need is either some blue lights (police) or some great big yellow go fast stripes and a ‘For Hire’ sign on the roof (Taxi). The biggest change is at the front where the facelift (FL) Octavia gets a whole new look. Gone are the naughty’s square lights and incoming are the wrap around projector style headlights. Accompanying this are some great looking DRL’s that act as sidelights as well, albeit at half brightness in this mode. A new more aggressive front bumper and grille complete the new look. From the rear and the side there’s not much to tell it apart from the pre-FL vRS. 18” alloys are standard now, as are red callipers. I’ve not been blessed with a spoiler before so the change is a nice one, the car looks great from whichever side you stand on. Especially in white.
Interior
Look closely and you’ll see the differences, a new driver pod with a very basic Rev counter to the left and a simple Tacho to the right. So simple in fact that it has no Kilometers below or above the Miles per Hour!! This for when we need to travel over the water is displayed on the central DIS. I was worried that I would miss the extra speakers in my A3 (10) compared to the vRS (8) but TBH it’s just as good. Louder but with not so much of a deep bass, don’t get me wrong it is punchy and makes the seat move but it doesn’t have the same depth as the dedicated bass of the A3. The touch screen Bolero as seen in the golf too is great. Responsive in an LG Viewty way, rather than an iPod Touch kind of way. The seats are on the firmer side of comfy but are huggy enough and have ample movement and support through a lumber knob (stop it!!). The black headlining is a welcome treat (lacking in my A3), it has a very chunky perforated leather three spoke steering wheel. It has both an independently cooled glovebox and storage area under the armrest. The armrest also has the Aux-in socket for an iPod etc. It has 8 different cubby holes in and around the cockpit which is a lot, but does mean that I’ll not have things rattling around on the passenger’s seat!
Overall the quality is just as I expected it to be.
Economy, Performance and Ride
Prior to delivery I had a look around at any remap ‘before’ figures I could find as I knew my outgoing A3 probably had a power output of between 180 and 190bhp. Although the A3 was the PD version and the new vRS is the CR version. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it too had the same kind of figures as standard. It’s just as quick but is much quieter with a different kind of exhaust and turbo note. There is soundproofing on the underside of the bonnet which must aid in this. You can read a lot of material on the pro’s and con’s of running a car in and like my Audi I decided to do just that. So for now I have been running at no more than ¾ throttle and no more than 3000 revs. Trouble is I can feel the car just wanting to plant its feet and go. I am quite liking this new relaxed ‘I could have you if I wanted to’ kind of driving style.
So far I’ve averaged 55mpg over these 1000 miles. I think my A3 averaged 46mpg on the same routes, style and distance. They changed the specification of the vRS late in the year and tricked it out with the Golf GTi’s XDS system which is a fancy electronic LSD. I’ve yet to see it in action because of the way I’ve been driving so will reserve judgment till then. Ooh, also note that the any new Golf GTD will also be built with it too.
In the pootling about I’ve been doing the ride seems great, the 18” wheels and sports suspension are not as harsh as they were on the S-Line A3 (Test driven).
Summary
I loved it when I saw it online, I then spent the 15 weeks till delivery pining after it. I am glad I chose white as it seems every other vRS is Race Blue although I’m sure that will change in a few months looking at the forums. On top of everything else it’s costing me £50 less per month than my A3!
One thing that was annoying was the dealer just washed it. No wax, no polish, just a wash. So after a week in the wet motorways it looked quite dirty close up. I decided a while ago that I would detail it properly to help protect the paint and I’m glad I did.
Detailing
I first rinsed it as best i could with a pressure washer including wheel arches. It then had two washes (2 bucket method) with a microfibre wash mitt, a rinse in between with the pressure washer again. I then spent a long while claying it with AutoGlym’s Detailing Kit (100g clay bar, fast detailing spray, cloth). After that I used AutoGlym’s Super Resin Polish to polish the car twice. Then finally I used AutoGlym’s Extra Gloss Protection which I left to cure for about an hour before being buffed off. The glass received a clean and a rain repellent from Halfords. On the wheels I used their cleaner and a sealant. On the inside I used their rubber and vinyl product along with some leather cleaner and conditioner. This was a very long process but means that the car paintwork is protected and makes future cleaning easier. I plan to go through the same process again in six months time, maybe sooner if it looks like it needs it. Detailing before and after at end of post
I’ve attached a few photies for you all to have a look at, let me know what you think.
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03104.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03105.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03106.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03102.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03101.jpg
Now the detail:
first a piccie of a dirty badge area:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03090.jpg
then a nice clean one:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03111.jpg
My Skoda Octavia 2.0 CR vRS Hatchback – Candy White
Previous car: Audi A3 2.0 TDi 170 PD Sportback Sport in Black
7-1000 Miles in just eight days. (It’s been a bitch of a week)
Exterior
Firstly I know all I need is either some blue lights (police) or some great big yellow go fast stripes and a ‘For Hire’ sign on the roof (Taxi). The biggest change is at the front where the facelift (FL) Octavia gets a whole new look. Gone are the naughty’s square lights and incoming are the wrap around projector style headlights. Accompanying this are some great looking DRL’s that act as sidelights as well, albeit at half brightness in this mode. A new more aggressive front bumper and grille complete the new look. From the rear and the side there’s not much to tell it apart from the pre-FL vRS. 18” alloys are standard now, as are red callipers. I’ve not been blessed with a spoiler before so the change is a nice one, the car looks great from whichever side you stand on. Especially in white.
Interior
Look closely and you’ll see the differences, a new driver pod with a very basic Rev counter to the left and a simple Tacho to the right. So simple in fact that it has no Kilometers below or above the Miles per Hour!! This for when we need to travel over the water is displayed on the central DIS. I was worried that I would miss the extra speakers in my A3 (10) compared to the vRS (8) but TBH it’s just as good. Louder but with not so much of a deep bass, don’t get me wrong it is punchy and makes the seat move but it doesn’t have the same depth as the dedicated bass of the A3. The touch screen Bolero as seen in the golf too is great. Responsive in an LG Viewty way, rather than an iPod Touch kind of way. The seats are on the firmer side of comfy but are huggy enough and have ample movement and support through a lumber knob (stop it!!). The black headlining is a welcome treat (lacking in my A3), it has a very chunky perforated leather three spoke steering wheel. It has both an independently cooled glovebox and storage area under the armrest. The armrest also has the Aux-in socket for an iPod etc. It has 8 different cubby holes in and around the cockpit which is a lot, but does mean that I’ll not have things rattling around on the passenger’s seat!
Overall the quality is just as I expected it to be.
Economy, Performance and Ride
Prior to delivery I had a look around at any remap ‘before’ figures I could find as I knew my outgoing A3 probably had a power output of between 180 and 190bhp. Although the A3 was the PD version and the new vRS is the CR version. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it too had the same kind of figures as standard. It’s just as quick but is much quieter with a different kind of exhaust and turbo note. There is soundproofing on the underside of the bonnet which must aid in this. You can read a lot of material on the pro’s and con’s of running a car in and like my Audi I decided to do just that. So for now I have been running at no more than ¾ throttle and no more than 3000 revs. Trouble is I can feel the car just wanting to plant its feet and go. I am quite liking this new relaxed ‘I could have you if I wanted to’ kind of driving style.
So far I’ve averaged 55mpg over these 1000 miles. I think my A3 averaged 46mpg on the same routes, style and distance. They changed the specification of the vRS late in the year and tricked it out with the Golf GTi’s XDS system which is a fancy electronic LSD. I’ve yet to see it in action because of the way I’ve been driving so will reserve judgment till then. Ooh, also note that the any new Golf GTD will also be built with it too.
In the pootling about I’ve been doing the ride seems great, the 18” wheels and sports suspension are not as harsh as they were on the S-Line A3 (Test driven).
Summary
I loved it when I saw it online, I then spent the 15 weeks till delivery pining after it. I am glad I chose white as it seems every other vRS is Race Blue although I’m sure that will change in a few months looking at the forums. On top of everything else it’s costing me £50 less per month than my A3!
One thing that was annoying was the dealer just washed it. No wax, no polish, just a wash. So after a week in the wet motorways it looked quite dirty close up. I decided a while ago that I would detail it properly to help protect the paint and I’m glad I did.
Detailing
I first rinsed it as best i could with a pressure washer including wheel arches. It then had two washes (2 bucket method) with a microfibre wash mitt, a rinse in between with the pressure washer again. I then spent a long while claying it with AutoGlym’s Detailing Kit (100g clay bar, fast detailing spray, cloth). After that I used AutoGlym’s Super Resin Polish to polish the car twice. Then finally I used AutoGlym’s Extra Gloss Protection which I left to cure for about an hour before being buffed off. The glass received a clean and a rain repellent from Halfords. On the wheels I used their cleaner and a sealant. On the inside I used their rubber and vinyl product along with some leather cleaner and conditioner. This was a very long process but means that the car paintwork is protected and makes future cleaning easier. I plan to go through the same process again in six months time, maybe sooner if it looks like it needs it. Detailing before and after at end of post
I’ve attached a few photies for you all to have a look at, let me know what you think.
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03104.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03105.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03106.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03102.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03101.jpg
Now the detail:
first a piccie of a dirty badge area:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03090.jpg
then a nice clean one:
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd272/prolfe/FL%20vRS/DSC03111.jpg