UKC

New job means new car. I'm quite attracted to the Golf Estate, (probably 1.6SE) more than the automatic UKC Octavia. Fuel economy very important as car will be part funded by fixed business mileage rate. Any experience, advice or comments would be welcome

In reply to kevin stephens:

I have a manual Octavia 1.6 diesel with cruise control. Had it for 12 months, it's great. 60 - 65 mpg, what's not to like?

In reply to kevin stephens:

Go onto Briskoda forum which is the largest forum for Skoda. There is a section for Octavia MKI & MKII. They are friendly! I'm on there.

In reply to kevin stephens:

We've had an 09 Golf estate 1.9 TDi since August following the unexpected and spectacular death of our Octy Estate on a French motorway returning from Cogne.

Very good fuel economy, on a par or better than the Octy. Better handling, less of an overhang at the rear on the Golf and goes like stink. Altogether very good and not much to contrast, really, perhaps the Golf boot is a little smaller.

We had a top of the range Octy and we've now got the basic Golf and do miss the ski slot in the back seat, CD multichanger and sound system and, most importantly, the cruise control and enhanced display but otherwise very much the same.

The Golf Estate is built in Mexico and I'm impressed with the build quality. Only some 3000 imported per year mostly as company cars which is how we got ours.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Hey Kevin, I assume it's a new car you would be getting your hands on? If so then the new models a cracking machine.

Unlike the old model the new one is built in Europe meaning the finish is better than it was on the old Mexican ones and they give us dealers less headaches. The cruise control on the SE is great too providing you are brave enough to trust it.

If you want more details and a proper run through on the car drop me a message, I might even be able to set up a test drive for you as I work at a VW dealership.

Mark

In reply to monkeymark: Hi.... does this mean there will be more Golf estates imported to the UK? Always wondered why they were rare as rocking horse shit over here.

In reply to kevin stephens: Have a chat with Ian P, he has a Golf estate 1.6 diesel and seems to rate it highly.

Andy F

In reply to kevin stephens:

Get a hair dressers car like Colin's. The mileage will be shit but you can pretend that it will help you cop off

In reply to kevin stephens:

The Golf used to be a foot shorter than the Octy, with correspondingly less luggage space, but the current models are nearly the same length. They also share the same engines, so if someone else is paying it presumably comes down to personal preference about styling and goodies. If fuel economy is a priority I assume you're after a TDI? The 1.6 TDI CR with 105 PS is outstandingly economical (at least in the hatch, which is what I've driven) but the 2.0 with 140 PS is only ~5 mpg thirstier and is even nicer to drive: more flexible, 6 speed box instead of 5, more overtaking oomph.

In reply to rif:
what he said.
we ve had an 09 2.0 tdi 140 sportline for a couple of months. its supposed to be our lasses but i take it at every opportunity if i can. we had a test drive in the 105 (ish ?) and both found it dull as dish water, a couple of junctions up the M6/M74 from carlisle was enough to tell us we did nt want it . the 140 is great to drive, plenty of omph when you want it but 55mpg,according to the computor, when you are carefull.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Golf, better for:
residual price
interior quality
nicer place to be

Skoda, a few more gadgets for your £

I looked at these both, Skoda seats were flimzy compared with Golf. Golf was nice but I was sold on the Audi interior so ended up with A3 Sportback 1.6TDI Sport, smaller boot yes but great drivers car. Saves me £30.00/month on income tax on the previous Passat.

In reply to monkeymark:

Thanks Mark, I will need the car very soon which means a pre-reg/demonstrator rather than waiting for brand new. For similar mileage the Mark 7 is looking like around £2k more than a Mark 6: decisions, decisions....

In reply to mark hounslea:

Cheers Mark, I only need a car big enough to carry a few pairs of skis or bikes, not my ego

In reply to mikehike:

Cheers Mike, Seat quality is important to me. At the moment I've got a base model A4, seats are not too good, I expect the Sport models are a lot better.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I went for the Alcantara Leather seats, they are excellent quality however not as comfy as the old Passat. They are not buckety enough for my skinny frame.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Hi Kev,

Check the CO2 emmisions if it's a company car, the Mk7 is lower on the CO2 so you'll pay less tax on the vehicle. (Disclaimer: if you get a MK6 BMT model the difference in company car tax won't be massive but a non BMT version you'll pay 4% extra.) The MK7 also has more toys, is quieter and better on the fuel economy.

You can also get some colours from stock so you could be looking at getting a new one in 2-3 weeks...

If it's not a company car then go for whichever you can get a better deal on, they're both good cars!

Mark

In reply to kevin stephens:

You can't really go wrong with either Golf or Octavia Estate. I'm on my second Octy estate and my current model (12 plate) is vastly superior to my old one (53 plate). The 1.4 tsi 122 petrol engine is 'sweet as a nut' but does lack a bit of low rev torque compared to my old 1.9tdi 90. It's also vastly quieter than the old oil burner, which was sounding a bit like a tractor after 90k miles! I've got the elegance model which amongst the goodies has 6 CD player, Cruise control and rear parking sensors. I made a point of specifying 16" wheels instead of the 17" normally offered as apparently they give a much better ride -- and a full size spare!

In reply to kevin stephens:

Thanks Everybody. I've bought an ex demo diesel Mark 6 1.6 105 SE Golf estate in black. Seemed to be a very good deal to me. Not a company car so BIK not relevant. I'll be getting a fixed business mile rate so real world mpg is important. I enjoyed the test drive and like the full size spare wheel.

In reply to kevin stephens:

Agree on the spare wheel. I was hacked off when I found that the Vectra estate (massive car!) only has a stupid low profile wheel. I could I suppose replace it with a proper one, but I don't think it'll fit the wheel well.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

you were lucky to get a spare wheel at all rather than an aerosol can of foam

In reply to kevin stephens:

I wouldn't buy a car with a stupid can of foam unless it had somewhere sensible to put a purchased-separately spare wheel. I did put up with the low-profile wheel, but still think it's stupid in what is one of the largest family estate cars on the market with plenty of room for a proper one if the wheel well was a slightly different shape.

Neil