Octavia vRS - 2.0T - Buyers guide?

GinG

GinG

GinG

Soldato
Joined
22 Jul 2006
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Evening all,

Finally getting somewhere with purchasing a 2nd car...things are changing (again) with mileage at work and get something non diesel as the 2nd car.

I want something bigger than the other car (grande punto) and something with a bit of go but still have some decent mpgz.

I really like the look of the vRS, I know a guy who trades cars that I will buy the car from. Already been offered a 07, 33k in silver for £6.5k, however I am trying to hold out for a blue one.

Basically want to know:
  • Peoples opinions on these?
  • What to look out for?
  • What options are available on the car?
  • I hear these can be chipped to 260bhp for £500...how does the engines cope?

Budget is around £8k, so is there anything else I should be looking at?

Cheers
 
Nice car, interiors a bit naff, ie not upto VAG standards imo.Being a VW platform most stuff like cruise and what not can be added quite easily.

It might be remappable, but bear in mind the clutch might not like it.

I like them, they are practical with the hatch and look pretty good, certainly a better bet than the fugly leon.
 
I ran one from new for just under 3 years. I had no problems at all with it, only thing replaced under warranty was a mirror glass which started to discolour for some reason.

To be quite honest I never really fell in love with it. They go well, brakes are excellent and the handling is pretty good. However I didn't find it particularly comfortable on long trips and they suffer with a bit of road noise which seems to eminate from the rear wheels, and the ride was bit skittish at times. I am used to larger cars though, and do regular long trips. If you're coming from a Punto it'll probably feel like a limo.

In terms of what to look out for, the FSI engines work best on Super Unleaded or similar. They can suffer with gunking up the valves and inlet manifold due to the direct injection, particularly on cars used for short trips.

You want a car with climate control and "jumbo box" which is actually an armrest - many have this and it was given as a free option for most of 2007 and 2008, along with 18 inch wheels. Other options are maxidot which is an enhanced LCD display, sat nav (which is relatively easy to retrofit), cruise control, parking sensors, rain sensing wipers with auto lights. There are probably others which escape me.

A remap is straightforward on these, but I never felt the need.
 
blueboy2001 said:
To be quite honest I never really fell in love with it. They go well, brakes are excellent and the handling is pretty good. However I didn't find it particularly comfortable on long trips and they suffer with a bit of road noise which seems to eminate from the rear wheels, and the ride was bit skittish at times.
Click to expand...

I don't want to pull this thread off topic, but what would you recommend as an alternative in the same class / similar pricepoint? I'm always interested in views from people who can be objective and don't have fanboy mentality in respect of cars they've owned.
 
The car you mention is a good price if it all stacks up. I paid 8k plus for my '56 plate silver vRS in April albeit with only 22k on the clock.

Race blue vRS' are nice but by far the most common colour on the roads..I originally wanted one as well but the right car in the wrong colour came along so I went for it.

My opinion on it is that it's a big, decent handling, reasonably quick practical car with pretty good economy. I think it's quite a nice place to be inside but the standard spec is a bit tight really. As has been said you want the jumbo box option which I think means you get rear electric windows - why they're not standard god only knows. Cruise control is nice and dual zone climate. Mines on 17s and the ride is typical VW crashy firm yet wallowy so I haven't bothered going to 18s.

Things to look out for: not many things I'm aware of but the rear wash wipe has a tendency to bung up which is a pain. There's also an expensive ESP sensor related failure well documented on briskoda.

Am guessing the 07 plate one is a tfsi rather than a tsi? The latter map better and are more economical, lower emissions but I have a feeling they are later than the car you are looking at. Mines been remapped and tbh your 260 bhp figure sounds way optimistic to me. Mine was jabba mapped and whilst I don't have rolling road figures I'd say it's probably 230 bhp-ish. The tsi gets 240-250 apparently though.

In summary...good car that does lots of things pretty well but isn't going to set the world alight in any one area other than maybe value for money. You could do a lot worse though..
 
With regards remapping - these remap without the need to upgrade any of the equipment.
The clutch is more than capable of coping with a Stage 1 remap - which will see your 200bhp turn to around 240bhp.

I've got a January 2007 vRS and love it to bits.
Never had a single problem with it.
 
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