Skoda Octavia VRS

GJF47

GJF47

GJF47

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At the moment I am driving a 2012 Ford Focus ST3 but feel the need to change it for something different. I've never got the feeling of enjoyment with it that I did with the MK2 I had.

Does anyone own or have experience with the VRS? I would be looking at the petrol model and it would be a Mk2. Then a remap to get similar stats to my ST. The extra room would be handy with 2 kids and possibly a third one next year!

The budget is whatever I could trade my ST in for. Autotrader and Evans Halshaw are telling me that I would only get £8600 which seems very low. Privately, the cars are not selling at all from what I've read on the owners club. No extra cash available as we are moving to a new house next week.

Any other suggestions would be welcome but I don't want a significant drop in power, etc.
 
I have one, and although I have never driven the focus ST I would be surprised if they offer anything much different in terms of actual driver invovlement. However, it could be that I've changed from a MX5 to my Octavia and in truth there really isn't much that will compete with the MX5. Don't get me wrong, it's interesting enough and they certainly have plenty of power in a straight line, but I dont find it overly involving in the twisties and there isn't anything like the feedback with the steering that I got from my MX5. Though it's quite good for the class of car it is.

They certainly have lots of space, but depending on the age of your kids I'd suggest they potentially aren't big enough for three children. You would certainly struggle to get three child seats across the back (there is no middle iso fix and they don't have top tethers in the mk2.5) and I find mine struggles with the fact that some of the modern isize seats are so big I still have to pull the passenger seat a long way forward to fit it in meaning anyone over 6 foot finds the front a bit of a squeeze. Although they have a massive boot they are still ultimately only focus / golf sized on the inside and I'm already of the opinion I'm going to need something bigger when a second child comes along (it could also be that I'm 6'2 with quite long legs and my wife is also quite tall so have to have my driver seat a long way back making the space it has worse). If my little one was older and in a more normal front facing seat it would absoultely be big enough, but with these huge rear facing jobbies that are recommended at the moment I'm actually considering an S-Max or Superb or similiar.

The other recommendation I would give you is to make sure it's one with Maxi Dot. (It's an ehanced screen in the centre cluster). They were standard on the DSG but not on the manual and they offer loads of little benefits to tweaking car settings that you have to do via VCDS otherwise. The easy way to tell if you have it is that when you ahve a door open you get an image of the door in the centre. If you just get a little red light on the speedo dial you don't have it. I'd also go for one with steering wheel controls as well as I missed on that and now regret it.

You will also get people telling you to look for one with the columbus sat nav unit, personally I wouldn't bother. The standard bolero is good enough, but the main reason I wouldn't pay the extra is that you can get the RCD330+ head unit for about £170 and this adds car play / android auto etc and is a direct swap with any of the standard units. If you have the bolero you need a trim adapter as well but you can get the VRS one for about £70 online. If you do get one with either of the two higher units the RCD330 is literally a straight swap, just don't get tricked into paying the extra for columbus unless you really want it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Ster...h=item4d7f130b25:g:cwMAAOSwb3hbw7E4:rk:2:pf:0
 
They're great family vehicles but don't buy one under any sort of illusion it will be fun to drive comparing to the Focus.

Remapped it will absolutely hold its own in a straight line but won't be as entertaining to throw down a country lane. It'll be surprisingly capable at it but with no theatre.

If you're looking at a 2.0TSI, be aware that 2009 to 2012 cars are the ones susceptible to timing chain failure and its worth trying to find out if the car you're looking at has been sorted, otherwise its one of the first things you'll want to do.

Binnsys post is full of good advice.
 
This sounds like a bit of a pointless change. You're not going to gain anything other than perhaps a small amount of boot space.
 
Words cannot express how much I prefer my MK3 ST to my MK2 VRS - as a driving experience there is absolutely no competition

The one and only thing the Skoda was better at was interior space

Don't get me wrong as a cheap, reasonably quick family car they're fine, but it's just not a comparable drive. I can't understand why you would change to one whilst knowing you're effectively giving money away through the trade in

I expect my late 12 estate to be worth a fair bit more than £8.6k, if you're determined to get rid I would at least try to sell privately - then buy something better than a MK2 Octavia
 
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I had one for a year a 16 plate it was not for me tbh. I found it uncomfortable the suspension is too firm and unforgiving and although it had a big boot the rear passenger space was not great. Engine was fine for a diesel pretty pokey and ok on fuel.

The paint is awful on them too after only a year I had lots of stone chips across the front and a few chips down the sides. The paint is very thin and was by far the worst I have seen on a car. Skoda had agreed to re-paint the front of the car as it was found faulty on inspection.

I have an Astra Sports Tourer now and find it a lot nicer tbh.

Edit - I think mine was a MK3 missed the bit about MK2.....

15oy06c.jpg
 
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rodenal said:
Words cannot express how much I prefer my MK3 ST to my MK2 VRS - as a driving experience there is absolutely no competition

The one and only thing the Skoda was better at was interior space

Don't get me wrong as a cheap, reasonably quick family car they're fine, but it's just not a comparable drive. I can't understand why you would change to one whilst knowing you're effectively giving money away through the trade in

I expect my late 12 estate to be worth a fair bit more than £8.6k, if you're determined to get rid I would at least try to sell privately - then buy something better than a MK2 Octavia
Click to expand...

Just had a peek on autotrader and 8.6k trade seems pretty fair. There are a fair few 2012 ST's advertised for ~£10k. Depends on what mileage he has though i suppose.
 
I tried to buy a VRS twice but they are just terribly dull, quick enough in a straight line but zero fun to drive in a sporting manner and just so safe (read dull/boring but perfectly,y nice) inside - loads of room and huge boot but both times I went on the final test drive I couldn’t do it as knew I would get bored very quickly - I still have pics of them as assumed I would get them and I don’t mind the looks esp in the blue colour.

I wouldn’t go from a sporty Ford to one as the downgrade in driving fun will be huge!
 
Should probably have been clearer - I don't necessarily think the £8.6k is a terrible px, but I think it would be a terrible idea to then buy a MK2 VRS with that money which probably also has a px value of several thousands less and is a massively inferior car.

Owners clubs aren't a great indication of how well something will shift as they usually believe their own hype and ask for funny money. I could see an ST taking a while to sell, but they're not considered a reliability nightmare and are attainable enough so I imagine it fetching decent money with a good ad and some patience.

If he stuck it up for sale privately for say £10k and bought the next car privately it may open up better options - probably not far off a MK3 vrs which is a far better car than the MK2 (though debatably no better than the current car) . As you say very much mileage dependent though
 
I have a MK2 FL VRS petrol and echo the above.

You'd be moving to an older car (in design terms) and all you'd gain is a bigger boot. Not worth the hassle and cost to change imo.

Mine is remapped, which has improved performance, but the biggest improvement to me was fitting a white line rear roll bar. The rear feels much tighter and nicer to drive. The car still doesn't give much feedback etc though.

Maybe worth it if you want a newer car and move to the estate or superb, but I wouldn't buy a MK2 Octavia now unless I had a lower budget.
 
not really for the OP yet - just reading up on the new 180bhp focus ST estate,
looks like at 608/1650 litres it is not far from the octavia space - boot 610/1740,
have to wait for comments on whether the adaptive suspension works, and is reliable (rear adapts to front wheel shocks) - but - a future best of all worlds ?
 
I had a 59 plate MK2 facelift. It drank oil for fun and the timing chain issue was always a concern. Traded in for a MK3 VRS which is much better all round.

I'd say a MK3 Focus ST is better than a MK2 Octavia VRS which is quite old now and the swap would be a downgrade. You'll also likely find the Octavia somewhat sterile if you can't find enjoyment in a MK3 Focus ST.
 
Having come back and re read this, I didn't really register it was a Mk3 Focus. That's a notably newer platform than the Mk2 Octavia and as much as I loved mine and as much as that generation of Ford interiors repulses me, its not a sensible direction to change.
 
I think the replies here have answered my question :D

I'll probably just keep the ST. It's just something with it that I can't connect to it and don't really enjoy driving it. I just can't put my finger on what it is...

I feel that the potential of it is wasted as I don't get chance to throw it around the twisties, etc as I'm only a few miles to work or I have the kids in the car doing motorway runs. Maybe it needs a few mods to bring the excitement back? I've already done the de-res which makes it sound lovely and stuck a RamAir filter on.
 
GJF47 said:
I think the replies here have answered my question :D

I'll probably just keep the ST. It's just something with it that I can't connect to it and don't really enjoy driving it. I just can't put my finger on what it is...

I feel that the potential of it is wasted as I don't get chance to throw it around the twisties, etc as I'm only a few miles to work or I have the kids in the car doing motorway runs. Maybe it needs a few mods to bring the excitement back? I've already done the de-res which makes it sound lovely and stuck a RamAir filter on.
Click to expand...
Most hot hatches will feel dull in this sort of scenario though. Make time on a Sunday morning for yourself to take it to a good B road and you'll probably enjoy it more.
 
Agree with the above, mods aren't going to help your driving routine tbh. Take it out and give it a absolute kicking one weekend when you're in the car alone, either you will change your mind or confirm that you would like rid of it. If the latter i'd be inclined to go for a larger, plusher car rather than something similar.

Mine will find itself with a lsd if it needs a clutch in my ownership and already has some minor mods which I will quickly give my thoughts on: Remap(good but I got my bluefin reset cheaply and can't see how it would help your scenario), filter(waste of time), RS box (looks nice, otherwise see filter), uprated recirc valve (only done this as I was changing the solenoid - un noticeable as you would expect), gearbox mount (good) and a revised boost solenoid, but the old one had failed or I wouldn't have touched it.
 
I've enjoyed my Mk2 vRS immensely. I bought it as new in 2011 and I've just reached 105k on the clock.
It has had it's little niggles, nothing major but an annoyance never the less - right now I'm driving on an orange warning light, but looking to trade-in for a Mk3 soon.
I think the negativity here isn't so much directed at the Octy - it is a perfectly good car and I looked at a number of options before deciding on this, rather what you are moving from - it won't feel the same.
The stiff suspension mentioned isn't an issue if you expect that. The timing chain issue has been blown out of proportion, but again that is what happens on the internet, people report failures, not successes. My car is on it's original timing chain and pulleys for example.
Mk2 vRS - perfectly fine car, but probably not what you're looking for.
 
I understand that the VRS is a good car and what people are saying about it being more of a sideways switch from the ST. I was just thinking of being more practical while not losing out much on performance.

It's really hard to find the time for myself at the moment. Working long hours through the week doesn't help. Plus, I have my oldest son (4 years) on weekends and that is the only time I get with him to do stuff as a family. Then I have a 90 miles round trip to take him back to his mother on Sunday mornings...

I do divert on the way to work sometimes and give it a good blast through the bends :)

If I was to do what rodenal suggested and go for a larger, plusher car, I really wouldn't know where to start. There is no budget due to house move and I know I will get bored if it doesn't have decent performance.

I was thinking the mods would help me start to enjoy and interact with it a bit more and bring the joy back to driving it!
 
Problem is, if they don't (and honestly, from your description of use i doubt it) you will have spent hundreds of pounds that you won't get back to find out.

The car needs to be manhandled now and then imo, I find mine quite impressive for a medium sized estate when I get to throw it down some decent roads in the dry. Absolutely worlds away from my previous VRS, you'd hate one if the focus isn't doing it for you
 
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