Bye-bye VRS TDi

[Fabpreza]

Its gone now. So for anyone still deciding if to buy, these are my pros and cons for the Estate. I used to own a Jabba'd 220bhp Mk1 4x4 Octavia Estate, so its been an interesting comparison.

PLUS points
+ Averaged 41.2 mpg - 60% motorway, 20% bombing along dual c's. 20% town
+ Great 'fast lane' acceleration in 5th (ok 6th not bad either)
+ Enjoyable all round to drive
+ Comfortable seats, driving position, good visibility
+ Boot space

FOR THE FACELIFT ?
- Wheelspin up to 3rd gear when wet
- Clunky traction control (noisy, unsubtle)
- Road noise not the best

I have no question in recommending the diesel version if you are undecided on which VRS - it keeps ahead of most things once you have got over the first 30mph.

In fact, traction is my only serious criticism, so my new car has more power and torque than the Octavia, but four wheel drive so I can use it all the time

Would I have a 4th Skoda some time ? Course I would

[Jonno VRs]

You didn't say what your new car was?

[FabiaTDi]

Originally Posted by Fabpreza

Its gone now. So for anyone still deciding if to buy, these are my pros and cons for the Estate. I used to own a Jabba'd 220bhp Mk1 4x4 Octavia Estate, so its been an interesting comparison.

PLUS points
+ Averaged 41.2 mpg - 60% motorway, 20% bombing along dual c's. 20% town
+ Great 'fast lane' acceleration in 5th (ok 6th not bad either)
+ Enjoyable all round to drive
+ Comfortable seats, driving position, good visibility
+ Boot space

FOR THE FACELIFT ?
- Wheelspin up to 3rd gear when wet
- Clunky traction control (noisy, unsubtle)
- Road noise not the best

I have no question in recommending the diesel version if you are undecided on which VRS - it keeps ahead of most things once you have got over the first 30mph.

In fact, traction is my only serious criticism, so my new car has more power and torque than the Octavia, but four wheel drive so I can use it all the time

Would I have a 4th Skoda some time ? Course I would

Didn't realise you had one of these Rob.

Just ordered one of these engines albeit in a SEAT Leon FR..
Hoping for a bit more than 42mpg as I'm getting that in my current Fabia and thats nudging 230ish.

Yes so what you getting instead??

[Fabpreza]

Originally Posted by FabiaTDi

Didn't realise you had one of these Rob.

Just ordered one of these engines albeit in a SEAT Leon FR..
Hoping for a bit more than 42mpg as I'm getting that in my current Fabia and thats nudging 230ish.

Yes so what you getting instead??

I think the 170 is a great engine - ok so it gets some criticism for not being that refined - but it revs freely and I like its sport character once you are underway. It also has a decent spread of power across the range. You'll like it a lot.

I once used to have an Audi 2.5 V6 TDi Quattro before my first Octavia 4x4, which I liked a lot, so I've got an A4 with the 3.0 TDi. First impressions are that it feels (and is) smaller than the Octavia, and is more refined. I'm prepared for fuel economy to be in a different league (ie 30 ish not 40+ mpg), but that's always the trade off for more power !

[Dodgy]

Fair review I think. I also am not impressed with the level of grip while accellerating in 1st, 2nd and (sometimes) 3rd. I've said it in another thread on here, but my next car has to have 4wd if it has performance pretensions.
By the way, I imagine most relatively powerful front wheel drive cars share this problem?

Dave.

[Harry_vRS]

Originally Posted by Dodgy

Fair review I think. I also am not impressed with the level of grip while accellerating in 1st, 2nd and (sometimes) 3rd. I've said it in another thread on here, but my next car has to have 4wd if it has performance pretensions.
By the way, I imagine most relatively powerful front wheel drive cars share this problem?

Dave.

Feed the power in gradually, it makes a lot of difference.

I have no issues at all with my TFSI.

[Fabpreza]

Originally Posted by Harry_vRS

Feed the power in gradually, it makes a lot of difference. I have no issues at all with my TFSI.

Its not the same story with the Tdi Harry, as it has 25% more torque than the TFSi.

If the road is wet and and you need to pull away from a junction into traffic (eg the end of my road) its impossible to avoid wheelspin unless you literally crawl.

I've owned a lot of cars and its one of the worst I've had for wheelspin in the low gears - its purely down to the way the torque 'arrives' - there's not a lot you can do about it.

Still - a great car all round.

[VRStu]

Originally Posted by Fabpreza

Its not the same story with the Tdi Harry, as it has 25% more torque than the TFSi.

Possibly not in this case

[Wardy]

What tyres did you run on it?

Enjoy your A4 though!

Steve

[Fabpreza]

Originally Posted by Wardy

What tyres did you run on it?
Steve

I had the 18 inch wheels with Michelin Sports.

Definitely NOT missing the wheelspin tonight with the A4Q

It's been said before but won't happen - 4x4 vRS anyone !

[Dodgy]

Originally Posted by Harry_vRS

Feed the power in gradually, it makes a lot of difference.

I have no issues at all with my TFSI.

Thanks for the driving lesson

Seriously though, of course I've tried feeding the power in, that's an immediate and common sense answer and something I am forced to do. The point is that sometimes I want to feed in more power to get away, but there isn't enough grip. I doubt if a 4wd would have these problems, but as I said earlier, there probably aren't many front wheel drive performance cars out there that don't have this problem. I haven't driven the tfsi vRS, but there is dollops of low down torque to deal with in the TDi vRS (as already stated by another poster), maybe that's the problem.

Another vote for a 4wd vRS!

Dave.

[dstev2000]

Originally Posted by Fabpreza

4x4 vRS anyone !

...........Don't start Mike off on that one

[cathalb]

I seriously curtailed the wheelspin by replacing the Michelins with Federal 595's.. and they turned out suprisingly good in the wet

[Wardy]

That's what I was wondering - a change on the old tyre front, from OEM Michelins. I'm sure a move to T1-Rs or RainSport1s would have helped too.

Might have been a bit easier than changing the whole car

Cheers,
Steve

[Dodgy]

My car has Continentals on it, has done from new.

Dave.

[Silverware]

Originally Posted by cathalb

I seriously curtailed the wheelspin by replacing the Michelins with Federal 595's.. and they turned out suprisingly good in the wet

How long did they last?

[fatboy58]

Its all very interesting really. I agree the diesel is a very peaky car and will spin in 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the dry, in the wet i've got numerous spins in 4th as well. But I drove a V6 before and it was similar. If your put said power through front wheels, they will spin. Similarly if you put said power through 4wd you will probably fly. That all said, balance of clutch and accelartor should avoid big complications. 4wd is awesome, but it depends when you need it. i don't live in the sticks anymore so I can live without a need for 4wd and play with the power (and economy) to leave many a car far behind.

[Fabpreza]

Originally Posted by fatboy58

Its all very interesting really... i don't live in the sticks anymore so I can live without a need for 4wd and play with the power (and economy) to leave many a car far behind.

I live in a boring, flat place where its pullaway traction (rather than getting up hills when I lived up North) that counts.

This is my third 4WD diesel car (not off-roader) - all have been Audi A4's and the previous ones were chipped (The 110 up to 135bhp and the V6 2.5 150 to 185bhp).

Having got the 3.0 A4 after a 6 year gap, its reminded how good the diesel & 4x4 car combination works. It seems to be doing about 35mpg overall, with 40 at 75mph - not as good as the Octavia but not bad.

If anyone is thinking 'Scout plus 180bhp remap' rather than vRS Tdi, I'd totally undertand