What's in a name?

[grandadpip]

Coming up to just one month's ownership I do enjoy the contentment that comes with self congratulation that you made the right choice.  My eldest son drives an Octavia VRS for business and has racked up almost 70k trouble free miles in some 4 years.  That factor influenced me.

 

My generation, amongst fellow Briskodians, will of course remember those darker times when the Skoda marque was not only a badge of unreliability but a butt of countless jokes.

The VAG group appear to have done well to help resurrect the brand. One wonders if they had attempted the same with say British Leyland then maybe now I could be driving a Maxi derivative................what a thought!

 

To those who lift their noses when they hear of the Skoda brand now perhaps, after all this time,  the joke is on them!

[Panther_uk]

2 hours ago, grandadpip said:

One wonders if they had attempted the same with say British Leyland then maybe now I could be driving a Maxi derivative................what a thought!

 

My first ever car a 1972 Austin Maxi 1750cc

 

Drove like a tank, but at 18yrs old I loved it !!

[TheRobinK]

I heard a review of Skoda and the changes here and it went something like: "Skoda used to be a poor choice for a poor man. Then it became a good choice for a poor man. Now it is an excellent choice for a smart man".

 

I wouldn't argue -  that s why i got my Superb 2 Estate. Neither would my wife.

I told her the size and (high) spec I would want for my next car and got her to check MB, BMW, Volvo, Jag and Audi and get prices. She knows I used to like my premium marques.

Then I told her to take €20 - 25,000 off and see what came up but still has the high spec.

 

Surprise, Surprise - It appears I'd be getting either a Kodiaq or a Superb 3 Estate.  There was nothing else that could pull that off - especially if you may want petrol. Seat might get on the list later with their version of the Kodiaq. 

 

(P.S. I do like the Karoq and think it is the best in its size - my three dogs don't like the boot space though).

 

 

[Bowdie]

We have 2 x Labradors and they didn't like the space in the back of the Karoq either, so we bought them an Octy Scout. Works out great, fitted a dog guard and Boot Buddy in the Scout so they're safe and comfy and the Cream Leather in the Karoq doesn't get covered in slobber!!! Every ones happy  

[Ootohere]

Skoda was the butt of jokes and there have been some truly unreliable Euro 5 TSI's. 1.4, 1.8 & 2.0 built by Skoda from 2009-2014, still unreliable now, so no point going back generations just look honestly at this last decade.

There are Skoda from generations back still on the roads, and crap with petrol or diesels that are nothing but a problem costing owners lots of money.

 

So Skoda's can be good, but VW Group are still the parent company and they can produce dodgy engines, gearboxes, software and hardware.

The fat lady has not sung yet, so the joke is not over.  Vorsprung Durch Technik, and if everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen the world would still have Toyota as the biggest car manufacturer in the world.

[Nicky_P]

My mother is a big brand fan and when we bought our Skoda we knew it would be contraversial.

However.......recently we had a trip to chester circa 2.5 hr drive each way and guess what, compliment after compliment regarding the car and it's features which was great but would she buy one, I doubt it, purely me own to the name, sad but true.

Glad to say we have more sense and appreciate the quality and spec of our Karoq and love it!

 

[TheRobinK]

8 hours ago, Nicky_P said:

My mother is a big brand fan and when we bought our Skoda we knew it would be contraversial.

 

Similiar with my aged Aunt and my Mother. With my Superb 2, the answer was to put them both in the back with its acres of cream leather and leg room.

 

Comment from my English Aunt:   "This is really rather splendid, like flying business class on BA".

Comment from Irish Mother:         "Its very posh but should you be spending so much on BMW's now that you have 3 dogs?"

 

 

[shyVRS245]

On ‎31‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 10:12, grandadpip said:

Coming up to just one month's ownership I do enjoy the contentment that comes with self congratulation that you made the right choice.  My eldest son drives an Octavia VRS for business and has racked up almost 70k trouble free miles in some 4 years.  That factor influenced me.

 

My generation, amongst fellow Briskodians, will of course remember those darker times when the Skoda marque was not only a badge of unreliability but a butt of countless jokes.

The VAG group appear to have done well to help resurrect the brand. One wonders if they had attempted the same with say British Leyland then maybe now I could be driving a Maxi derivative................what a thought!

 

To those who lift their noses when they hear of the Skoda brand now perhaps, after all this time,  the joke is on them!

Two of my neighbours drive an Audi A4 and BMW 4 series and pretty certain neither of these PREMIUM branded cars could hope to stay with my SKODA as I accelerate from 32 to 104 mph in 11 seconds!

[Redboy]

From my 10 years of VRS petrol experience the engines are fantastic. They are let down (like many other makes) by silly irritating faults and even more irritating the dealership attitude of ignoring these well-publicised issues,  until VW or enough people convince them there's a genuine need to repair it FOC. ABS sensors, cam chain tensioners and air conditioning to name a few. As for performance they more than hold their own and can be economical, as shown from a recent trip around Snowdonia and N Wales. I averaged 45 Mpg through the whole holiday, keeping up with traffic. 

[OldKaroq]

2 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Two of my neighbours drive an Audi A4 and BMW 4 series and pretty certain neither of these PREMIUM branded cars could hope to stay with my SKODA as I accelerate from 32 to 104 mph in 11 seconds!

 

Excuse me.....104mph is OVER the 70mph limit! 

 

(That said, my 330d was just starting to growl nicely at 120!)