mrx

Well I have both, a GTI and a vRS wagon. I like them both. I bought the vRS as the fur family carrier and the Golf is for stropping around town. I was under the impression that they are practically identical apart from the styling, wheel size, and extra 40kg curb weight of the vRS. The reason I was happy to look at the Octavia (which is new to Australia, as of October last year) was because of it's similarities with the Golf.

At first I didn't feel confident about throwing the vRS at corners like I do with the GTI, but when I actually did, it really surprised. I think a lot of it is psychological, you sit "in" the seats much more in the Golf, so move around less in the cabin, inspiring confidence. When it comes down to it, I don't think there's actually much difference in their cornering ability.

When I get a chance, I'll jack them both up and see if everything is the same.

Lummox

From what you can see they are the same, trust me I take them apart most days..

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redbaron

just find the octavia feels too soft where as the GTI is snappy asnd precise... to be fair driven the golf more, (SWMBO has one) the GTI feels special where the mk2 feels big.

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wega3k

You're right.

gregozedobe

Just goes to show about different people liking different things .

I found the GTI a bit busy and nervous and hard riding when I just wanted to relax and cruise with the rest of the traffic, whereas the "softer" setup of the Octy vRS suited me more (and it still had plenty of go and handled OK for my purposes).

I must be getting old (although to be truthful even when I was actually young I never did like driving or riding above 9/10ths, as I always wanted something in reserve in case of the unexpected).

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Sprint Yellow 2008 Octavia II RS Wagon 2.0TFSI manual (Xenons)
White 2006 VW Transporter LWB van 2.5 TDI manual (camper)

MikeyG

We took a Golf GTi in part exchange recently and as I'd never driven one before I used it for the weekend. My usual car is an Octavia vRS so it was a nice comparison.

The car I had was a 3 door in Candy White. Looks the part, sounds the part, bit pikey on the spec front (only 17" alloys, no leather etc) but apart from that not bad.

Performance wise, my big old butt dyno can't separate them. On paper they are just as quick. Skoda seem to have eek'd an extra 3bhp from the same engine according to quite a few publications but thats clearly negated by the extra weight on the vRS. The difference I did notice between the two is this, the Golf pulls and pulls from near enough tickover, all the way to 6500rpm, linear, no dramas. The vRS is slightly different. You gun it from tickover and around the 4k - 4500 rpm mark theres a step, like a mini Honda VTEC kick and all of a sudden you're bouncing off the rev limiter. I would love to see them both go down the 1/4 mile together (obviously with someone who knows what they're doing!) and see what the difference there is because I doubt its much if anything at all.

My other half tried it too. Her views were that she preferred the seats in the Golf to the Octavia, much more supportive both for lumbar and for thigh support (bless her, she's only short!!), she hated the colour of it both inside and outside but she loved the way it drove (her everyday transport is a Civic VTi-S). She liked the steering feel, the noise and the power. Her view was that she would have one over the vRS.

My arguement is this though, the GTi is a brilliant car, it looks great (I now like white cars) it sounds great and it handles superbly. But do I think its worth the extra ££££££'s over the Skoda. The Skoda is £17,900, the Golf is £20,800. You have to pay for a CD changer and iPOD capability on the Golf, its all standard on the Skoda. You have to pay for 18" alloys on the Golf, its a free upgrade on the Skoda at the moment along with Dual Zone Climate (which is actually standard on the Golf - only found that out this weekend). The physical options themselves are more expensive on the Golf, things like Cruise Control, £180 on the Skoda, £270 on the Golf!! Its the same funking part!!!!!

My conclusion on this would be as follows. If you are a single, image conscious individual with no family ties/commitments then I can maybe, just about, see the point of buying the Golf over the Octavia, you don't need the extra space you get in the Octavia, and you probably wouldn't ever get over the badge snobbery anyway! If however you are attached, family etc then you would be silly not to look at the Octavia over the Golf. Bigger, more practical, almost as much fun to drive, just as quick, **** loads cheaper to run (insurance group is 2 groups lower!!! ).

2 years ago I would've probably chosen the Golf over the Octavia because I met most of the above criteria (although I'm not particularly image conscious!!), now I really couldn't justify it and not because I work for Skoda, this would apply if I worked outside the motor trade and needed to supply my own vehicle. The Golf is a brilliant car and for some it is worth the extra money but not for everyone.

One final thing - both cars retain about the same amount over 3 years (circa 50%). This means that the Golf would lose you approx £10k, the Octavia only £9k. Tough call.

rsbspt

Great write-up MikeyG. In view of the preceding posts, the one thing you didn't comment on was the chassis - how did they compare in ride and handling?

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Then: Red Fabia vRS: Not quite standard.
Now: White Octavia vRS: Eibachs/FSDs - Milotec B pillars - Neuspeed shifter (thanx Stu!).

MikeyG

The Golf is definitely more chuckable, down to size/weight I guess, a lot more pointy at the front end. The Octavia loses out there purely down to the extra size of the thing. Its not that the vRS is bad at blatting down your favourite stretch of road though.

As far as the ride is concerned, even with 18" alloys on my Octavia I felt it rode better than the Golf (which only had the 17" fitted). Less crashy over poor surfaces, the Golf did seem prone to wander and tramline whereas I've never really noticed the vRS do that or if it does, not to the same extreme.

As I said in my review, the Golf is a brilliant car, no doubt but its not £3k's worth of brilliant. Theres nothing it does significantly better than the vRS to justify that price difference. And that price difference is for a 3dr GTi, its even more if you want a 5 door!!

mrx

In Australia a 5 door GTI costs $39990 & and vRS costs $39490, so the above pricing arguments don't really apply to us. Both come fully loaded except for satnav, leather, DSG, & Xenons, at that price.

gregozedobe

According to the Skoda Oz website a 5 door vRS is $37, 490 (the wagon is $39,490), and the vRS comes with heated seats (partial leather or leather-look ?), rear park sensors and 18" wheels as standard. DSG isn't available on a vRS in Oz.

The GTI has unheated fabric seats and 17" wheels as standard,with rear parking sensors optional. Some people feel its interior fittings are of a higher standard.

So the vRS has a significant price advantage in Oz when you compare like with like.

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Sprint Yellow 2008 Octavia II RS Wagon 2.0TFSI manual (Xenons)
White 2006 VW Transporter LWB van 2.5 TDI manual (camper)

symyman

The GTi and the Vrs are only really different in one thing; the badge and your personal preference on which drives better. The only things that make the GTi feel more responsive is it has better gripping lower slung seats, a more noisier induction
and is lighter so feeling a little more nimble.

The mean difference is the price and that is down to shear badge snobbery, and that
is why the likes of VW can get away with the 3.5k price tag over the Vrs.

Just like mrx said, in other countries the price is near the same, remember VW can
offset the cost of selling the Vrs so cheap be selling the GTi so high. If we in the UK
are so badge snobs then who can blame them.

Lets get one thing clear the Vrs would cost more to manufacture then GTI if all labour
rates are equal, and the only thing that makes it 3.5k dearer is the £1.50 badge on the front and rear. I am a mechanical design engineer and know a thing or two
about how manufacturing works, for example I was once involved in the design on an injection mould tool for glasses, the ones you wear on your face, the cost of producing a pair of fancy designer glasses is about 8 pence in production and material costs.
But if you stamp Prada or Diesel on them and then the sad English will part with £180 for the frames alone. Get my drift.

mrx

Personally, I consider a wagon & a hatchback to be more similar than a sedan and a hatchback, hence my comparing those two. The partial leather seats, 18" wheels, and reversing sensors are just what it came with - I didn't get any options, if it had come with 17" wheels, no reversing sensors and cloth seats I still would have bought it. If it had come $6000 cheaper (roughly the price difference in the UK) then I'd seriously have to consider owning the Golf at all, the wife and I would probably have two Skoda (is that the plural?) instead.

Babs

But the Octy *is* a hatchback

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mrx

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted, I knew someone would ping me for it!

The point I'm trying to make is, as per the original poster's question, the two cars are mechanically identical. Even if we talk about the "hatchback" vRS (instead of the estate), in Australia there is only a 5% difference in price between it and the GTI, so it really comes down to your preference for space / styling / seating etc., when you drive them. In the UK the price difference is more like 15% so it would be hard (for me at least) to justify spending the extra for the VW.

Babs

Only joshing

I found the Octavia to have greater rear seat room than the Golf

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sibart

As mentioned before if you put the VW badge on the octy you would be paying quite a bit more than a golf, the golf is a cracking car but it has its limitations.For practicality of everyday life(family and such like) the octy is outstanding, plus if you wish mods are available to REALLY turn it in into a HOT hatch

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Babs

I'm at the stage where I'm looking at getting a newer car or spending a large chuck of money on my Mk1 Octy... and it would be a tough call for me between a Mk2 Octy and a Golf

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sibart

Babs, i live in the forest of dean(pretty close).If you would like to have a drive in a slightly modded octy (check my signature) you are more than welcome.Like i said if you need a bit of room in a car i dont think you will beat the octy, thats the downfall of the golf me thinks

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Car: Factory freebies, JKM Performance K04 Turbo Upgrade, JKM Performance BIG Brake Upgrade, Koni / Eibach Suspension, Eibach ARB's, Revo Map, KMD fuel pump, Columbus toy+ BT Kit(cheers Stu) ,light assist, maxidot,rear park sensors,cruise control.

Babs

That's the thing lol - I love the 3 door hatch... I think the Golf looks ungainly in 5 door guise. But the Octy is a lot longer and looks good as a quasi-Saloon.

I certainly felt that the Octy didn't feel any bigger than the Golf... or even bigger than my Mk1!

I've got a very low attention span when it comes to cars... this is my 7th in 4.5 years lol

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sibart

Thats good going on the car front . How long you had the octy then?
Offer is there for a modded test drive anyway

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Car: Factory freebies, JKM Performance K04 Turbo Upgrade, JKM Performance BIG Brake Upgrade, Koni / Eibach Suspension, Eibach ARB's, Revo Map, KMD fuel pump, Columbus toy+ BT Kit(cheers Stu) ,light assist, maxidot,rear park sensors,cruise control.

Johnwg

So.......... what's the score with a VRS TDI 170bhp and a Golf GT Sport 170bhp ????????? Same, better, worse ???

(Apart from the fact you can get DSG on the VW's)

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Babs

2 months maybe..?

Might take you up on that offer then!

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