L&K Octavia Estate 2.0 Tdi DSG - What to Add?

[JohnMorr]

OK, we've more or less decided to go for the top-of-the-range model for the car which will need to serve us for the next 10 years at least. Our own money, cash on the line and all that. So long-term depreciation isn't really a factor, but initial outlay just could be something.

So could all you experienced Briskodians advise us on which extras are worth buying for a decade's-worth of ownership? Drivethedeal offer the following options for the L&K (hope this works):

http://www.drivethedeal.com/options.asp?manuf=SKODA&model=OCTAVIA+DIESEL+ESTATE&modeldesc=2%2E0+TDI+PD+Laurin+%2B+Klement+5dr+DSG&capid=30499

Some are no-brainers, such as basic safety items. But is the upgraded sound system really worth that much? And is xenon lighting at GBP450 that much better than the standard? Anyone gone for the sunroof (which we have on our present Elegance estate and quite like) - if so, is it worth the dosh?

I'm really looking for advice from those who have already lashed out (or persuaded their firms to do so) on these potential extras. Which should we go for? Which are a waste of money?

Oh - and by the way - which colour? We've got cayenne Red at the moment - brilliant! Nothing appears as exciting in the brochure. Flamenco? Sahara? What's most zingy in real life?

Thanks for anything you can suggest, guys & gals.

John

[Chris197]

OK' date=' we've more or less decided to go for the top-of-the-range model for the car which will need to serve us for the next 10 years at least. Our own money, cash on the line and all that. So long-term depreciation isn't really a factor, but initial outlay just could be something.

So could all you experienced Briskodians advise us on which extras are worth buying for a decade's-worth of ownership? Drivethedeal offer the following options for the L&K (hope this works):

[url']http://www.drivethedeal.com/options.asp?manuf=SKODA&model=OCTAVIA+DIESEL+ESTATE&modeldesc=2%2E0+TDI+PD+Laurin+%2B+Klement+5dr+DSG&capid=30499[/url]

Some are no-brainers, such as basic safety items. But is the upgraded sound system really worth that much? And is xenon lighting at GBP450 that much better than the standard? Anyone gone for the sunroof (which we have on our present Elegance estate and quite like) - if so, is it worth the dosh?

I'm really looking for advice from those who have already lashed out (or persuaded their firms to do so) on these potential extras. Which should we go for? Which are a waste of money?

Oh - and by the way - which colour? We've got cayenne Red at the moment - brilliant! Nothing appears as exciting in the brochure. Flamenco? Sahara? What's most zingy in real life?

Thanks for anything you can suggest, guys & gals.

John

Got to have sat nav if your gona do lots of long journeys and you dont know where your going). people will say it cheaper to buy a tom tom and the like, but belive me ive been there and done that (ive had three systems) and there is nothing worse than carrying it around or conecting to the dash/screen every time you need it. much nicer to have it in the car and ready to go all the time.

Dont think much of the xenon lights especialy for the money, again ive heard they can be adjusted but for that price dont see why they are not perfect in the first place (they light up the side of the road nice).

Heated seats are a must if you dont go for the L+K, I never really bothered with them before I had them. My god what a difference they make on cold winter mornings seeing that the diesel engines take so long to warm up.

I wouldnt bother with the sunroof, altough nice again I dont think its wirth the money especialy if you have air con.

Muti function steering wheel would be handy, I can barley reach my sat nav/stereo volume control (prob something to do with my xmas belly)

Overall a great car no matter what you get.

Hope this helps

[Expatman]

I have just bought an L&K Estate to last 10+ years. I thought about extras and deciced on:

Curtain airbags & ESP ---- safety

DSG - gearbox, no brainer as it makes driving so much easier and it is just brilliant! If you are getting the 2.0 diesel then it tames the torque of the power delivery and is just soooo good. Can't recommend the DSG gearbox enough. GET IT

Tyre pressure monitor - safety and peace of mind.

I chose Sahara - bit different from same-same silver and it needs to be okay and acceptable for ten years

I didn't get Satnav because it is a fast developing science and if I am keeping the car for 10 years then I am sure the 2005 system will be obsolete well before then. If it is a factory fitted part of the car then it is almost impossible to change - so get a TomTom or something similar for when you need it (how often is that really??)

I didn't get sports suspension because it is too firm for me and the standard set-up is precise, controlled and accurate.

After 2 months I like the car more and more each day - taut, rattle free and seems to be hewn from solid steel! Performance is excellent and I am getting 45 mpg overall since new - that is getting better with added miles so expect to get nearer to 50 mpg.

Good luck

[Paul1.9L&KOct]

Hi John,

I've just ordered a 1.9TDI L&K Octy and only option i've added is ESP package.

Difference is though, mines a company car and I'll only have it 3 years.

Might be a different story if I was buying it myself and keeping it for 10 years.

Regards,

Paul

[Johnnyc]

Got to have sat nav if your gona do lots of long journeys and you dont know where your going). people will say it cheaper to buy a tom tom and the like, but belive me ive been there and done that (ive had three systems) and there is nothing worse than carrying it around or conecting to the dash/screen every time you need it. much nicer to have it in the car and ready to go all the time.

Agreed it's nicer to have in the car but isn't there a problem whereby you can't listen to a CD at the same time? Also I don't necessarily agree on the hastle factor with portable systems. I have my Sat Nav built into my Pocket PC which goes with me everywhere anyway. It does everything and more than the built in Sat Nav for a 1/3 of the price and you don't lose money on it when you sell the car. Plus you can use it on the move when walking or on a bike.

Dont think much of the xenon lights especialy for the money' date=' again ive heard they can be adjusted but for that price dont see why they are not perfect in the first place (they light up the side of the road nice).

[/quote'] Agreed. I also would worry about the vibration problems people have been having. I changed my standard low beam lamps to Osram Silverstars and couldn't wish for more although I may upgrade the main beam lamps at some stage too. Xenons are probably good if you do a lot of night time country driving otherwise they are just for looks and are annoying to other drivers.

Heated seats are a must if you dont go for the L+K' date=' I never really bothered with them before I had them. My god what a difference they make on cold winter mornings seeing that the diesel engines take so long to warm up.

[/quote']

My bosses have them in their motors and I always feel like i've pi**ed myself when they turn them on. I find they are too warm and don't find my unheated seats particularly cold even in winter. Once you have sat in them for 30 seconds they are warm enough although leather would be a different story but i'm not a fan of leather as it's too uncomfortable in summer. My 2.0 TDi warms up pretty quickly too.

I wouldnt bother with the sunroof' date=' altough nice again I dont think its wirth the money especialy if you have air con.

[/quote']

Agreed. It does give more of a feel of airyness to the cabin with the extra light and upwards view but definately not worth that sort of money. You won't see any of the money back on resale either.

Muti function steering wheel would be handy' date=' I can barley reach my sat nav/stereo volume control (prob something to do with my xmas belly)

[/quote']

It's handy alright but not as useful as you would think. You can't change between FM/AM/CD/CD changer with it so have to reach over to the head unit. Backlighting looks good in the dark though.

ESP, curtain Airbags and active headrests are essential although i forgot to spec the active headrests.

DSG is a great option if you run to it but the mpg suffers a little, it may be a bad idea if you plan to do any tuning and insurance can be higher over the 6 speed manual box version. I'd still go for DSG if I could now.

Front parking sensors are a waste of money IMO unless your parking abilities are awful.

I found the sports suspension rock hard although others may dissagree. Standard setup is a good compromise IMO but the car does benefit aesthetically from 17" alloys

I was advised against the Pearlescent paint by my lease company. They found it more susceptible to damage than standard paint.

The audience head unit isn't worth the extra money IMO but thats partially because I couldnt be bothered writing mp3's onto cd's and prefer using an external mp3 player that gives actual track details etc. I found the 6 disc changer built into the head unit on the car I test drove very slow to switch between discs although the extra front door speakers do help the midrange. Not worth the extra £600 though.

The tyre pressure monitor is a nice touch which I specced but TBH I think it's a bit of a gimmick. The pressure has dropped in all of my tyres over the last couple of months and it didn't pick that up because it only looks for 1 tyre being at a different pressure than the others. I suppose if you did have a puncture it could prevent you being caght out on the motorway and limits the damage caused by unknownly driving on a low tyre but you are still probably going to have to change the tyre yourself anyway.

[golfturbo]

I pretty much fully loaded my car, in fact it ended up being the most expensive Skoda Mitchells have sold to date!

Spec is below in my sig....

Definately go for the DSG, without fail this is the best option ever

Xenons nice to have but not necessary as the standard lights are very good on the Octy, I just love Xenons though hence why I have them

Sunroof again nice for a little extra light in the cabin and natural ventilation

Audience a good spec head unit, lots of good tones produced with the additional speakers, haven't used the mp3 function yet

Pegasus Alloys etc these really set off the car and the sports suspension imho is not hard at all (although I did have an A4 Avant Sport before the octy!)

TPM for £50 why not have it!

Curtain Airbags a must in my opinion

ESP etc etc again a must in my opinion

I'll post some more pics of my car shortly!

[alock]

... need to serve us for the next 10 years at least.

Important questions:

1) Look at 5 year old cars with satnav. This is what todays satnav will feel like in 5 years time and you'll have to live with it for another 5 years. To get an idea of what satnav might be like in 5 years, look at what Japan have now http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news_9594.html. Streets mapped in a virtual 3D world

2) We bought our Octavia with the intention of keeping it for many years so we decided against DSG on the basis that I don't want to pay to repair/replace it once it is out of warrenty. It is new technology that does not yet have the market penetration to know how reliable it is with 5 years and 100,000 miles of wear.

3) If safety is important, save the >

[Johnnyc]

3) If safety is important, save the >

[alock]

You are joking' date=' right?

That's the most rediculous thing i've ever heard. If you can't afford to add the safety features to protect you and your family NOW then you are looking at the wrong car as far as i'm concerned. It's not like buying a TV.[/quote']

If that's how you feel, why did you buy an Octavia? From everything I've read a Laguna or 407 would be safer. You compromised the safety requirements so you could buy the car you liked the most. If this is incorrect, can you please direct me to the crash-test data you based your purchase decision on?

Everything is a compromise based on everyones own personal tastes. I was only trying to make the poster aware that todays safest car will appear unsafe on the roads in 8 years time. 8 Years ago, a golf mk3 with optional passenger airbag was considered safe :eek:

And looking at your sig, you missed the active head restraints. If you can't afford to add the safety features to protect you and your family NOW then you bought the wrong car.

[Johnnyc]

If that's how you feel' date=' why did you buy an Octavia? From everything I've read a Laguna or 407 would be safer. You compromised the safety requirements so you could buy the car you liked the most. If this is incorrect, can you please direct me to the crash-test data you based your purchase decision on?

Everything is a compromise based on everyones own personal tastes. I was only trying to make the poster aware that todays safest car will appear unsafe on the roads in 8 years time. 8 Years ago, a golf mk3 with optional passenger airbag was considered safe :eek:

And looking at your sig, you missed the active head restraints. If you can't afford to add the safety features to protect you and your family NOW then you bought the wrong car.[/quote']

The Octavia offered good safety, reliability, performance and quality and as you say it was a compromise of these. The 407 and Laguna fell down badly for me on quality and reliability despite having higher NCAP Crash ratings but you have to be practical.

I added ESP and curtain airbags to my Octavia and if adding these had taken me over my budget i'd have opted for a lower spec or model with these options included because they are essential as far as i'm concerned. Skoda don't offer these options for fun and I wasn't prepared to leave them off my specification knowing they could help prevent the serious injury or death of my passengers in the event of a serious accident.

I'd hate to have to tell my kid 'i'm sorry mummy's gone to heaven, but on average our car was pretty safe and we only have to wait another year to change it because we saved so much money by not speccing the extra safety options'

Incidentally, I already pointed out above that I had forgotten to spec 'Active Headrests' and regretted it. £50 doesn't break the bank.

[domhnall]

I've just had my first two weeks driving my new Octy II L&K estate. Sadly I had no choice but to take it as it came as there were only two available in the country and my old L&K had been wiped out by a large tree. (happy to report it was strong enough to allow me to escape unscathed).

I am delighted with the new car, although my initial feel was that I preferred the look of the old model. The one thing I really miss about the old one is the Xenon headlights. On cold dark wet winter nights they really made a difference and the halogen lights on the new ones just can't compete. I've upgraded the bulbs thanks to suggestions on Briskoda (check out www.powerbulbs.co.uk) but if I had been able to choose I would have got the factory fitted Xenons every time.

[Atomic Sprout]

I wouldn't touch Xenons as a replacement unit costs

[JohnMorr]

Thanks folks for the suggestions and comments - when you're about to lash out some £15 (no, JohnnyC, please multiply by a thousand - see below) of your very own money (after allowing for the trade-in on the old car) and have to live with the results for the next decade, you need to be sure you're spending the money wisely.

I didn't expect unanimity among the Briskodians and wasn't disappointed! But picking my way through the answers my current feeling on the options for the L&K Estate are:

17 inch wheels - would just make the ride harder. Ditto for sport suspension. At my age I'm going for comfort over cornering.

Front parking sensors For goodness' sake, if you can't tell how close you are to the car in front while parking you shouldn't be driving! But approve of the standard rear sensors - if the car's up to the roof with luggage the side mirrors are of little help when easing into a tight spot.

Audience radio I rather think I'll end up going for this - as I recall the standard radio has had problems? The Symphony in our Mk 1 doesn't really cut the mustard; a better one might get me listening to music on the move again.

Curtain airbags Happy to have all the extra safety going. Mind you, I've not had an accident in over 40 years driving, but who wants to count on indefinite good luck with the possibility of some other idiot T-boning you?

Electric tilt/slide sunroof Difficult, this, but when you're tootling along on a balmy day it's nice to have the open air experience. So, probably a tick in the box.

ESP+EDL+HBA Again, must-have safety features.

Metallic paint With 10-year ownership, extra resale value is not an issue - it all depends on how the colours look. Expatman's Sahara sounds good, but I've yet to see one in the metal.

Navigation system Despite Chris.G's points I agree with Expatman. I've got a TomTom Go, which works perfectly well, can be moved between our two cars and which can be upgraded or replaced during the car's life. So a definite "no" to Satnav.

Tyre pressure monitor I check my tyres pretty regularly, so am not too concerned about a slow all-round loss of pressure (see JohnnyC's remarks). But for £50 it's a cheap way of being warned about (say) a rear tyre going down quickly at speed.

Xenon headlights I don't intend to be doing a lot of night driving, and when I do it'll probably be in town, on motorways or on A-class roads where the best headlights are not an imperative. Besides, in North London Xenons seem to be used on high beam in broad daylight by every tw*ttish 4x4 driver who wants you to know that (a) they've got them and ( you should get out of their way pronto. So it's a "no" to this. Incidentally, how easy is it on the Mk.2 to change to Osram Silverstars - is it a DIY job?

A few other points of interest:

DSG I'm going for this because we both want an auto (and my wife has a hip problem which makes autos easier to drive). Reliability is always a concern in a long-term car, but VAG must have tested the DSG to destruction under development and if there were any residual problems I feel sure they would have emerged by now. The DSG is pretty straightforwad in mechanical terms; problems nowadays seem to result from ever more complex electronics, which (in theory)can be reprogrammed or replaced without too much difficulty.

Safety This aroused a bit of debate! I really don't think - pace alock - that cars are going to get much safer for their occupants over the next 5 years - the low-hanging fruit have all been plucked. If the 2011 Octavia is going to protect me significantly more than the 2006 version, I'd like to know how. Pedestrian safety is another (and much more intractable) issue, but I'm selfish enough not to spend big money buying into the manufacturers' problem.

Besides, the whole point of planning for 10-year ownership is to amortise the depreciation over the entire period and avoid being hit for it 2 or 3 times. If I buy a Skoda for £20K and it is worth nothing at the end I will have paid £2K a year (I know I'm simplifying). If I buy twice over the period I will pay £20K for the first and £14K for the second and have a trade-in worth £6K at the end (assuming I can rely each time on a £6K trade-in value after 5 years - doubtful). So I will have spent £20+14-6 =£28K. Only worth it IMHO if you really want a new car frequently.

But many thanks to my fellow Briskodians for some genuinely helpful comments. Off to my local dealer next week to arrange a 24-hour test drive which will show whether we stick with Skoda or go for an alternative medium-sized family diesel automatic estate with lots of goodies. Volvo V70, anyone?

[Johnnyc]

Thanks folks for the suggestions and comments - when you're about to lash out some

[JohnMorr]

Thanks, JohnnyC - most thoughtful.

I Should have made it clear that the £15K figure was "cost to change" - assuming I can drive the dealer down to around £20K on the sticker price and get £5K for our current car (Nov '01 51 Reg Elegance Estate), with a bit of leeway on the extras. I'll probably have to spend rather more if I opt for all the bells and whistles.

I don't think the 17s make the ride harder, just the sports suspension

I'd always heard that larger wheels improve handling but damage the ride.

If you don't need the mp3 functionality then the stream radio is basically almost as good as the Audience and a huge step up from the standard Octy 1 HU. I'm advised by Visteon (who manufacture the stream and Audience) that the same problems afflicted both models. There are more poeple with the stream radio so it makes sense that there were more complaints about faulty streams. I've been assured that all problems have been resolved now and haven't noticed anything of concern with mine.

So it comes down to whether the extra speakers make a difference - doubt if they're worth that much, but what do thers think?.

Personally I lower the windows for the open air experience. If you had A/C and a sunroof on your last car then you will probably miss the sunroof if you don't spec it. However, if your last car didn't have A/C and you relied on the sunroof then you may quickly find the sunroof redundant.

We have both sunroof and A/C on our current car - sorry to lose either, but A/C is more important. But you're right - I think we'd feel just that bit more enclosed without a sunroof.

I don't totally disagree with alock. Of course cars will be safer in 5 or 10 years time, I just don't think that leaving important safety kit off your new car spec NOW on the basis that you'll be able to afford to change it to a newer safer car in 3 years instead of 5 is the answer. I'd top myself if a passenger in my car was killed because I didn't spec the one piece of safety kit that could have saved them.

I do understand his reasoning but being 'safer on average' just isn't good enough for me.

Couldn't agree more - safety always has to be top priority. What are the chances of your house burning down? Minimal. Would you go without insurance? Rather doubt it...

Thanks again.

[Johnnyc]

Thanks, JohnnyC - most thoughtful.

I Should have made it clear that the

[JohnMorr]

Oops....

[agent006]

larger wheels mean lower prfile tyres which mean harder sidewalls wich mean harder ride.

I'd go for the speaker upgrade. Whilst powerful, the standard speakers are lacking in mid range clarity. Plenty of treble, plenty of bass, but really poor for listening to things as background music.

[JohnMorr]

Thanks Agent006 - that just about describes the Symphony speakers on our Mk1 Elegance - boom and tizz, which is OK for speech but not for music. So the Audience upgrade is now looking more likely.

[Johnnyc]

I think that's a bit unfair to the stream Agent 006. What you say is true about the midrange but unless you are really into your sounds you'll not notice and find the Stream just fine. I understand the difference between the Stream & Symphony is huge.

Ask GAFF, he had a listen to my Stream Head Unit and currently has a OctyI which came with the Symphony.

You about GAFF?

[Johnnyc]

Gaff's not on. Send him a PM and mention me.

[JohnMorr]

Both - I am actually really into good quality sound, having had a thing for music and hi-fi stretching back 50+ years. My current home setup is Linn/Arcam/B&W based, with iPod AAC 256K/Grado SR80 topup for journeyig - just about as good as I've heard. So I'm very sensitive to acoustic imbalances - mp3 doesn't do it for me. But then there's the problem of having a car-based system which can overcome the ambient sound level on Britains crummy motorways.....

So is the upgrade worth it? Guess I'll have to go and listen for myself!

[Johnnyc]

Sounds like the upgrade is for you. Personally i'll be adding the mids myself and a sub in the boot but it isn't going to be straightforward. It's still a lot of money though.

[lozgti]

Followed a new Octavia Estate one dark morning.

Rear lights look fantastic.Looks like a much more expensive car(presume the hatch lights are the same)

Made me want an estate

[Johnnyc]

Funny that. I've had my OctyII for nearly 4 months and never thought about the lights until the other night when i pulled up behind another OctyII in traffic. Nice glow and unlike anything else out there. I like.