Opinions about buying a Skoda Octavia RS DSG diesel over a VW Tiggy DSG diesel?

[darnit]

Thanks Transporter. I do a lot of travelling and will be taking this new car on interstate or long day trips every so often so the Octavia should be good. Most likely will go for the wagon for greater practicality. Did a google search on the yeti and as practical as it may be and yes I did watch the episode of top gear with the yeti review, it probably isn't my kinda style and surely wont be missus' style either. So as far as I can see for the time being, the Octavia is the go. I'll be sure to visit a Skoda dealer or two tomorrow. Got the day off so will be perfect timing If Skodas are as good as they seem to be, why are they so rare to see on the roads? Not doubting it in any way but just curious. Is it an extremely new brand in Australia? When did they start selling over here? So far all the media reviews have been nothing but extremely positive but all mention about the lack of badge cred.

[CanberravRS]

Hey Darnit, I can say from 4 1/4 years in Skoda's, and being on my second one now that the Brand has Cred.. to the point where I could have sold my pre-face life Octavia vRS 3 times and no one has ever asked me what the Superb is, its well known as the Large car of the year now.. I can also say from experience in Skoda's that the quality is fantastic. In both my Skoda's everyone i knew who owned a VW or Audi would simply say, wow its such a nice place to be and so familiar ( shared trim and engineering ). The Octavia vRS had performance of the GTI and the flexibility of a full sized A4 Wagon at a far more acceptable price.

The Superb for me was a natural progression..

Have a good drive of a few models, i doubt you will be disappointed.. Skoda package VAG tech very very well..

The lack of Badge cred comments by the press are generally from media types who have little understanding of the Brand and its capabilities. If you look at the Global awards, local awards and the more savvy writers all have it right. Skoda is not a new brand and has evolved, maybe in the eye of narrow minded people who follow lead cow with the bell... but if your a free thinker, have an eye for quality, value, unique and attractive looks then Skoda's should rate highly on your list to look at.

[darnit]

Mate, that is so well said with such emotion and passion. I'm pretty much sold now. Actually I was already won over from my interactions with gti dave? and the quick tour of his yellow bullet (name was definately David...thanks mate). So I guess next on the agenda is to park my arse in a skoda at the dealership tomorrow and have a good drive of one or two. Thanks everyone for your warm support on and off forum

[Jake02]

If Skodas are as good as they seem to be, why are they so rare to see on the roads? Not doubting it in any way but just curious. Is it an extremely new brand in Australia? When did they start selling over here? So far all the media reviews have been nothing but extremely positive but all mention about the lack of badge cred.

Just over four years in Australia so yep, not that many on the roads but they're going up. NZ has had them since 2002 and they are really popular over there! Same with writer's comments; the lack of resale 'greatness' in their reviews is because people assume that people don't know what the car is and how much it should be worth, and then devalue it. Once Skoda starts really selling and really advertising then I'm sure A) the actual resale value will go up, B) so will reputation and credibility (if you're into that sorta thing) and C) the negativity from writers will dissipate (I mean, unless they actually find negative parts of the car).

[K1W1]

NZ has had them since 2002 and they are really popular over there!

NZ have had them more or less continuously (in small numbers) since the 1960's. 2002 is only when the current import arrangements started.

[Jake02]

2002 is only when the current import arrangements started.

That's what I basically said isn't it?

[K1W1]

No what you said was "NZ has had them since 2002". What I said was NZ has had them since the 1960's. There is only 40 years difference and it goes a long way to explaining why the brand recognition in NZ is higher. NZ is a very small country and even though Skodas were rare in the 1960's, 70's and 80's they were around and people did see them and they had a reputation for being somewhat basic but incredibly strong and well engineered.
When I was working in Auckland in 1983 we had a 1970's 100L series Skoda traded. At the time we were amazed about how solid the thing was and what's more we had no problems selling it. That was nearly 20 years before 2002.

[darnit]

Ah so not even 5 yrs yet. That's pretty new then. Well The more people getting these skodas on the road the better and greater recognition and reputation of a great alternative to the more expensive competitors. Can't wait.

[Damo105]

I've had my MY11 TSI RS manual wagon for two weeks now, and so far I'm mighty impressed. I'm still taking it fairly easy on the engine as it's only got 800kms on it, so am not revving it much past 4000-4500 rpm, bit I've given it a good squirt a couple of times and it goes really well. Especially impressed with the gear ratios and the torque, it'll coast along in traffic at 35-40km/h in 4th, then when you boot the throttle it picks up straight away.

For a wagon it handles really well. Very stable and flat through corners, ride quality is good, and it doesn't seem to misbehave over mid-corner bumps too much.

Build quality seems to be top notch, haven't noticed any build issues yet. And you definitely can't complain about the features for the money, it's pretty much fully loaded. My only grievance is the lack of audio controls on the steering wheel in the manual, but that's cause I've come out of a car with that feature and I'm used to it. Overall after two weeks of ownership I couldn't be happier, it's the best car I've ever owned.

[RSOK]

Ah so not even 5 yrs yet. That's pretty new then. Well The more people getting these skodas on the road the better and greater recognition and reputation of a great alternative to the more expensive competitors. Can't wait.

Skoda does indeed represent a great alternative to the many many many Mazdas and Honda and Subarus out there, in fact one of the attractions for me was owning something that was fairly unqiue and not already owned by some other Bob on every other block.

Throw in fantastic driving dynamics, first-rate build quality, and reliability that a European marque could only have dreamed about 10 years ago and you have the makings of a car that will make you a very happy driver for a long time to come.