RS Wagon versus Mk 7 GTI

[Sloth]

I'm not sure about price comparisons - expect 10% off RRP for the Skoda. Maybe the GTI can get similar discounts. A mate of mine bought the PP because the street price wasn't much more than the RRP of a GTI.

As an FYI, when the new Octavia was released last year, Skoda @ Parramatta told me the Corporate Plus program discount on Octavias was 12%.

[mattaus]

Well my fiancee is probably going to be getting hold of a CX-5 soon, so we'll be covered on the larger car front. Really, if I didn't have a weird desire to own a sports wagon of some sort ,then the RS would not have even grabbed my attention. The thought of a highway destroying sports wagon has appealed to me ever since I got blasted by an RS4 wagon on a road trip from Brisbane to Mt. Hotham 4 years ago. Yeah, comparing an Octavia RS to an Audi RS4 is a bit unfair, but it's the thought that counts.

The fact that it seems to be a much better bang for buck vehicle over the GTI also doesn't help.

The issue surrounding warranty claims is a bit of a problem. According to Google maps there is a service centre at Mt. Gravatt. However the centre is owned by Bryan Byrt, who if their VW dealership in Capalaba is anything to go by, have gone bankrupt. Their Ford dealership went the same way. Not helpful.

Waiting times might not be an issue - my current lease does not expire until September, although I would need to place an order ASAP. Of course I could still be waiting for a long time for it even after my lease expires.

Honestly its all down to brand perception for me. I guess all I can do is head to a Skoda dealer and give one a whirl.

I have a quote request in with my lease provider now, so I'll see what the discount comes to. If it's close, then I'll have to consider it. If the fully kitted out RS is more expensive than the GTI then it'll probably be off the table.

[99Reza]

I think the service centre on Mansfield has been taken over by Mt Gravatt VW (Greenslopes dealer), still have the Skoda emblem in front of it. I will find out soon enough if they can do warranty job on Skoda car, one of my headlight was due to be replaced under warranty before Bryan Brytt went bust.

[woofy]

I've had no issue whatsoever with warranty work, the dealership I use was bought by another group, but I had something replaced well out of warranty last year without much fuss, about $500 in parts alone so I wouldn't stress much about that. Definitely go see and drive one in the flesh. The hatch or the wagon have way more boot space and space in general than a CX-5, they aren't really a big car, even the former 6 hatch had more room, SUVs always have less space than people think compared to a hatch or wagon. The CX-5 is a Mazda 3 in a fat suit. The CX-9 is more comparable for boot space with an Octavia, but of course its a 7 seater and a much larger car on the outside.

[Gerrycan]

Definitely go see and drive one in the flesh. The hatch or the wagon have way more boot space and space in general than a CX-5, they aren't really a big car, even the former 6 hatch had more room, SUVs always have less space than people think compared to a hatch or wagon. The CX-5 is a Mazda 3 in a fat suit. .

What Woofy said +1

The CX5 ,in fact all Mazda, may be nice driving cars and the engine and transmission combos better than most, but their packaging efficiency is very poor.
I remember going to the Mazda dealer years back when the original Mazda 2 and the Mazda 3 were on display in the showroom and my then young son going from one to other saying in a confused voice "But the smaller car is bigger inside".
Every Mazda 2 since then has been successively bigger outside and smaller inside, and poorer driving visibility as well in line with most of their models.

[afterdarker]

vRS wagon = same performance, double the practicality. Golf GTI is a great small car but a bit common. I'm biased of course.

[Antiplastix]

I got 50% back on my vRS wagon after 5 years, I was happy with that. The place you will notice the difference is tight corners. Had a bit of a friendly race with a GTi up Mac Pass once, the GTi shoots out of sharp bends that leave the vRS wheel spinning. Straight line, there s not much between them.

[mattaus]

Definitely going to let the cars do the talking. I'm so torn lol.

[aslsw]

When I bought my RS I did a straight comparison to the Golf GTI too. For me, the sheer practicality of the RS won the day - more boot space, more room in the rear, etc. I guess what I'm say is that I knew I would have more use for the practicality than the out-right performance of the GTI.

The other thing was that, as a package, the RS represents better value for money. When you add every single option there is, the starting price from Skoda is better than from VW (not taking into account discounts of course).

This was all 5 years ago ...

I did take a bit of a hit on the sale of the car, but I knew I would as I was breaking my lease early to go overseas. But given the amount of haggling potential buyers were doing, it was clearly in demand.

[dArK5HaD0w]

I drove the GTI/RS back to back in 2010 and the RS won hands down. I wanted a family car that could be fun to punt and the RS delivered. As Brad said, an RS is 90% of the GTI. And I think that 10% difference is the livability - the GTI for me was a bit harder of a ride and more direct steering. But anyway, drive them back to back, consider the details and its then about brass tacks.

+1
practicality and uniqueness for me.
much much bigger boot than a Golf. more rear leg room.
1 in 5 cars on the roads i c r Golfs. 1 in 10 r GTis. with the RS, u c much less of them. for me, its about not being a sheep and buying the same thing like everyone else.
......probably explains why i got a yellow one!!!