So you want a vRS with VW's XDS?

[Antiplastix]

Its like the same motor in the RS makes 147kw and 155kw in the GTI, Hmm maybe VW doesn t want their "hero" car upstaged. Any one got a dyno ?

[Jake02]

Its like the same motor in the RS makes 147kw and 155kw in the GTI, Hmm maybe VW doesn t want their "hero" car upstaged. Any one got a dyno ?

Agreed. I've always thought that because I still don't understand how a car that weighed roughly 100-150kg more than a GTI Mk V can only be 0.2 seconds slower to 100km/h (and I'm comparing previous GTI and pre-FL RS) Golf - 7.1/RS - 7.3 (but Wheels has done a 7.1 in a manual), with the DSG being 0.2 seconds quicker again. Maybe the RS has more power than that...

[K1W1]

The power output of any engine these days is largely governed by electronics and what you get depends on where the manufacturer wants to position the vehicle. Our S3 with a 2.0 litre TSFI engine puts out something like 188kW from memory so there is probably no reason why a vRS or GTI engine couldn't put the same sort of power out with some tweaking.

[Loobie]

Its like the same motor in the RS makes 147kw and 155kw in the GTI, Hmm maybe VW doesn t want their "hero" car upstaged. Any one got a dyno ?

Yeah, that's a definite statement about where VAG perceive the GTI against the vRS. And if we all put on the marketing hats, we'd probably do the same or even turn up the wick on the GTI a bit more to create a larger point of difference between the GTI & vRS.

I still believe the greater disappointment & point I was highlighting is Skoda providing more bang for buck in UK compared to Oz - volume aside, I would think both countries would be perceived as similar markets in terms of market/driver expectation of the vRS. It further reinforces the relatively poor deal we get in Oz for the vRS - to demonstrate:

UK GTI (5 door manual) 24,760 GBP (on road price)
UK vRs (L'back manual) 19,005 GBP (on road price)
- GTI is 30% more expensive than the vRS

OZ GTI (5 door manual) 40,490 AUD
OZ vRS (L'Back manual) 37,490 AUD
- GTI is 8% more expensive than the vRS

What the pricing shows is that the OZ GTI is a bargain when you look at the exchange rate. It also seems to show that VW Oz either negotiated a pretty ordinary deal for the vRS or they're making a nice big margin - the diplomat in me says that's an "odd" decision when you're trying to establish a brand and model in a new market.

[woofy]

It's been said to death, but Skoda priced everything too high here. When the Gti has such long wait times they aren't likely to be giving us such a bargain, but why the RS is so close in price I don't know. The have stated all along its being placed as a premium product, but really it's not meant to be.

[selurs]

The have stated all along its being placed as a premium product, but really it's not meant to be.

The Australian market is often treated a bit strangely like that. Ford did a similar thing with Volvo, tried to move it premium. Except that most people, strangely enough, baulked at paying premium prices for a dressed up Ford Focus/Mazda 3 (c.f. C30/S40). I suppose its a matter of perception - if you get people to think of Volvo/Audi as a premium brand then they'll pay what you ask for it, even if the C30 is a Ford Focus or the A3 is a Golf (or the A1, which will be built on the Polo platform).

I remember the statements when Škoda first re-entered the Australian market that they were positioning the brand to compete with the Japanese manufactures, and weren't even planning to mention is relationship to VW. Guess that went out the window with the slow uptake...however it does somewhat explain the prices. E.g. Mazda 3 MPS at around $47K drive away compares quite favourably to the RS at $45ish (depending on options). Also the Subaru WRX and Lancer RalliArt are both around the $42-43K mark drive away, which with its superior fit still leaves the RS ahead. I know from personal experience having tested all those cars before making my decision that while the MPS/WRX was definitely more powerful (and the MPS is a *stunner* in person from the outside), they didn't compare at all to the handling and quality interior of the RS, so it doesn't really need to be cheaper than them to compete.

So, in short, it's all about the perceived competition. They don't want us to think about Škoda as a "cheap Volkswagen" but as a "superior Japanese car". Anyway, just my 2c as to why the Škoda's are the price they are here...

[K1W1]

The other thing to keep in mind with the UK pricing is what features are included standard on each car. I don't know about the VW but in the UK a spare wheel and tool kit are an option on Skodas/ likewise the Maxidot display appears to be an option as well. To do the exercise properly you would need to spec up identical cars in both the UK and Aus and see how the comparison worked but I guess the overall point is that in the UK Skoda's seem to have less of a "premium" price tag than they do here.
In truth it doesn't worry me. I don't live in the UK and I think that I got a pretty good deal on my vRS compared to what I would have had to pay for other equivalent cars in Australia.

[Pietra]

I don't live in the UK and I think that I got a pretty good deal on my vRS compared to what I would have had to pay for other equivalent cars in Australia.

This is pretty much the approach I took and the way I would try and sell the car to anyone else. As i said in my first post I bought an Octavia RS DSG Wagon because it ticked the boxes marked roomy, sporty, auto and just squeezed into the budget. The new Liberty was nice and the mazda6 was my wife's preference. The Skoda has the best interior (in our opinion), is on parr for the luxuries, has a decent spare wheel and the best performance and handling (in my opinion).

Interesting we didn't even consider the GTI - its just a completely different car and I don't think they can be compared that readily.

A R36 Estate or a S4 Avant would have also been nice and met my requirements except their prices didn't quite squeeze into the budget.

After a month on the road I am very happy with the RS, it looks good, i love the engine, the gearbox and the room and am proud to have it in the garage and the brownie points required to bypass the mazda6 were all worth it.

Mind you, this XDS does sound the business and I wouldn't say no if it could be retrofitted to the car and i could justify the upgrade
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[4thchicken]

Did some quick research........it's all software. An electronic diff so I guess you would need a VAGCOM to determine that?

would that suggest that a dealer might be able to update/upgrade rs's to have electronic diff? (that prevents wheel slippage right?)

[Antiplastix]

would that suggest that a dealer might be able to update/upgrade rs's to have electronic diff? (that prevents wheel slippage right?)

Nope there is more to it than that, you need the hardware as well. Think of it is a really complicated limited slip diff. The software only tells which drive wheel to drive.