seen the new VF commodore??

[Weekend-Warrior]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan. We love our RS. Price, performance and space. I'm probably just a little objective.

[donweather]

Although not major, I noticed two interior things lacking in the RS compared to my previous Tiguan: no lights in the sunvisior mirror units, and no footwell light.

I could have sworn my RS has footwell lights....at least in the drivers side?

No light in the sunvisor mirror units isn't too bad....just turn the lights on in the overhead centre console (near the rearview mirror).

[andymarc]

I agree, I really like the VF. It's so much better than the VE and it finally has class. I wish Skoda's looked like Opels too...

Having said that its just a VE with new front end , rear end and interior so not that much different to the VE. Holden have admitted its the same cabin and uses the same doors as the VE,
They did it with the VT/VX/VY/VZ commodore range.

[K1W1]

why can't I be a fanboy of a no frills family hauler with great fuel economy and ridiculous space?

No problem with that at all provided you don't try to convince yourself that you really own an Audi that has been fitted with Skoda badges by mistake.
I think Skoda is good value for money at least until you try to sell one and I brought knowing full well what it has and does not have. I like it but to me cars are transport and there are many other cars I could also quite happily own some of which are often regularly disparaged here but what I don't think is that the Skoda is anything other than the budget end of the VW range of vehicles.

[cbay]

No problem with that at all provided you don't try to convince yourself that you really own an Audi that has been fitted with Skoda badges by mistake.
I think Skoda is good value for money at least until you try to sell one and I brought knowing full well what it has and does not have. I like it but to me cars are transport and there are many other cars I could also quite happily own some of which are often regularly disparaged here but what I don't think is that the Skoda is anything other than the budget end of the VW range of vehicles.

You sound so underwhelmed when you talk about your skoda. I'm sure an Audi is much nicer to drive but really, is ergonomics worth the price? Maybe depending on each owner's current life situation.

I still miss my old B5 A4 because i know it felt much nicer ergnomically inside, even if it was 12 years old. But knowing full well that my Octy is bottom of the range I'm laughing as it fits all my current needs and more. I can still go around and say its got an Audi-badged, uh, diverter valve or something though.

And back to the actual topic, in ally had a chance to look at the new commodore, looks alright so far. It's all about how it feels in the flesh though...

[Martin]

Hmmm, there are lots of ways of looking at it

I would not compare the Skoda to Audi - no point
The Audi is really lovely, period, and everything cost double!
I have two friends whinging about the servicing (which I do agree is excessive in the extreme)
I went on the BMW track experience program, drove an M3 flat out, cost $350
The Audi track day costs $750 - shocker

Compare the Skoda to a Mazda 3 and you may look at the Skoda more favorably

I wanted a fun car that was useful/practical (with dual clutch) - the Octavia ticked all the boxes
The low resale value means I can convert it into a deadicated track car in a few years

[Mysticality]

I compare my Octy to GTI's, Mazda 3's, Falcadores and the like.
It goes harder than an SV6, uses less fuel than a Mazda 3, and is more practical than a GTI! Whats not to love?!

But yes - to the topic at hand...
*googles pics of new Commodore*
Its certainly... Interesting. Here's hoping its got a manual gearbox on the sports V6 model!!
I'm guessing an SV-D is out of the question?

EDIT: VF Commodore... New Camry, anyone? Especially the interior. Ugh!

[dArK5HaD0w]

I could have sworn my RS has footwell lights....at least in the drivers side?

it definately doesn't have footwell lights.
i retrofitted front & rear ones into mine. works in conjunction with the interior lights, and provides ambient lighting while driving with side/head lights on. details in my build thread if interested.
these should come as standard!!!

[cbay]

these should come as standard!!!

it's creature comforts like these that make an Audi

[woofy]

Unfortunately the fan boys often wear rose tinted glasses. Skodas are good cars but quality wise "built to a price" describes them very well and it's obvious when you compare other VW group products that essentially use the same chassis.

I'm well aware you personally have an Audi, and I love their styling inside and out and general handling. I've had various Audis each year for work interstate so have learnt their insides and out pretty well travelling about as well. However one thing that brought me over to a VAG car was Skodas reputation for quality control/build quality....two things that Audi was sinking and VW not far behind. The current Golf seems to have sunk to even greater lows, let alone the current twin turbo 118 TSI.

They are all built to a price, but in that respect Skoda take a bit more pride in getting things right. They obviously have to cut corners in aesthetics, but I'd rather that than have the ongoing issues I see every time I visit the guys in Richmond, there was another poor sucker in there with an unresolved issue in his A3...I know they have a small site, but I often wonder how many new sales go walking after they see the customers in there either A: overpaying for a basic service (one guy in his low 20s, had to taxi to the bank to get more money when he saw the bill) or B: The doozies I have seen with them (the suspension airbags blowing repeatedly while I was in their waiting room on a 4 x 4 A4 wagon, apparently it happened a lot on that model, and the one that blew was their last spare part). One thing the service guys haven't ever really tried to hide was the ongoing issues, pretty much every trip in they would tell me the issues with whatever car was the nightmare of the day. My cousin was a VW mechanic and now an Audi tech for a few years now, and reckons they push new tech/features in at too early a stage with Audi and by the time they get to VW and SKoda things have settled....(or in the case of SKoda keeping the 1.8L/118 TSi rather than the new 118 TSI in the Golfs, deliberately keep the more reliable version). He was a Honda/Mazda mechanic even further back and reckons the japanese just go for basic ways to do things to keep reliability up whereas VAG will find the most complex way to achieve the same thing.

Resale is a furphy, quite a few people on here got really good prices for selling privately, it's mainly media and people getting offered crap trade in values that keep raising it. I could have cried with the trade in I got for a low kms, immaculate Mazda 6 that was highly sought after last year. Trade ins are at an all time low, dealers don't want yet another car to sell, especially SKoda dealers. If anyone buys a car these days without intending to be thoroughly reamed by changing over a lot, then they are kidding themselves.

It's all swings and roundabouts, if someone buys an Audi/BMW/MB they expect to pay a premium, but they can't expect it to be more reliable than a cheaper car. The budget for putting little nice things is just bigger on them, but not necessarily the QC. I'll leave Lexus out of that as they seem to be a premium car with very little issues...