Test Drive Impessions

[wfdTamar]

Another point in the Scout's favour is they don't seem to be selling as well as the others (they seem to have had the same one for ages here) so could get a good deal to take one off their hands. 1.8's seem to be selling (or at least in ads) starting in the mid $30k's, Scout's a few $1000's higher. RS's starting at $37k. So there's not a lot in it if you're happy to take what's on offer rather than special order one.

[4thchicken]

Perhaps you are looking at the wrong car? - I've an RS DSG petrol wagon and love it however from reading your comments, perhaps the superb wagon would suit your purposes more.

A superb ambition wagon would be about the same price as the RS and would have a flat floor and presumably a softer ride/better noise than the RS.

Partly depends on your budget as well but the RS diesel dsg wagon and the superb diesel dsg wagon (ambition trim) are the same price - and carry the same engine. Or if you were prepared to stretch a bit further, then the elegance models would undoutably be a better car.

[Antiplastix]

Mazda is even more powerful than the diesel RS (135Kw & 400Nm), but has some annoying things missing - i.e. an auto dimming mirror. I've put one in my Vectra and I wouldn't want to go without now.

This actualy amazes me, out of all the technology and features available, I thought this to be the most gimicky fitted, and over half of my driving is done at night.

[wfdTamar]

It's just one of those things that shows how good modern technology is, simple, cheap, so why not put it in? Otherwise we all might as well drive cars for $5000 with 1960's technology (mind you my first car - a 1966 Mark I Cortina GT was a beauty).

Have considered the Superb. It'll be interesting to see how cheap they get after the initial sales.

[K1W1]

I'm not sure about other makes but the Skoda auto dimming mirrors don't work if you have a tinted rear window. I guess there isn't enough direct light coming in to trigger them.
I've now turned mine off as it's simply not an issue since the window was tinted.

[raph]

as someone who spends an hour every night going home on the monash, i have grown to love that dimming mirror. No tinting yet, maybe i will be less impressed after i get that done, but for now, it really makes the drive better.

[wfdTamar]

The one I have in my Vectra works through moderate tinting, so either it's the darkness of the tint, the type of tint, or the type of mirror.

[bobski]

Agree on cabin in Mazda 6. I had a Mazda 3 SP23 about 4 years ago and loooved it other than the cabin which was a bit hard and yuck (the red lights, they burrrrn!).

Unfortunately, 5 years on and the cabin of the 6 is pretty much a similar quality. After seeing the octavia, we walked back into mazda, looked at the Mazda 6, compared the ambience and thought, no. It drives nice, but not that nice (when its pretty close to the same money)....

[PROJET - L]

From everything you have said I believe you would find the 1.8TSI DSG the best compromise.
Performance is no slouch and economy is very good.
Drive is a lot more refined than diesel in terms of engine noise.

Give it a go, would love to know what you thought.
Good luck.

[brad]

This is an essential point for me - I couldn't afford to have it serviced by someone else.

I'm a qualified mechanic & could easily (and legally) service the Octy myself. I do 25,000km a year. Service schedule is every 15,000 & so far for the 3 services it's cost me less than $1000 in 2 years. That's at my local dealer who charge $120 an hour inc GST.

I have the 1.8TSI manual. I drive it in Sydney traffic (mainly a motorway commute from Hurstville to Campbelltown - Google maps it) and I've averaged 6.7L/100km for the 47,000km I've done so far. It would be less but I remapped it a while back which gave a slight economy hit & also have gone to wider tyres which have also caused an economy hit. For Tassie, I just can't imagine the DSG would be an advantage.

I know the noise you speak of. It's caused by a combination of lousy sound deadening, noisy tyres & possibly poor rear wheel alignment.

[wfdTamar]

So is yours a wagon and do you have that noise?

[brad]

I'm not sure about other makes but the Skoda auto dimming mirrors don't work if you have a tinted rear window. I guess there isn't enough direct light coming in to trigger them.
I've now turned mine off as it's simply not an issue since the window was tinted.

I have 20% tint & the auto-dimmer still works.

[brad]

So is yours a wagon and do you have that noise?

No, I have the hatch. The Continental SportContact2 are a fairly drony tyre and there was a noticeable reduction in highway noise when i went from 80% worn CSC2s to 80% worn Kumho KU31. They are especially noisy on coarse chip - last time I was driving in Tassie (1984 IIRC) all the roads were coarse chip. Is that still the case?

As the others said, look in the back - the sound deadening is non-existant. I put a heavy rubber boot liner in & that helped a bit.

BTW: I also drive on a lot of B-roads with undulations & potholes & the 4WD-like stance of the Elegance spec suspension suits them well.

[wfdTamar]

Yes, I'm guessing it's coarse chip. I really want to hear from anyone with a non RS wagon to see how they find the noise. I didn't notice the hatch I drove had the noise, but I don't know if it was because of the hatch-ness or it being non RS.

[spellbound]

Who cares , the noise out back is not that bad ,get over it , i had a liberty 3.0r b spec wagon , this was noticeably noisier when i first got it , 18 months later dont notice it unless back seat down .

The RS is a damn good drivers car , this a great hold all wagon is a nicer car than the liberty , much more fun to drive and this little trade of with a bit a of back seat rumble is drible .

Maybe the conti tires add a bit to it i dont care they grip like crazy .

If your seeking whisper quiet try a camry .