New car

[swingdoctor]

Hi guys, just wanted a bit of advice from those who own an RS. Currently I drive a Liberty GT that needs changing over. I'm impressed with the Octavia RS and the review's I have read on them and will be test driving it. What that is not ideal for me with the RS is that its FWD only and it has a 4 star ANCAP rating. The main question I have is how it handles in the wet. I test drove the Fabia RS in the wet and it did wheel spin a bit. The other option I am looking at is a used A4 quattro.

[Damo105]

My RS wagon is fine in the wet. It steers and brakes OK in the wet. And on take-off, there's a fair degree of grip so long as you don't tramp it. If you put the boot in then yes it will break traction quite easily. Gentle acceleration is the key. Tyre choice is obviously also a factor.

If you're looking for hot-hatch handling you might be disappointed. The RS doesn't handle as well as a GTI, or any of the other hot-hatch brigade, but for a mid-size car they handle well. And they are very nice to drive. My only complaint from my RS wagon in the driving department, is that back seat passengers do get a firmer ride than the front. But that doesn't bother me much because I don't ride in the back.

[swingdoctor]

My RS wagon is fine in the wet. It steers and brakes OK in the wet. And on take-off, there's a fair degree of grip so long as you don't tramp it. If you put the boot in then yes it will break traction quite easily. Gentle acceleration is the key. Tyre choice is obviously also a factor.

If you're looking for hot-hatch handling you might be disappointed. The RS doesn't handle as well as a GTI, or any of the other hot-hatch brigade, but for a mid-size car they handle well. And they are very nice to drive. My only complaint from my RS wagon in the driving department, is that back seat passengers do get a firmer ride than the front. But that doesn't bother me much because I don't ride in the back.

Thanks, not really looking for a hot hatch. I'm not too keen on the golf R as it is too quick for what I like. Even the Fabia RS, was more then quick enough for me. I want a safe care that handles the wet well but has enough go that I don't feel I'm driving a tank. What I'm ideally looking for I guess is a newer smaller version of my GT. The car that comes closest to it on paper anyway is the Audi A4 quattro, but I don't really want to spend $70K on a car, particualrly when a car like the Octavai RS is nearly 1/2 the price. It's certainly not 1/2 the car. For the price that you pay, how well the car is specked out, its ideal for me, if only it came in 4x4.

[RSOK]

Hi there, have owned my RS (petrol) wagon for over 2 years now, love it, and I'm a KEEN driver (just completed the Audi Advanced Driving Experience at Eastern Creek last Friday, fantastic day and got to play with some great Audi 'toys'!)

First of all I've never owned an AWD car, driven Quattro Audis tho and to be perfecly honest unless you're consistently doing your best Vettel impressions on gravel or wet roads, you're not going to notice the difference between FWD and AWD, so for me it's not an issue that the RS is FWD.

The 4 star rating was, I'm lead to believe, achieved in European testing without front curtain airbags. Would it achieve 5 stars these days even with the curtain airbags standard on Aus cars? Probably not owing to lack of interior seat belt warnings for rear seats, and let's not forget the Octavia architecture is several years old now. Did it stop me from buying one? No. I have a wife and 2 young kids under 5, I'm perfectly comfortable with the RS as it is, 4 or 5 stars is not a deal breaker for me.

The RS is the perfect size for my needs, I'm 6'4" and fit just fine, my wife loves how easy it is to park and the huge boot for all the kids' stuff, I love it's performance and fuel economy, it handles brilliantly wet or dry, and as mentioned above tyre choice plays the biggest part in that, make sure you insist that your car comes with the Continental tyres not the Dunlops haha!

[ausspace87]

I test drove the GTI before I purchased my RS and I preferred the RS in terms of driveability (the suspension feels slightly less firm with the added weight of the Octavia body) and the interior is much more inviting (the Golf felt like a cocoon with it's narrow windscreen). A couple of my friends have Audi A4's and while the interior feels more upmarket (it should!) and there is less road noise at speed, they all think my RS has character and the value for money is tough to beat. One even said they are kicking themselves for not test driving the RS before buying the A4.

[candy_wagon]

I have had experience with all wheel drive Subarus before, but although there is a safety element to the all wheel drive, I find they understeer to much and are always pushing at the front wheels even through mild bends which undermines its 'safety' advantage. I agree with RSOK that unless you are a flat foot who wants to scream around all day every day (why do Commodore drivers come to mind there...?) then I don't really think there is an advantage with an all wheel drive car as opposed to a good front driver like the RS. They are heavier and more complex, which also means penalties in fuel consumption.

As for the Audi's, unless you are looking at the newer platformed cars like the A6, the steering is Playstation light and the ride quality poor, especially on bigger wheels.

I have only had my RS for 2 weeks but I am quite amazed at the grip available in the RS, even over my previous Focus XR5 that has on tuned suspension - that's in the dry and wet. On that point, the Octavia ride quality is certainly better than the 'hot hatch' Focus in every way from body stiffness, primary and secondary ride and even road noise.

[swingdoctor]

Hi there, have owned my RS (petrol) wagon for over 2 years now, love it, and I'm a KEEN driver (just completed the Audi Advanced Driving Experience at Eastern Creek last Friday, fantastic day and got to play with some great Audi 'toys'!)

First of all I've never owned an AWD car, driven Quattro Audis tho and to be perfecly honest unless you're consistently doing your best Vettel impressions on gravel or wet roads, you're not going to notice the difference between FWD and AWD, so for me it's not an issue that the RS is FWD.

The 4 star rating was, I'm lead to believe, achieved in European testing without front curtain airbags. Would it achieve 5 stars these days even with the curtain airbags standard on Aus cars? Probably not owing to lack of interior seat belt warnings for rear seats, and let's not forget the Octavia architecture is several years old now. Did it stop me from buying one? No. I have a wife and 2 young kids under 5, I'm perfectly comfortable with the RS as it is, 4 or 5 stars is not a deal breaker for me.

The RS is the perfect size for my needs, I'm 6'4" and fit just fine, my wife loves how easy it is to park and the huge boot for all the kids' stuff, I love it's performance and fuel economy, it handles brilliantly wet or dry, and as mentioned above tyre choice plays the biggest part in that, make sure you insist that your car comes with the Continental tyres not the Dunlops haha!

Thanks, I too have 2 kids under 5, which is why safety is important. I spoke to ANCAP, the reason the Octavia is not 5 star is that it didn't perform very well on the front offset crash test, it needed a minimum score of 12.5 out of 16, but "only" achieved 10.something. This is not a deal breaker for me too just another consideration. I'm gald to hear about the handling in the wet though. What are the standard tyres on the RS the Dunlops or Continental? I'm more after a hatch too, we have an R500 for the family. I'd actually prefer a smaller car,(the Toyota 86 comes to mind) but the missus wants the option of having the kids in my car if need be. Haha.

[swingdoctor]

Thanks everybody for your repies, you've reassured me, at the end of the day I think it will be down to the RS and the Suzuki Kizashi AWD Sport. Am I allowed to ask where you bought your cars from and how much you paid for them?

[woofy]

Hmm my memory was there is no ancap score it was using the very old score from Europe that predates the series II before certain airbags were used. Who knows why they never got them restested, that predates mine in 2008.

[LunchboxVRS]

[QUOTE=swingdoctor;842749]What I'm ideally looking for I guess is a newer smaller version of my GT.[QUOTE]

Not to point out the obvious but a small liberty GT is a WRX. 5 Star, AWD enough poke but can be dialled down with the SI drive.

[Mysticality]

The car I owned before this vRS, was a 2010 Kia Sorento CRDi. The 2.2ltr turbo diesel is more powerful than the Octy's 2ltr (147kW/436Nm vs 125kW/350Nm)
If you punched it in the dry, the front tyres would chirp and then the rear would kick in, and off it would fly.
0-100 time for the Sorento is 1.5sec more than the vRS TDI, but I reckon in 0-40 its quicker.
AWD is great for this, in something like the vRS.

I've had the Octy for nearly 8 months, now, and the only time I have EVER thought "Man, the AWD would be great here" was at a campsite in the wet, and when hooning through the local neighbourhood, on the way to the hospital.

All other times, including a bit of floodwater, gravel roads, spirited driving and just day to day stuff, the FWD is absolutely fine.

If you're considering a Scout, because its raised, has the plastic panels and AWD, then the vRS is not for you... But if you're tossing up swapping from a Subaru to a vRS, then the lack of AWD shouldn't be a concern.

[dArK5HaD0w]

don't forget the current FL octavia has NOT been ANCAP rated.
the 4-star rating is based on the pre-facelift model.

i seriously considered all the cars u've listed - the liberty gt & 3.0r, the kizashi, the golf gti. the RS clear winner for me.
i'd still buy the RS again over the others again.

with regards to prices - i paid $44k driveaway for mine. options i included were xenons & front parking sensors. i left out alarm, leather, sunroof, bluetooth (since been retrofitted) & mdi.
was a 5 month wait as i did a factory order.

[JustCruisn]

Don't simply believe that because a car is AWD is has better grip than FWD.
A recent test of SUVs found the Honda CRV FWD had better grip than the AWD Forester.
Compact 4WD comparison review

If your flogging any car too much it will slip, you just have to keep in in limits.
Don't forget to factor in the extra fuel Subaru's like to use too.

[woofy]

don't forget the current FL octavia has NOT been ANCAP rated.
the 4-star rating is based on the pre-facelift model.

i seriously considered all the cars u've listed - the liberty gt & 3.0r, the kizashi, the golf gti. the RS clear winner for me.
i'd still buy the RS again over the others again.

with regards to prices - i paid $44k driveaway for mine. options i included were xenons & front parking sensors. i left out alarm, leather, sunroof, bluetooth (since been retrofitted) & mdi.
was a 5 month wait as i did a factory order.

Geeze you either bought when no sales were on or the ACT guys are greedy, I paid $37k driveaway with sunroof and front parking sensors, race blue and it had just hit Australia. From memory VAG Aust chucked in an extra $1k bonus to the dealer so I ended up with a tad more cash for my trade in. Back then though alarms were std but Sat nav wasn't.

Ah just saw you had DSG, that was another $1k or so option but added a wait at the time. Still they weren't keen to sell me another around that price in Nov last year when I was thinking of adding a second to my garage for my work car. Times changed.

[Jake02]

Don't simply believe that because a car is AWD is has better grip than FWD.
A recent test of SUVs found the Honda CRV FWD had better grip than the AWD Forester.
Compact 4WD comparison review

That review may say the CRV is FWD but it isn't - the new CRV in a few months will have a FWD base model. But it is true - AWD doesn't necessarily mean more grip/it's a safer car.