Octavia 3 wagon manual 103TSI Ambition ownership

[Gerrycan]

At 750rpm idle with nothing on, my 125TDI (170TDI ) will pull 0.5L/hr, with lights, LED light bar, high beam, a/c and stereo (+ sub) on it will pull 0.7L/hr.
Mk2 Octavia is built on Mk5 Golf platform (so is the Mk6), which is why my heavy Golf R32 brakes were a direct fit.

I was surprised when they didn't offer more manual transmissions, as that seems to be why a lot of people bought Skoda (me included!) ... Who else does manual on most if not all of their model lineup? Nobody.

Good to hear the Octy 3 headlights are actually useful! Octy 2 are terrible, especially with the high beam being a square that lights up only the road, useless for roo's and such - but I guess useful for small UK lanes surrounded by hedges!

Great review!
Look forward to hearing more!

Funnily enough those diesel tick over consumption figures are identical to what I got on the 1.9D which sat at a fairly high 900 rpm.
There was an Audi 1.9d Blueline version that ran down to 700rpm.

Interesting you found the Octy 2 headlights wanting as well, mark you they were nowhere near as bad as a Hyundai Santa Fe Mk1 I had which were simply awful (even with a bulb upgrade). I usually had to latch onto someone going at reasonable speed in my direction and rely on them to illuminate the road ahead.
It really annoys me that most car reviews do not mention headlight efficacy, which I consider a really important safety feature.
Since I am ranting I might as well mention that most car headlight upgrades are very inconsiderate of their blinding effect on approaching road users. AND some cyclists with their super-bright 1200 lumen LED lights which are meant for off-road illumination are ridiculous (and I am a cyclist)... it's alright I feel better now.

[dArK5HaD0w]

Good to hear the Octy 3 headlights are actually useful! Octy 2 are terrible, especially with the high beam being a square that lights up only the road, useless for roo's and such - but I guess useful for small UK lanes surrounded by hedges!

Interesting you found the Octy 2 headlights wanting as well, mark you they were nowhere near as bad as a Hyundai Santa Fe Mk1 I had which were simply awful (even with a bulb upgrade). I usually had to latch onto someone going at reasonable speed in my direction and rely on them to illuminate the road ahead.

i have heard not so good reviews regarding the standard (halogen) octy 2 headlights.
however, i have the factory fitted xenon and i actually find them pretty good, even when compared to others.

fitting hids in a non-xenon headlight cluster will NOT yeild the same result.
the actual project (for the low beam) unit itself in the headlight cluster for a non-xenon config is different to that found in a xenon config.

without looking for headlight washers, u can tell by looking at the headlight cluster if it has factory fit xenons or halogens.

the high-beams on the otherhand - not so good, as already pointed out.

[GTR27]

At least the new octavia 3 xenons are bi-xenon (high and low) but I have heard they arent the best bi-xenons out, but any xenons factory fit > std headlights. If you're really desperate, you can get higher lumen output xenon globes that drop straight into the factory xenon mounts.

[Gerrycan]

Must be nice not having our limited budget.....sigh.

[GTR27]

My budget was quite limited also. You could have gotten xenon's on an amb+ manual wagon for <30k driveway. Ours with a tech pack and 18s was 30.5, but we added a sunroof later to make it ~32k

[Gerrycan]

Just could not stretch to it. I am happy with my Ambition with the exception of the driver seat not having adjustable lumbar support. The dealer said it did and I did not check the specification because I had never come across a car that did not have it as standard for the driver. A small pillow is helping but not ideal.

I have no personal experience with HIDs but if you have a much brighter foreground when having to drive on dip then won't your eyes adjust to that foreground brightness making it more difficult to see into the darkness beyond?

[GTR27]

You would think so, but I've found that good lights make driving at night less fatiguing.

When I first ordered the car it was a stretch due to work circumstances. But I've reshuffled uni to part time and gone back to full time work (rather than other way around) so now could afford rs if I wanted. But happy with amb+ it has everything I want and be stuffed if I'd wait even longer than I have to. ~7.5 months is a ridiculous time to wait for a ~32k car.....

We seriously considered the amb, just because it's unbeatable value. But figured if we are going to wait that long, we want some of the extras from a higher model.

[Gerrycan]

Agree about good lights making it easier but my experience is that it is more about the optics than the power.
Two of the best car lights I have experienced were the AU Falcon ('cept when you had some weight in the back) and the very unlikely Kia Carnival (S#!t in most other respects). Both on bog standard Halogen.

I must be out of touch as I have just a read a 'warm hatch' comparison of several vehicles on the CarPoint web-site. These are not basic models or even low priced and yet some do not have driver lumbar support either. Might be more forgiving of Skoda (but my back hasn't)).

[brenno]

Just could not stretch to it. I am happy with my Ambition with the exception of the driver seat not having adjustable lumbar support. The dealer said it did and I did not check the specification because I had never come across a car that did not have it as standard for the driver. A small pillow is helping but not ideal.

That's odd. When I ordered I was offered the option of height adjustable front seats with lumbar support on both.

Since our vehicles are otherwise identical in specification, I would be keen to know the part number for the rear shock absorbers on your car to see if they match with mine. I have a feeling I have the wrong type fitted - it feels like I'm driving something with cheap JDM coilovers.

[GTR27]

Checked for the delivery packers in the suspension? Seems like a common issue on Briskoda.

For ~25K (fora manual with travel pack) a Manual Ambition wagon has literally no competitors. A hyundai i30 is around 22-23K for a base model wagon, and has a gutless 1.8NA and 100L+ less boot space, along with being a smaller car.

[Gerrycan]

That's odd. When I ordered I was offered the option of height adjustable front seats with lumbar support on both.

Since our vehicles are otherwise identical in specification, I would be keen to know the part number for the rear shock absorbers on your car to see if they match with mine. I have a feeling I have the wrong type fitted - it feels like I'm driving something with cheap JDM coilovers.

My rear shocks are part number 5QO 512 013 FQ. Apparently they are associated by some on Briskoda with a rear rumble but since I played around with packing around my spare wheel I am not really aware of any major rumbling problem at any speed or rough surface.

Quite honestly the ride with the torsion bar is better than I expected (feared?). I do not push handling to any extent where the multi-link is really necessary.

[Gerrycan]

Checked for the delivery packers in the suspension? Seems like a common issue on Briskoda.

For ~25K (fora manual with travel pack) a Manual Ambition wagon has literally no competitors. A hyundai i30 is around 22-23K for a base model wagon, and has a gutless 1.8NA and 100L+ less boot space, along with being a smaller car.

The I40 is a better comparison with the Octavia 3 but still has a smaller boot and the 'cool' styling impacts to much on the usefulness of the windows for me and much more expensive.
I have owned three Korean cars from new and while they have great showroom appeal and give reasonable first impressions on the test drive, they soon lose their appeal. Lots of annoying aspects regarding, ride /handling / steering / reliability / ergonomics etc were not as good as the reviews.
The Octavia 2 was the first car I had driven in years that I loved from the start and which lasted.

[GTR27]

Agreed. I40 is Mazda 6 money. Mazda 6 is closest to the Octavia, but substantially more exxy.

[brad]

Agree about good lights making it easier but my experience is that it is more about the optics than the power.
Two of the best car lights I have experienced were the AU Falcon ('cept when you had some weight in the back) and the very unlikely Kia Carnival (S#!t in most other respects). Both on bog standard Halogen.

I must be out of touch as I have just a read a 'warm hatch' comparison of several vehicles on the CarPoint web-site. These are not basic models or even low priced and yet some do not have driver lumbar support either. Might be more forgiving of Skoda (but my back hasn't)).

Agree, good halogen design is a match for HIDs but skoda projector halogens are pretty crap straight out the box.

For your back - try pilates or yoga or something else that strengthens the core muscles (even 20hrs a week of proper activity works). My FIL used to be laid out for days on heavy duty painkillers with his back. When he retired from his desk job 25 years back he bought a 3 acre property and his wife works him like a navvy in the garden - hasn't had a back issue since.

[Gerrycan]

Agree, good halogen design is a match for HIDs but skoda projector halogens are pretty crap straight out the box.

For your back - try pilates or yoga or something else that strengthens the core muscles .

Haha, thanks for the advice. Actually my cores good, it is really only this seat that troubles it. Running, cycling and gardening no problem.