Soda Octavia NE (Wagon) RS 245 (2013-2019)

Best car I’ve ever owned – I purchased my MK3 facelift Octavia RS245 wagon in August 2020 and it’s been my own business car for nearly 2 years now. I’ve had a few new company cars in my time but this has to be the best and it’s mine. It’s quick, being a GTI engine and running gear it provides enough power I require to do the job and handy hint, run it on sport mode in town and normal on the highway you can also put it into individual mode and you can adjust your suspension, handling and others , the boot size is fantastic for its class certainly bigger than an outback or even a Golf and has all the bells and whistles I could ask for with the panoramic sunroof, luxury and tech packs. Yeah, you do get lemons, I’ve even seen a few top German marks have them and hey, it happens but this one for me is spot on. Be sure to purchase the service package though as with Any Euro brand it can be a bit costly but in saying that, my wife’s 1.0 ltr Kia Rio GT line is over the $400 mark by its second service and that’s how they make their money. Road noise is ok for what it is the Pirelli tyres being $385 each are not the best especially for the price, the Canton sound system is ok and the infotainment system is brilliant. I’m certainly very happy with my purchase, I’ve got 2 years left and will definitely buy another.

Expensive Lemon – Have had nothing but problems with my 2020 RS 245. Beware of random Skoda software updates that cause major electrical malfunction. I live with a $50k car that constantly flashes all warning signals on the dash. It started with basic issues like being unable to open the hatch or the hatch popping open while driving and not being able to lock the hatch. The car is constantly beep beeping when I put the car in park telling me to put the car in park! A heap of expensive crap. Have had to call Skoda roadside assistance no less than 8 times and the car is not even a year old. Have also found Skoda to be a nightmare to deal with. Availability of experienced, qualified mechanics is just not there. Avoid this car like the plague. You've been warned.

GTI but better – Great fun to drive, reminds me much of the VW Golf GTI on which it’s based, but more practical. Still just as quick as the GTI (or at least it feels it) even though is a small/Medium wagon, it still has a larger boot then a Subaru Outback which is classified as a large wagon/suv. Rear leg room is better than all its competitors with loads of space, 2 USB ports and heated front and rear seats which are great on a bad back on a cold winters morning. Reliability has also Ben faultless and it’s proving to be the reliable Volkswagen. DSG is sharp and you don’t need as much adapting to get used to it compared to older models.

My only criticism is it still has a manual handbrake compared to the other Skoda’s which have an electric one