Yes another What car post!!!

In article , snipped-for-privacy@blue-nopressedmeat-yonder.co.uk spouted forth into uk.rec.cars.modifications...

So you would buy a Skoda then. All Vag group, except Lambo and bugatti, body panels are pressed by Skoda Pilsen.

All floor pans are assembled by Skoda MB (Mlada Boraslav) (again with the 2 exceptions). The final assembly goes on in the seperate Marques factories.

ESP only became standard in 2002 tho, prior to that it's just plain old s**te (and unbelievably dangerous) Vauxhall traction control.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net, MeatballTurbo decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Yeah, I know. I'm thinking more to do with not owning a Skoda badged Skoda just yet.. (although I could be sorely tempted by an Octavia RS)

Indeed, and the Ford RS200 body was made by Reliant in Staffordshire, other bits were done by Tickford, the gearboxes by someone else, engines by another bunch, but it's a Ford. Not a Reliantickfordcosworthxtrac RS200

I couldn't give a flying monkeys inner gizzard where a car is built, or by whom, as long as it's built well and suits my style of driving. Most VAG produce unfortunately is just that bit too "damped" for my liking.[1]. From my experience of late model Skodas, which is admittedly not extensive, they're set up to be even more numb than the VW equivalent.. So I'll be sticking clear of Skodas for now.

It's on all the Coupe Turbos isn't it ?

Dunno which is used where :) A3 and TT and Golf are all the same floorpan though aren't they ? In which case, it would stand to reason that they'd get the same setup.

There are two systems - VW's 4motion is the "crappy" one, and Audi's is the "real" one.

VW's cars all use 4motion, apart from the W8, which gets the Audi system.

Agreed. Not particularly quick though - I want something at least comparable to the TI.

Only after 2002 afaik.

There's no mention of ESP at launch;

There's not even a mention of traction control there tho so I could be wrong, but the only mention of ESP anywhere seems to be post 2002.

Yep, the crappy one is the one with some sort of viscous clutch so that it's only putting power through all 4 wheels when traction starts to wane, I think. I'm sure that the TT gets the crap system but it's badged as Quattro anyway, just cos it's an Audi.

I thought it was the case of all 4Motion Passats using the proper Quattro system, and just the Golfs (from the VW camp) using the crap system.

Yeah, £10k for a W8 Passat is certainly reasonable - how old is it though,and how many miles?

Peter

4motion passats are excellent, the 4wd system is no s**te, they handle superbly for such a heavy car.

He's been showing me them on Autotrader :) They're about £15k at the moment with sod all miles. Surely that s**te system (haldex?) is better because you're not losing power in the tranmission of 4x4 all the time, so it'll be quicker in a straight line and more economical?

And about £15k with nearly 50k miles as well!

Surely that s**te system (haldex?) is better because

Suppose so, though you would have traction coming through all 4 wheels all the time on the "proper" system, though some might argue that there's no point when you don't need it, and it's there on the haldex system when you do. Know what you mean about the power losses as well - I drove an A6

2.5TDI (140bhp) Quattro a wee while ago and it was noticeably slower than mine.

Peter

Also, what are the W8 engines like on fuel? Are they better or worse than an equivalently powered and specced A6 with a V8 engine in?

Peter

In article , snipped-for-privacy@blue-nopressedmeat-yonder.co.uk spouted forth into uk.rec.cars.modifications...

The Octavia vRS is old, the new Octavia due later this year is a pig ugly bloated monster in standard form, hopefully the new vRS will be a lot better looking when it arrives next year. Try a Fabia vRS. Nothing like the other Fabias. A proper 130BHP TDi engine in a mini shopping rocket, that responds well to remapping, and hybrid turbos and straight through exhausts. I believe an easy 180BHP is possible, like the older VW TDi engines, without straining them too much.

Yep, the real plastic pig, known for being difficult to keep on the road in a straight line "Oh Jezza, hows the Group B reliant ;)"

OK, fair enough, but they do actually hand onto the raod very well, you just have to get used to a little bit more roll than normal as standard (look what a 2CV can do, and how far that rolls without tipping). But you really should blag a test drive in a Skoda Fabia vRS, ok, so it is a TDi, but the new PD130 wasn't even used in the polo when they released the Fabia and the Ibiza versions.

The Octavia vRS isn't bad either, and that is an old car now.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net, MeatballTurbo decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

It's diesel, therefore to be studiously ignored.

Aye, tis getting on, but there's just something I like about them.. I hate the Rover 800 style grille, but other than that I think they look rather nice. Especially the estate.. did they ever make a 4x4 RS Octavia? I know they made other 4x4 Octavias, but I don't recall ever seeing an RS one.

Nope, not according to the W8 articles that I've read. Although they're not necessarily correct :)

Isn't that "sod all" ?

Granted, it's higher than average - but it's not exactly nearing the end of it's life :)

Yes, but it's called a Seat Leon instead. Optional 180bhp Diesel engine too.

Didn't make it to the UK though - available in Europe only.

Well i can only see one on Autotrader with that mileage :) Most have less than 20k.

A four litre W8 on the other hand would be more than sparking enough... Probably a tad heavy on the old juice tho :)

True, but at that sort of money, I'd be looking at buying an "almost new" car, which I'd expect to have very few miles. I'd happily buy one with

50,000 miles on the clock, but I'd want it a reasonable amount cheaper than the cheapest one with 20k on the clock, or I might as well just go for the one with 20k on it.

Peter