Skoda Octavia vRS suspension too stiff; sell it for new car?

Car will be primarily used as a daily drive in Mumbai. And some outstation trips.

BHPian KungFuPanda recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Need help with a predicament that I am facing. Currently own a 2018 Skoda Octavia VRS - driven about 25K km. Bought the car in Gurgaon in 2018, and thoroughly enjoyed driving around on the excellent roads there for about a year.

Mid 2019, work brought me to Mumbai. Got a company car (Innova) as a perk (thank god for small mercies), and the VRS became a weekend / outstation car which was fantastic. Had some brilliant drives to Pune, Mahabaleshwar, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal. The car served our family well, superb power on tap, hassle free ownership.

Now in 2021, with COVID impacting my industry, company gave us an option to let go of the company car and get some cash in hand, which I jumped at (maybe not my brightest moment). The VRS has been my daily drive for the past 2 months to work. 10 - 12 Kms one way, takes me anywhere from 30 mins to 45 mins each way every day, on the famed roads of Mumbai. On the stiff VRS suspension and the 17inch low profile rims. OUCH. And therefore here I am.

My current situation

Car will be primarily used as a daily drive in Mumbai. And some outstation trips. Will be driven 90% by me. 10% by wifey. No driver - don't intent to keep one. We are a family of 4, 2 very young kids (3 yrs and 2 yrs).

My preferences

Prefer Sedans. Always have, always will. That said, the sedan should make sense for my needs. When we bought the VRS, it very much did. Now life has changed, we have Kids to think about, and the VRS has moved from being a weekend affair to a daily love hate relationship. I love the DSG (i know I am a masochist), but I hate the ride. My butt is complaining so my head has woken up. My heart says I am nuts. I also like keeping cars for 8 - 10 yrs. All our family cars have been with us for at least that long. And, to top it all, the cash registers are not really ringing. Don't want to exceed my current EMIs of about 40K a month. Any option within that I am willing to consider.

Don't have a preference for Diesel or Petrol. I currently use Shell V Power at INR 120/Ltr, and get 8KMPL.

So the million dollar question is

Given my current situation, is it worth it to consider selling the VRS and getting the C5? Any other alternatives? Don't want the change to feel like a downgrade. Can't afford an upgrade (not keen on used cars at this point). Like a typical Team-BHPian, I want the solution to all my problems without making too many compromises. Folks, please help!

I am not keen on either the A4, or Superb since I feel they will be very similar to the VRS. Camry is an option - will test drive it for sure. Not super exited about the front facia, but definitely worth a test drive I guess.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Selling a 3-year old car is a big no-no in my books. You lose way too much money! You broadly have 3 options:

- Use the cash you got from the company car to buy a nice AT for your daily commuting. There are good ATs now at every price point, even under 10-12 lakhs, which will fulfill the daily beater role well. Keep the vRS for your weekend drives, social outings and whenever you're going on good roads.

- Better option than selling the vRS would be to improve its ride quality. See if a swap to comfort-oriented tyres helps. What is your stock PSI rating? Try dropping it by 2 PSI just in the city (or to 30 PSI, whichever is lower). You could also consider a move to 16" rims + taller tyre sidewalls which will significantly improve your comfort levels (just ensure there is enough clearance for the brakes).

- If you have to absolutely sell the car, no point taking a double depreciation blow on your vRS and a brand-new overpriced Citroen C5. In that case, do a lateral upgrade = sell used, buy used. Something like a pre-owned Camry, 5-Series, Superb etc. might keep you happy. Just be sure to choose something with a soft suspension.

Your post is one of the reasons I don't like overtly firm suspensions anymore and am glad most manufacturers are focusing on more comfortable suspension tunes.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say on the matter:

Depends a lot on your financial flexibility and parking situation but if I were you, I would keep the vRS and buy a new or used Camry Hybrid for usage within city. You will really enjoy driving the Camry hybrid within congested urban traffic - the feeling of admiring how hybrid tech works in stop-and-go traffic is very similar to how one is mesmerised by DSG on open roads. Both are like magic. Camry covers the comfort and space aspects really well but the main draw for me is the hybrid tech. As a driver, I really like to appreciate good stuff in my car and Hybrid tech is up there with the very best. It is just so-so on highways depending on what else you are used to driving (that's why keep the vRS) but it is an outstanding car for urban traffic.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

Don’t sell the car, man. The best course of action here will be to get a set of 16 inch rims and higher profile tires. That, coupled with lower pressures will go a long way in fixing the low speed ride. Your total expense will remain in 5 figures.

Alternatively, you can get a smaller beater car for your day to day urban use, something cheap to run and with good low speed ride quality. Depending on how much you want to spend, options can be anything from Tiago to Baleno to Nexon.

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