I will give my opinion as an ex vag technician. Don't do it these platform golf octavia and leons suffer no end with electrical glitches and faults that the dealer's are struggling to find solutions for. Then there's the cambelts you have to have special digital tool only available to dealers. As a taxi in my opinion they will be more hassle than good
I don’t think they are that’s bad all manufacturers have electrical problems or software problems I currently work for Skoda as a technician and don’t see any major problems most electrical issues are solved with a simple software update
@@enginerepairguy not on the 1.5 tsi evo engine can’t be done I have tried and it will put the engine warning light on if it’s been done many times find a video on UA-cam that shows it you won’t find 1
I’ve got a Skoda Octavia 1.4 tsi it’s now at 140000 no major problems only thing I’ve changed is a alternator at 135000 apart from that it’s been a great car as a private hire car
A very good and informative video Alan.I can definitely tell you that the older skoda octavia and superbs 2.ol diesel used as taxis in Madrid were very reliable and had the ability of clocking high mileage with minimun mechanical problems. This brand is now been superceded by Toyota hybrid models in the spanish capital which are renowned for durability and reliability too.Its about time that your boss gets rid of all the mondeos which are now coming to the crunch.
I just bought a new Octavia vRS diesel 200bhp. It will be doing high mileage. It replaced my 2017 VW Passat with 200k on it. I have no doubt it will match the Passat mechanically ,
Good evening Alan...I've got a skoda 2017 67plate with 224k very hard taxi miles..its got full skoda service history own the cat since new..I've never had any engine trouble absolutely nothing..no dpf issues all ive done is only 2 front shocks&springs..last week drop links...no bushes yet..front bonnet latch..rear boot switch that's all ive done with this mileage it's a 1.6 deisal still on its original clutch ....
When I changed job 2 years ago I had to sell my lovely MK4 Titanium X estate as I had a company car - VW Passat estate, it wasn't as fun or as quick seeing as it was a 1.6 diesel with an auto box. It was comfortable though. That went back in December and I've now got a Skoda Enyaq EV, I've been really impressed with the kit, tech and build quality of the Skoda. And yep, I've got the umbrella too 😂
We have a 2009 Honda FR-V 2.2 iCTDi with 170K. Still on the same shocks, exhaust, springs and wheel bearings. Had a new clutch at 160K, a new alternator and battery. Got a Bosch S6 and it's been going 11 years +. When it comes to tyres, I favour Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo. Great grip in the wet and good for the snow, though we see much more rain than snow these days.
In the good old days before the pandemic, I was offered one of the previous shape Octavias as a free upgrade on a hire car rental in Scotland for a few days.... it was a DSG auto with the 1.5 150bhp engine IIRC. It was a fantastic car to drive, and the engine is supposed to be one of the VAG Groups' best (quite how it will stand up to taxi driving duties is another matter). The real killer blow was when I got home and worked out the fuel consumption, which was just under 50mpg. If the current shape estate had a more vertical rear unlike the "lifestyle" slope that Skoda have given it, I'd almost certainly have looked at changing my own car for one.
I'm currently driving as a taxi now a skoda superb 2.0 tdi dsg mk3 which I've owned for 4.5yrs and 210k and apart from servicing I've had to do nothing to it. This is the second superb I've owned and they really are amazing cars. Always ran mondeos before the skoda superb but I honestly wouldn't have anything else now. Comfortable and very roomy.
Owned one from new for 2 years 1.5 SEL first edition. Nice spec . On a good run high 50’s mpg . Rear brakes rust quick got told needed new rear discs at first service. Media touch screen responded some times. Wireless phone connection hit and miss. Sos fault well known only appeared after first service . Spare wheel £200 extra. Led lights in back seat of car would come on randomly by themselves
Had two new shape octavias, both same model 1.5 se technology. One was OK but the last one had lots of electrical glitches. Sos warning came on regularly, the main entertainment display froze or went blank and the cruise control didn't work until it had a software update....bought a hyundai
I had a skoda superb estate, 1.4. Did 60,000 without a problem. Changed it 18months ago for a 1.5tsi. Both drove beautifully, heavier than yours but still get 50mpg on a run on petrol. Huge boot. Suberb and Octavia... Fantastic cars.
I had one of these on the autobahn and I was driving about 120mph. With a few cars a long way ahead this thing decided on its own, to slam on the brakes at the same time displays the red warning in the dash. Even with abs a decent cloud of tyre smoke and smell of rubber. Car behind me undertook me as they thought I had slammed on my brakes for no good reason. Scary
I would consider a hyundai elantra as next taxi. Simple non-turbo port injection engine, four cylinders and chain timing. Low power, only 123 HP, but it is enough to drive around the area. No problem to go below 6L/60 miles.
Hyundai and Kia fall apart before VAG and Toyota are broke in. We had a few i40s on the fleet and everyone was nothing but trouble, same as the Kia Optima. They were also uber expensive for parts when they broke down and that was a regularly!
@@ciarayboydj I understand, but I believe You are talking about diesel engines. Most i40 and Optima's were sold in diesel. Elantra is sold only with simple petrol engine....yet.
@maciekapocaliptic we had a couple of petrol i40s on the fleet and they, like the diesels were nothing but problems. Basically feel apart well before 100k. Put us all off ever buying Korean Taxis. I wouldn't even buy a Korean car for family use....I'm sure Scotty Kilmer will love this lol
turn on the auto hold switch beside the handbrake and you won't need to use the electronic handbrake.on some cars if you hold down the handbrake switch as you turn off the engine the electronic handbrake won't engage.
Alan as a Taxi the octavia from MK1 onwards were brilliant, and here's the but, not in petrol form. for your fleet of taxis the 2.0 CR TDi engine is a must as they are bullet proof (they were/are the evolution of the PD TDi). The 1.5 TSi had a few problems when launched but these have since been resolved. I had 3 Octy's 2 MK2's (a pre face lift and a facelift) and a MK3 and loved each one of them. However forget the 1.6TDi as they are underpowered and in my mind prone to problems and fragile and thirsty as all Octy's were heavy beasts. The newer DSG gearboxes are said to be very good and very reliable now.
My 2015 1.6 TDi did 220k faultless miles and is still being used as a private car on the original clutch, no DPF issues. I had to change it due to LEZ issues.
@@markplenty2631 4 years and 220k I had it. Serviced every 10k, gearbox oil done at 100k. Usual consumables like front shocks, fuel filler cap solenoid and an exhaust sensor. That was it. This petrol one I have now is a nightmare though.
I was thinking, buy just the one and see what happens over the next couple of years, and then you said it right at the end of the video! Nice review, as a taxi driver myself I've wondered what these were like. I have a e class diesel at present. Very nice but also very expensive compared to the Skoda.
VW 1.5Tsi engines have cylinder deactivation and stop/start. Worth checking whether these could be problematic as the miles rack up. The DSG box would be worth looking out for. Many taxi's in Northern Ireland are Skoda Octavia or Superb diesels with DSG.
You need a special electronic timing tool for that engine it connects to a laptop so you can set the timing the tool is around £3000 from memory and can’t be done without it
I had a few 1.6 and 2.0 diesel mk3 Octavia as taxis, trouble free apart from the DSG gearboxes in the facelift ones I owned. A lot of drivers have the 1.0tsi petrol and although at the beginning there were hesitations my mate has one at nearly 200k miles and all it’s had is routine maintenance
1.0 etec or 1.0 TSI? Trying to work out which one I should get of these new models. Not sure if the IV is worth. Or 1.0/1.5 e tec or if I should just try get 2.0 TDI
@@prodbyconscious1.0tsi, from what I’ve heard the etec are crap… quite a few guys I know have got rid recently. My parents have a 1.5tsi Karoq and it’s a decent engine plus it has the active cylinder technology which helps with fuel economy. I suppose it depends on your budget if it can stretch to 25k for a 2.0tdi 😮
@@tfairley1187 I got a used 2.0 TDI SE L first edition, can’t say I’m disappointed 😄 done a 4 hr journey back home with it and was very very comfortable previous gen I’d of been needing a chiropractor after 🤣 and the Karoq is a lovely motor also got picked up in a 24 plate one to go grab my car
Having worked for a company with a large fleet of vans of many makes I can honestly say that (like taxi drivers I suspect) it doesn’t matter what it is they’ll manage to break it due to, as you say, not owning the vehicle so they’re not bothered about looking after it. We used to ask our buying department to just buy something simple to fix. Not sure if anything is nowadays though.
I think a few of these would be good for airport runs where you need the boot space. For general taxi use, Priuses are well proven in the trade, 300k before you need to think about replacing the battery pack and by then you'll have made significant savings on clutches, alternators, cambelts etc. to offset that cost. Be cheaper on fuel & brakes, too. The only problem is I think you can only buy them as a PHEV version nowadays, so I would guess they're a bit pricier on the initial purchase.
My son-in-law has 2015 2.0 TDI superb estate wich he likes very much the rear passenger leg room is Limousine size the boot space is Huge and it also deliverers great mpg
Great cars, I owned a 2017 Leon 1.6tdi from new to 150k and was faultless. However I’m not sure these will last 300k miles especially with the 1.5 TSI😅
seats are part "al can tara " alan, i think a superb would be more suitable for taxi work, bigger boot and slightly better quality, these skoda`s are better quality than seat`s, but LOWER quality than vw`s , i`m talking material wise , plastics ect, no matter what ANYBODY writes on here...................
i have a 2 litre diesel estate version of this octavia love it. Given mondeo is now finished maybe you should look at changing fleet a bit earler to get diesel octavia before discontinued
Hi Alan i had a 54 reg skoda superb 1.9 tdi auto it was a lovely motor only bad thing was water was getting in the car could not figure out weir it was coming in from
95% of Taxis & Ubers here in Melbourne are Camry's, and around 80% of those would be Hybrids. Have seen a few Diesel Superbs as well. Since the age limits for taxi's was removed here, along with the demise of Australian car manufacturing, I've seen some 'different' cars being used for Taxi Service, including a Diesel 3-series, and a couple of Chinese Haval SUV's. There are still a few LPG Ford Falcons in service, along with Holden Caprices doing Silver Service duty. Although Hydrid Lexus ES's seem to be taking over this role.
I look after 3 superb estate taxis, 17 plate 1.6tdi with 175000mls and newer with less mileage. bumper has to come off to fit daytime running lamp bulbs. you can release the handbrake with the engine off by putting your foot on the brake pedal and pushing the button
Is the umbrella to keep you dry whilst waiting for the AA? I think the Ford engine would better, but Ford are stopping making the Mondeo...are they making a replacement? Think Toyotas would be better as someone else has suggested.
Alan in europe the belt interval is 140,000miles or every 5 years and 2 water pumps, you missed the one in the radiator side of the engine driven of the balance shaft. as said in my last comment i loved all 3 of my Octavia's but the MK3 although was the top Elegance spec it felt of cheaper quality compared to my MK2's and the MK4 is based on the same underpinnings as the MK3 (VAGS's MQB platform.) Also to note VAG put the the 1.5 TSI as 150BHP, but it could be putting out more, my MK3 was a 1.4TSI 140bhp, i dyno tested it and it was giving 155bhp (don't have the paper work no more as it stayed with the car for the new owner), VAG tend to underquote their power outputs latley,
I had a 51reg Octavia automatic, bought it new and in 258.000 miles i had no bother at all.Cant praise them enough. It was a great taxi, just a little small in the back for 3 people. I believe they are bigger now..
I think you are wrong Alan, those cars last for years either as a cab or a road car. I currently run a 17 year old VRS estate (petrol) which has 150000 on it and it's on it's original clutch and exhaust and hasn't been especially well looked after. The most major problem I've had was the ABS module went and I had it rebuilt by AC tronics for about £200. In High Wycombe where I live many many of the local cabs are Octavias, some as old as 10 plate and they seem to be still going strong. Just get the most basic model you can with the least amount of the electronics to go wrong and you should be happy so long as you can reasonably well keep up with the cambelt and oil changes.
The 2.0 FSi unit was brilliant and bullet proof though, the unit that replaced it, the 2.0TSi was flawed, brilliant design but flawed engineering, they finally solved most of the issues on the 3rd generation of engine, i had a 1.8 version and in the end the flawed engineering got in the way as it was doing a litre of oil in about 150miles, part exed it for my MK3, which i part exed a year ago for my much smaller but loved Mazda 2 (god i miss the power, 90bhp is not enough, need a remap)
more to go wrong ?my 2006 Mondeo Mk 3 has all the heated seats windscreen glass central locking ABS the rear wheel anti etc cheap parts easy to fix and handels super and it is17years old and still going.it is FORD
The trouble is they are approaching the era when main dealers and even motor factors are starting to reduce stock on parts as they drop off the road in big numbers.
Always had Mondeo's as taxis myself until 2 years ago when I bought a 68 plate Skoda Superb 2.0 tdi. The issues I have had were that both rear shockers leaked and were replaced at just under 60k.. Water pump sleeve stuck in the closed position at 62k causing overheating This was replaced with a third party modified pump without the moving sleeve to eliminate the possibility of reoccurrence. Common design fault apparently with virtually any VW engine since 2010. Won't buy any of the last Mondeo's as the ecoblue uses a wet belt and is asking for trouble at higher mileage.
Been following your channel for some time now and enjoyed the MK4 Mondeo content. I replaced my 2010 MK4 Mondeo tdci (only 50k miles) today with a 2019 1.5tsi Superb and no regrets so far! Not a taxi though...
Alan you can turn that auto hand brake function off with your scan tools its basically a VW Passat with a Skoda badge a lot of the parts are shared with VW and Audi Take my VW Tiguan same engine as Audi A3 and Passat also Octavia within same year of manufacture
Hello, i am in a need of an advice. What would you suggest to buy: a skoda octavia 1.5 tsi 2023 or a hyundai i30 fastback 1.5 tgdi. I use my car daily to drive to work about 50km in one direction and also the car would be in my possession about 10 years because we can't afford to buy new cars every few years.
I've just taken delivery of mine 3 days ago, and some things right away that are problematic using this car as a taxi are - the central locking activates when you move off, you could simply deactivate this in the settings in the Mk3 Octavia, you CAN'T do this in this car, also you have to unlock the doors EVERY TIME a passenger gets in the car. It's ridiculous. Also, the seat belt alarm covers ALL the seats, not just the front, and it is migrane inducing as most passengers who get in the car wonder what the loud beeping is, then after a minute (if you're lucky) realise it's because they're not wearing their seatbelts, then proceed to fumble about for another 2 minutes (if your lucky) trying to put the belts on whilst the alarm gets louder. Going into hidden settings like you could with obd apps like carista ect to change settings wont work either as the ecu is apparently locked. Trying to find a space on the dash for your pda/phone is a real pain too, The infotainment/virtual cockpit is as fiddly as hell. No 12v plug or normal usb in the cabin is another major fail, only 12v power point is in the boot. I'll supercharge my phone in the boot Skoda, cheers. Honestly i could go on and on. To be honest im gutted and missing my mk3 Octavia badly.
@@alan4x would you advise any of these 20/21 plate new shape Skodas whether it be 1.0 etec, 1.5 etec, IV (hybrid), 2.0 TDI? Would appreciate your opinion massively mate. Awaiting to buy a new taxi and don’t know whether Skoda or Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Hello. l would like to share something with you regarding the mondeo mk4 key. From the start when I got my used mondeo mk4 2012, I have never liked the key that comes with these cars and how it sticks out of the ignition lock. It doesn't look pretty either. When it sits in the ignition lock, it sticks out relatively far and sits at an angle downwards. The problem is that you almost always hit the key with your knee. I have the seat a little further back than many others I have seen, so I don't hit the key. My friend sits further forward and hits the key. This is not so well made by Ford. The same with the steering wheel adjustment where you pull a handle down to adjust the steering. The lever sticks out a few centimeters and does not sit like you are used to from other cars. you can also hit it with your knee if you sit too far forward. Normally, it sits in a hole in the plastic cover. Poorly designed by ford.
Any bets quite a lot of people haven't changed their belts at the 5 year point, I read people have been told by their garages up to 10 years. The engine is roughly 6 years old now and probably they've noticed the belt is still good.
When I knackered my back i made the mistake of having the whole exhaust replaced on my 2003 1.6 Astra instead of the back box. It's now really noisy I didn't realise how the original vauxhall mid box was double walled and stainless steel and the down pipe was thicker. It's's really noisy and vibrates at 1500 rpm and because it's automatic it's not nice to drive any more but the OEM mid box on it's own is about £300 quid.
Go to Bradford, there are loads of " low mileage " Octavias for sale with 200,000 or even a lot more miles on them...all taxis of course. It's a VW really..or an Audi..or a Seat underneath. I have an Octavia 4x4 Mk3 2.0 Tdi (150) from 2014. The only really poor quality is the brake discs which are dreadful from VW. Mine has mysteriously needed all four wheel bearings within 60,000 miles, and a clutch when the slave cylinder failed and dribbled fluid onto the disc. That aside it's a very likeable car in just about every respect.
nice car great video.....................................NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SKODA ESTELLE............just thought id say!!!!!!..............and let's face it Skoda is now part of VAG.......volkswagen/audi group.......
The new skodas dont last as long as the old ones. In my area the cabbies are going with the Dacias as they are cheap an cheerful an more importantly more reliable.
Evening Alan i can see the cogs going round in your head as your doing the walkaround as to the potential faults when its been thrashed around by the taxi drivers 😂Happy days eh 👍👍👍
It's not a Volkswagen for goodness sake! Designed by Skoda, manufactured by Skoda in the Czech Republic!!! Incidentally Skoda produces the petrol engines that end up in VW's, Audi's and Seat's at it's Mlada Boleslav factory
Wait until you put a new windscreen it, the cameras need recalibration. Autoglass charged my insurance £1k last time. Front wings and boot lid are commonly plastic these days. At least you won't have to change a headlight bulb anymore. It will be a whole new unit 😢😅 seriously, though good luck, Uber, etc have finished all the local cab companies around here. Very rare you see a locally plated PHV these days, although I've seen a couple of Tesla's with local plates on lately. Cheers Alan👍👍
Well Alan it is very nice car but I would have to say I prefer my Ford Kuga 2.0 tdci Titanium, but from a business point of veiw now they have axed the ford Mondeo I don't know where you can go, I do think it is a shame that ford have stoped making the Mondeo, Had my ford Mondeo mk3 2.2 Ghia for 13 yearsand done very well but could not have a new one, Hence the Kuga instead.
Thing is, I have to disagree with you. I am running a 17 plate Skoda Octavia as a taxi. It was bought two years ago with 41,000 on the clock......today it's at 131,000 and still going strong. It's never let me down, or cost anything more then services,Tyres and brakes. I did change the cambelt and water pump at 90,000.....and it's still on the same clutch from the factory!. That said I do agree, it's time the Mondeo's went, as they are getting long in the tooth and tired. If not a Skoda, why not a Toyota or a Hyundai Ionic?. We have a few drivers running them and seem more than happy.
@@craigcousins6718 No. it’s a different design from the DPF. They don’t do regens. I don’t think it’s clearing the soot adequately enough though and causing issues with the turbo.
Octavia's body structure have been galvanized since the MK2 PRE FL, i have never ever failed a MK2 onwards Octavia on corrosion because of this, and i have been MOT testing 18 years, the oldest MK2's are getting on for 19 years old, they only panels the can rust are doors, bonnet, hatch/tailgate and front outer wings, all of which are bolt on panels.
They never used to have as much soundproofing as the Audi's I had an 2002 Audi A6 C5 with 140k miles on and it was the pd diesel. The Octavia had a lot more road noise and it was a 2010 with only 20k and it was £10000 for a used one at the time.
Haven't worked on one that new yet but I generally find skoda are abit more reliable than audi and vw because the parts that are crap on audi eventually get superseded and the updated part also get fitted to skodas but don't hold me to that 😅
I like the car very nice i don't like the engine. I don't think 1.5 petrol will stand the test of time as a taxi Is it going to be under powered with 5 passages and luggages I also don't think it will match the diesel on fuel economy as they say
You will be surprised, the 1.5TSi gives 150bhp (maybe more as VAG tend to underate their engines latley) 240ish nm's of torque at about 1500rpm, they are not slow. My Mk3 had the 1.4TSi with 140bhp (though was outputting 155bhp on dyno and was factory spec, not modified) 230nm's of torque at 1800rpm, and with full boot and 5 adults it would hit 60 in 9.5 seconds, quicker if just me (i weigh 14.5 stone so i'm pretty heavy) although was DSG and they are slightly quicker then manual, and they as a car are heavy at around 1600kg.
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I will give my opinion as an ex vag technician. Don't do it these platform golf octavia and leons suffer no end with electrical glitches and faults that the dealer's are struggling to find solutions for. Then there's the cambelts you have to have special digital tool only available to dealers. As a taxi in my opinion they will be more hassle than good
I don’t think they are that’s bad all manufacturers have electrical problems or software problems I currently work for Skoda as a technician and don’t see any major problems most electrical issues are solved with a simple software update
The 1.5 TSI is simple and reliable.
You can change the timing belt, and use bosch or any other after market diag for that
@@enginerepairguy Timing belt can’t be done without the correct VAG tool no aftermarket tool exists for setting the timing correctly
@@johnp6636
I get that the 100% correct way. Need the timing tool.
But it can be done. And has been meny times.
@@enginerepairguy not on the 1.5 tsi evo engine can’t be done I have tried and it will put the engine warning light on if it’s been done many times find a video on UA-cam that shows it you won’t find 1
I’ve got a Skoda Octavia 1.4 tsi it’s now at 140000 no major problems only thing I’ve changed is a alternator at 135000 apart from that it’s been a great car as a private hire car
was this the IV model? how did it perform MPG wise compared to the rest of the engines out there 1.0 etec/2.0 TDI etc?
Nobody seems to use the handbrake today. I wonder if they have passed the driving test.
A very good and informative video Alan.I can definitely tell you that the older skoda octavia and superbs 2.ol diesel used as taxis in Madrid were very reliable and had the ability of clocking high mileage with minimun mechanical problems. This brand is now been superceded by Toyota hybrid models in the spanish capital which are renowned for durability and reliability too.Its about time that your boss gets rid of all the mondeos which are now coming to the crunch.
Thanks for the new video Alan. We do appreciate your time and effort to entertain us all! 😊👍
I just bought a new Octavia vRS diesel 200bhp. It will be doing high mileage. It replaced my 2017 VW Passat with 200k on it. I have no doubt it will match the Passat mechanically ,
Alan, if you don’t do the seatbelt up the handbrake will not activate automatically.
Good evening Alan...I've got a skoda 2017 67plate with 224k very hard taxi miles..its got full skoda service history own the cat since new..I've never had any engine trouble absolutely nothing..no dpf issues all ive done is only 2 front shocks&springs..last week drop links...no bushes yet..front bonnet latch..rear boot switch that's all ive done with this mileage it's a 1.6 deisal still on its original clutch ....
When I changed job 2 years ago I had to sell my lovely MK4 Titanium X estate as I had a company car - VW Passat estate, it wasn't as fun or as quick seeing as it was a 1.6 diesel with an auto box. It was comfortable though. That went back in December and I've now got a Skoda Enyaq EV, I've been really impressed with the kit, tech and build quality of the Skoda. And yep, I've got the umbrella too 😂
We have a 2009 Honda FR-V 2.2 iCTDi with 170K. Still on the same shocks, exhaust, springs and wheel bearings. Had a new clutch at 160K, a new alternator and battery. Got a Bosch S6 and it's been going 11 years +. When it comes to tyres, I favour Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo. Great grip in the wet and good for the snow, though we see much more rain than snow these days.
In the good old days before the pandemic, I was offered one of the previous shape Octavias as a free upgrade on a hire car rental in Scotland for a few days.... it was a DSG auto with the 1.5 150bhp engine IIRC. It was a fantastic car to drive, and the engine is supposed to be one of the VAG Groups' best (quite how it will stand up to taxi driving duties is another matter). The real killer blow was when I got home and worked out the fuel consumption, which was just under 50mpg. If the current shape estate had a more vertical rear unlike the "lifestyle" slope that Skoda have given it, I'd almost certainly have looked at changing my own car for one.
So is good the 1.5 tsi engine?
hi alan if you go in the data screm you can adjust the handbrake not to engage vhen you turn of the engine
I'm currently driving as a taxi now a skoda superb 2.0 tdi dsg mk3 which I've owned for 4.5yrs and 210k and apart from servicing I've had to do nothing to it. This is the second superb I've owned and they really are amazing cars. Always ran mondeos before the skoda superb but I honestly wouldn't have anything else now. Comfortable and very roomy.
Owned one from new for 2 years 1.5 SEL first edition. Nice spec . On a good run high 50’s mpg . Rear brakes rust quick got told needed new rear discs at first service. Media touch screen responded some times. Wireless phone connection hit and miss. Sos fault well known only appeared after first service . Spare wheel £200 extra. Led lights in back seat of car would come on randomly by themselves
Had two new shape octavias, both same model 1.5 se technology. One was OK but the last one had lots of electrical glitches. Sos warning came on regularly, the main entertainment display froze or went blank and the cruise control didn't work until it had a software update....bought a hyundai
I had a skoda superb estate, 1.4. Did 60,000 without a problem. Changed it 18months ago for a 1.5tsi. Both drove beautifully, heavier than yours but still get 50mpg on a run on petrol. Huge boot. Suberb and Octavia... Fantastic cars.
I had one of these on the autobahn and I was driving about 120mph. With a few cars a long way ahead this thing decided on its own, to slam on the brakes at the same time displays the red warning in the dash. Even with abs a decent cloud of tyre smoke and smell of rubber. Car behind me undertook me as they thought I had slammed on my brakes for no good reason. Scary
Our town is full of Skoda Octavia taxi's I would say it is probably 95% Skoda's, BTW I owned 5 Estelle and 1 rapid back in the day, I loved them all
In Northern Ireland, the go-to service car (taxi, police, paramedic and fire, etc) has been for the past decade the Skoda Superb.
north of Ireland.
Hope the number plate is not missing two "I"s FiXiT
I would consider a hyundai elantra as next taxi. Simple non-turbo port injection engine, four cylinders and chain timing. Low power, only 123 HP, but it is enough to drive around the area. No problem to go below 6L/60 miles.
Hyundai and Kia fall apart before VAG and Toyota are broke in. We had a few i40s on the fleet and everyone was nothing but trouble, same as the Kia Optima. They were also uber expensive for parts when they broke down and that was a regularly!
@@ciarayboydj I understand, but I believe You are talking about diesel engines. Most i40 and Optima's were sold in diesel. Elantra is sold only with simple petrol engine....yet.
@maciekapocaliptic we had a couple of petrol i40s on the fleet and they, like the diesels were nothing but problems. Basically feel apart well before 100k. Put us all off ever buying Korean Taxis. I wouldn't even buy a Korean car for family use....I'm sure Scotty Kilmer will love this lol
I am keeping my MK3 Mondeo .
turn on the auto hold switch beside the handbrake and you won't need to use the electronic handbrake.on some cars if you hold down the handbrake switch as you turn off the engine the electronic handbrake won't engage.
Alan as a Taxi the octavia from MK1 onwards were brilliant, and here's the but, not in petrol form. for your fleet of taxis the 2.0 CR TDi engine is a must as they are bullet proof (they were/are the evolution of the PD TDi). The 1.5 TSi had a few problems when launched but these have since been resolved. I had 3 Octy's 2 MK2's (a pre face lift and a facelift) and a MK3 and loved each one of them. However forget the 1.6TDi as they are underpowered and in my mind prone to problems and fragile and thirsty as all Octy's were heavy beasts. The newer DSG gearboxes are said to be very good and very reliable now.
My 1.6tdi Passat did 187k as a taxi and it's still going strong at 290k with another driver.
My 2015 1.6 TDi did 220k faultless miles and is still being used as a private car on the original clutch, no DPF issues. I had to change it due to LEZ issues.
@@JohnnyPaton great cars aren’t they. Yeah my DPF wasn’t even a problem either. Only thing I ever changed on it was consumables.
@@markplenty2631 4 years and 220k I had it. Serviced every 10k, gearbox oil done at 100k. Usual consumables like front shocks, fuel filler cap solenoid and an exhaust sensor. That was it. This petrol one I have now is a nightmare though.
@@JohnnyPaton yeah I don't think much of German petrol cars tbh, Japanese for petrol, Germans for diesel.
If you press the handbrake switch down when turning the engine off it stays off 😅
I was thinking, buy just the one and see what happens over the next couple of years, and then you said it right at the end of the video! Nice review, as a taxi driver myself I've wondered what these were like. I have a e class diesel at present. Very nice but also very expensive compared to the Skoda.
VW 1.5Tsi engines have cylinder deactivation and stop/start. Worth checking whether these could be problematic as the miles rack up. The DSG box would be worth looking out for. Many taxi's in Northern Ireland are Skoda Octavia or Superb diesels with DSG.
You can buy adapter for usc to usb
You need a special electronic timing tool for that engine it connects to a laptop so you can set the timing the tool is around £3000 from memory and can’t be done without it
Yip. I’m dreading the timing belt change on mine. Dealer quotes from £750 to £900. It’s coming up soon as well.
Plenty of taxi companies using Skoda Octavia’s so they must do the job 👍
Most use the 1.6. Very good cars.
@@harrysmith5353 correct i service a lot and don’t see any major problems
I had a few 1.6 and 2.0 diesel mk3 Octavia as taxis, trouble free apart from the DSG gearboxes in the facelift ones I owned. A lot of drivers have the 1.0tsi petrol and although at the beginning there were hesitations my mate has one at nearly 200k miles and all it’s had is routine maintenance
1.0 etec or 1.0 TSI? Trying to work out which one I should get of these new models. Not sure if the IV is worth. Or 1.0/1.5 e tec or if I should just try get 2.0 TDI
@@prodbyconscious1.0tsi, from what I’ve heard the etec are crap… quite a few guys I know have got rid recently. My parents have a 1.5tsi Karoq and it’s a decent engine plus it has the active cylinder technology which helps with fuel economy. I suppose it depends on your budget if it can stretch to 25k for a 2.0tdi 😮
@@tfairley1187 I got a used 2.0 TDI SE L first edition, can’t say I’m disappointed 😄 done a 4 hr journey back home with it and was very very comfortable previous gen I’d of been needing a chiropractor after 🤣 and the Karoq is a lovely motor also got picked up in a 24 plate one to go grab my car
A lot of taxis are Octavias where I live. Also Toyota Corollas and RAV4-s.
😊
Having worked for a company with a large fleet of vans of many makes I can honestly say that (like taxi drivers I suspect) it doesn’t matter what it is they’ll manage to break it due to, as you say, not owning the vehicle so they’re not bothered about looking after it. We used to ask our buying department to just buy something simple to fix. Not sure if anything is nowadays though.
I think a few of these would be good for airport runs where you need the boot space. For general taxi use, Priuses are well proven in the trade, 300k before you need to think about replacing the battery pack and by then you'll have made significant savings on clutches, alternators, cambelts etc. to offset that cost. Be cheaper on fuel & brakes, too. The only problem is I think you can only buy them as a PHEV version nowadays, so I would guess they're a bit pricier on the initial purchase.
My son-in-law has 2015 2.0 TDI superb estate wich he likes very much the rear passenger leg room is Limousine size the boot space is Huge and it also deliverers great mpg
Great cars, I owned a 2017 Leon 1.6tdi from new to 150k and was faultless. However I’m not sure these will last 300k miles especially with the 1.5 TSI😅
Yep I had a scala that went in multiple times to fix the auto braking/ distance sensor, took them 9 months to fix, it was only 18 months old
Are these replacing the mondeos alan.i have only driven the bigger Octavia I thought It was a decent car , I'm not sure on the newer styling though
seats are part "al can tara " alan, i think a superb would be more suitable for taxi work, bigger boot and slightly better quality, these skoda`s are better quality than seat`s, but LOWER quality than vw`s , i`m talking material wise , plastics ect, no matter what ANYBODY writes on here...................
i have a 2 litre diesel estate version of this octavia love it. Given mondeo is now finished maybe you should look at changing fleet a bit earler to get diesel octavia before discontinued
Hi Alan i had a 54 reg skoda superb 1.9 tdi auto it was a lovely motor only bad thing was water was getting in the car could not figure out weir it was coming in from
95% of Taxis & Ubers here in Melbourne are Camry's, and around 80% of those would be Hybrids. Have seen a few Diesel Superbs as well. Since the age limits for taxi's was removed here, along with the demise of Australian car manufacturing, I've seen some 'different' cars being used for Taxi Service, including a Diesel 3-series, and a couple of Chinese Haval SUV's. There are still a few LPG Ford Falcons in service, along with Holden Caprices doing Silver Service duty. Although Hydrid Lexus ES's seem to be taking over this role.
You can junk the back pressed steele axel.
I've not got a crystal ball.. but I foresee cylinder deactivation problems 😢
I look after 3 superb estate taxis, 17 plate 1.6tdi with 175000mls and newer with less mileage. bumper has to come off to fit daytime running lamp bulbs. you can release the handbrake with the engine off by putting your foot on the brake pedal and pushing the button
What a Nice car for Taxi Beautiful intro
Is the umbrella to keep you dry whilst waiting for the AA? I think the Ford engine would better, but Ford are stopping making the Mondeo...are they making a replacement? Think Toyotas would be better as someone else has suggested.
I've driven a skoda octavia ok cars.. but the superb is another fish . They are lovely to drive.
Great review Alan👌👍🙂
Alan in europe the belt interval is 140,000miles or every 5 years and 2 water pumps, you missed the one in the radiator side of the engine driven of the balance shaft. as said in my last comment i loved all 3 of my Octavia's but the MK3 although was the top Elegance spec it felt of cheaper quality compared to my MK2's and the MK4 is based on the same underpinnings as the MK3 (VAGS's MQB platform.) Also to note VAG put the the 1.5 TSI as 150BHP, but it could be putting out more, my MK3 was a 1.4TSI 140bhp, i dyno tested it and it was giving 155bhp (don't have the paper work no more as it stayed with the car for the new owner), VAG tend to underquote their power outputs latley,
The MK3 Octavia is definitely more cheaply made than the MK2 but it is also nearly 70Kg lighter which helps liveliness and fuel consumption.
Mark. When the gearbox sectors come loose on the top gear box of audi a1 they are hard to get in to gear. Easy fix though.
Good cars Alan diesels are used extensively as taxis really high milers if serviced, just sayin from north of Newcastle
You can attach a USB adapter to usbc
Are you telling me, that you can't get an Octavia with a Tdi engine in England?
I'd avoid any Vag petrol engined car like the plague. Shudder to think of the cost of one of those headlamp units after a minor prang.
Why? My Skoda Rapid 1.2 TSI petrol is on 107,000 and drives as good as new!!!!!!!
It cant be as expensive as an audi, merc or bmw headlight unit so Skoda is the way to go nowadays!!!
I had a 51reg Octavia automatic, bought it new and in 258.000 miles i had no bother at all.Cant praise them enough. It was a great taxi, just a little small in the back for 3 people. I believe they are bigger now..
Whant engine?
I think you are wrong Alan, those cars last for years either as a cab or a road car. I currently run a 17 year old VRS estate (petrol) which has 150000 on it and it's on it's original clutch and exhaust and hasn't been especially well looked after. The most major problem I've had was the ABS module went and I had it rebuilt by AC tronics for about £200.
In High Wycombe where I live many many of the local cabs are Octavias, some as old as 10 plate and they seem to be still going strong. Just get the most basic model you can with the least amount of the electronics to go wrong and you should be happy so long as you can reasonably well keep up with the cambelt and oil changes.
The 2.0 FSi unit was brilliant and bullet proof though, the unit that replaced it, the 2.0TSi was flawed, brilliant design but flawed engineering, they finally solved most of the issues on the 3rd generation of engine, i had a 1.8 version and in the end the flawed engineering got in the way as it was doing a litre of oil in about 150miles, part exed it for my MK3, which i part exed a year ago for my much smaller but loved Mazda 2 (god i miss the power, 90bhp is not enough, need a remap)
I've seen taxi's with 150k on them within 2 years it's an entirely different world compared to normal private car use.
more to go wrong ?my 2006 Mondeo Mk 3 has all the heated seats windscreen glass central locking ABS the rear wheel anti etc cheap parts easy to fix and handels super and it is17years old and still going.it is FORD
The trouble is they are approaching the era when main dealers and even motor factors are starting to reduce stock on parts as they drop off the road in big numbers.
Always had Mondeo's as taxis myself until 2 years ago when I bought a 68 plate Skoda Superb 2.0 tdi.
The issues I have had were that both rear shockers leaked and were replaced at just under 60k..
Water pump sleeve stuck in the closed position at 62k causing overheating
This was replaced with a third party modified pump without the moving sleeve to eliminate the possibility of reoccurrence.
Common design fault apparently with virtually any VW engine since 2010.
Won't buy any of the last Mondeo's as the ecoblue uses a wet belt and is asking for trouble at higher mileage.
Yep, I has the water pump sleeve stick shut too but at 92,000. Nasty flaw.
Been following your channel for some time now and enjoyed the MK4 Mondeo content. I replaced my 2010 MK4 Mondeo tdci (only 50k miles) today with a 2019 1.5tsi Superb and no regrets so far! Not a taxi though...
1.5 tsi is reliable? How many km do you have?
Prius everytime now for general Taxi work simply incredible vehicle I've seen some with over 500k on them still in reasonable condition.
Alan you can turn that auto hand brake function off with your scan tools its basically a VW Passat with a Skoda badge a lot of the parts are shared with VW and Audi Take my VW Tiguan same engine as Audi A3 and Passat also Octavia within same year of manufacture
Hello, i am in a need of an advice. What would you suggest to buy: a skoda octavia 1.5 tsi 2023 or a hyundai i30 fastback 1.5 tgdi. I use my car daily to drive to work about 50km in one direction and also the car would be in my possession about 10 years because we can't afford to buy new cars every few years.
I've just taken delivery of mine 3 days ago, and some things right away that are problematic using this car as a taxi are - the central locking activates when you move off, you could simply deactivate this in the settings in the Mk3 Octavia, you CAN'T do this in this car, also you have to unlock the doors EVERY TIME a passenger gets in the car. It's ridiculous. Also, the seat belt alarm covers ALL the seats, not just the front, and it is migrane inducing as most passengers who get in the car wonder what the loud beeping is, then after a minute (if you're lucky) realise it's because they're not wearing their seatbelts, then proceed to fumble about for another 2 minutes (if your lucky) trying to put the belts on whilst the alarm gets louder. Going into hidden settings like you could with obd apps like carista ect to change settings wont work either as the ecu is apparently locked. Trying to find a space on the dash for your pda/phone is a real pain too, The infotainment/virtual cockpit is as fiddly as hell. No 12v plug or normal usb in the cabin is another major fail, only 12v power point is in the boot. I'll supercharge my phone in the boot Skoda, cheers. Honestly i could go on and on. To be honest im gutted and missing my mk3 Octavia badly.
we never went ahead with those cars and pretty glad as the one we did purchase has developed problems rather fast including instrument pack failure
@@alan4x would you advise any of these 20/21 plate new shape Skodas whether it be 1.0 etec, 1.5 etec, IV (hybrid), 2.0 TDI? Would appreciate your opinion massively mate. Awaiting to buy a new taxi and don’t know whether Skoda or Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Hello. l would like to share something with you regarding the mondeo mk4 key. From the start when I got my used mondeo mk4 2012, I have never liked the key that comes with these cars and how it sticks out of the ignition lock. It doesn't look pretty either. When it sits in the ignition lock, it sticks out relatively far and sits at an angle downwards. The problem is that you almost always hit the key with your knee. I have the seat a little further back than many others I have seen, so I don't hit the key. My friend sits further forward and hits the key. This is not so well made by Ford. The same with the steering wheel adjustment where you pull a handle down to adjust the steering. The lever sticks out a few centimeters and does not sit like you are used to from other cars. you can also hit it with your knee if you sit too far forward. Normally, it sits in a hole in the plastic cover. Poorly designed by ford.
What car would you put up against the mk5 Alan
Any bets quite a lot of people haven't changed their belts at the 5 year point, I read people have been told by their garages up to 10 years. The engine is roughly 6 years old now and probably they've noticed the belt is still good.
When I knackered my back i made the mistake of having the whole exhaust replaced on my 2003 1.6 Astra instead of the back box. It's now really noisy I didn't realise how the original vauxhall mid box was double walled and stainless steel and the down pipe was thicker.
It's's really noisy and vibrates at 1500 rpm and because it's automatic it's not nice to drive any more but the OEM mid box on it's own is about £300 quid.
Hi Alan .skoda are a nice car But it won't stand The mileage the mondeo Do .ask that Girl Amy to come on the live stream sometime 😊
Pretty tidy isint she.
Go to Bradford, there are loads of " low mileage " Octavias for sale with 200,000 or even a lot more miles on them...all taxis of course. It's a VW really..or an Audi..or a Seat underneath. I have an Octavia 4x4 Mk3 2.0 Tdi (150) from 2014. The only really poor quality is the brake discs which are dreadful from VW. Mine has mysteriously needed all four wheel bearings within 60,000 miles, and a clutch when the slave cylinder failed and dribbled fluid onto the disc. That aside it's a very likeable car in just about every respect.
Too many problems Turbo Supercharged Surely on Taxi Fleet?
Has it got a wet belt?
nice car great video.....................................NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SKODA ESTELLE............just thought id say!!!!!!..............and let's face it Skoda is now part of VAG.......volkswagen/audi group.......
The new skodas dont last as long as the old ones. In my area the cabbies are going with the Dacias as they are cheap an cheerful an more importantly more reliable.
Evening Alan i can see the cogs going round in your head as your doing the walkaround as to the potential faults when its been thrashed around by the taxi drivers 😂Happy days eh 👍👍👍
It’s VAG group it’s usually a special tool for each job with them and too much electronic which will fail great vid Alan 👍
I had the 1.5 tsi in a 19 plant golf was gutless the turbo lag well I let you decide
It’s great on the motorway, loads of power in 5th gear but 1st through 3rd is rubbish. Claimed 7.9 secs 0-60 is a lie.
Is Ford stopped producing Mondeo then ?
Production ended last year
Alan in N IRELAND Skodas are the most popular car as taxis with diesel engines.My son drives a petrol estate 2 L dsg gearbox. Yery quick car.
Would they all have to be resprayed red? 😁😁😁
What colour is this?
I am a ford man but that is a lovely car.
Taxi drivers near me are moving away from VW group cars to hybrid Corolla’s - very reliable . Look at the old Prius taxis 500000 miles some of those .
It's not a Volkswagen for goodness sake! Designed by Skoda, manufactured by Skoda in the Czech Republic!!! Incidentally Skoda produces the petrol engines that end up in VW's, Audi's and Seat's at it's Mlada Boleslav factory
Wait until you put a new windscreen it, the cameras need recalibration. Autoglass charged my insurance £1k last time. Front wings and boot lid are commonly plastic these days. At least you won't have to change a headlight bulb anymore. It will be a whole new unit 😢😅 seriously, though good luck, Uber, etc have finished all the local cab companies around here. Very rare you see a locally plated PHV these days, although I've seen a couple of Tesla's with local plates on lately. Cheers Alan👍👍
Only thing that Skoda lacks is a full set of happy gallops.
Well Alan it is very nice car but I would have to say I prefer my Ford Kuga 2.0 tdci Titanium, but from a business point of veiw now they have axed the ford Mondeo I don't know where you can go, I do think it is a shame that ford have stoped making the Mondeo, Had my ford Mondeo mk3 2.2 Ghia for 13 yearsand done very well but could not have a new one, Hence the Kuga instead.
VOLVO??
No spare wheel & jack ?
If you are going to use it as a private hire car my dealer puts in a spare wheel and jack at no cost as it’s a requirement in my area
Thing is, I have to disagree with you. I am running a 17 plate Skoda Octavia as a taxi. It was bought two years ago with 41,000 on the clock......today it's at 131,000 and still going strong.
It's never let me down, or cost anything more then services,Tyres and brakes. I did change the cambelt and water pump at 90,000.....and it's still on the same clutch from the factory!.
That said I do agree, it's time the Mondeo's went, as they are getting long in the tooth and tired. If not a Skoda, why not a Toyota or a Hyundai Ionic?. We have a few drivers running them and seem more than happy.
No dpf issues or egr?
GPF. Which I think has caused me turbo issues.
@@JohnnyPaton didn't know about them 😕😕 bloody emissions controls!
@@JohnnyPaton do they block up like diesel on short journeys?
@@craigcousins6718 No. it’s a different design from the DPF. They don’t do regens. I don’t think it’s clearing the soot adequately enough though and causing issues with the turbo.
Not galvanized as far as i know
Octavia's body structure have been galvanized since the MK2 PRE FL, i have never ever failed a MK2 onwards Octavia on corrosion because of this, and i have been MOT testing 18 years, the oldest MK2's are getting on for 19 years old, they only panels the can rust are doors, bonnet, hatch/tailgate and front outer wings, all of which are bolt on panels.
@@Ju1ian10001 ok thanks for the update
my 05 golf tdi is galvanized not a single mot advisory for rust. Better than my old mk1 focus that rusted away.
The timing belt has now been changed to a lifetime. If you believe that
VW tends to make stuff too complex...direct injection cars clog up the intake. I think you will have a lot of work with these.
Not this one, this was the case in the past, with an old chain driven engines
The taxi companies round here run them. They love em.
I’ve seen plenty of Octavia been used as Taxis, can’t see any problems.
They never used to have as much soundproofing as the Audi's I had an 2002 Audi A6 C5 with 140k miles on and it was the pd diesel. The Octavia had a lot more road noise and it was a 2010 with only 20k and it was £10000 for a used one at the time.
Haven't worked on one that new yet but I generally find skoda are abit more reliable than audi and vw because the parts that are crap on audi eventually get superseded and the updated part also get fitted to skodas but don't hold me to that 😅
I would keep looking for something else😅
Toyota or Honda is the way to go actually.
I like the car very nice
i don't like the engine.
I don't think 1.5 petrol will stand the test of time as a taxi
Is it going to be under powered with 5 passages and luggages
I also don't think it will match the diesel on fuel economy as they say
You will be surprised, the 1.5TSi gives 150bhp (maybe more as VAG tend to underate their engines latley) 240ish nm's of torque at about 1500rpm, they are not slow. My Mk3 had the 1.4TSi with 140bhp (though was outputting 155bhp on dyno and was factory spec, not modified) 230nm's of torque at 1800rpm, and with full boot and 5 adults it would hit 60 in 9.5 seconds, quicker if just me (i weigh 14.5 stone so i'm pretty heavy) although was DSG and they are slightly quicker then manual, and they as a car are heavy at around 1600kg.