[GTO]

Given the money, which one of these two beasts would you take home? Both are front wheel drive, have truck loads of character, enjoy a lot of prestige, great levels of service quality and are fun to drive. Whats more, they double up as family cars too! Both the cars have power outputs hovering around the 150BHP mark (Accord - 142 BHP, Octavia RS - 148 BHP) and are fully loaded with power everything, alloy wheels, leather interiors, music system et all.

Before voting on your choice, consider the following area of differences

Honda Accord VTi-L MT

Price ex-Thana (including insurance & taxes) : Rs. 15.65 lacs

Engine Layout : 2.4L DOHC i-VTEC 16V in line. Output 142 bhp/20.0 kgm torque.

0 - 100 : 8.98s (Autocar test)
Top Speed : 210+
Power to weight : 100 bhp/ton

Pros over the Octavia
A full two sizes bigger. The Accord is just about the size of a Mercedes E Class.
Legendary Honda reliability.
A modern design. Accord is a 2002 design while the Octavia is a full 8 years old. Skoda launched it in 1996 with a facelift in 2000.
Cheaper maintenance. In service costs and over the long run.
A very comfortable backseat. The Octavia has too many complaints regards to rear seat comfort.
Safety. The Accord has received 5 star rating from the U.S authorities. Octavia has 4 stars from European safety ratings.

Equipment level advantages
ABS with EBD (Octavia has only ABS. No brake distribution)
Dual zone climate control system (Skoda has single zone)
Electric driver seat adjustment
Power-retractable door mirrors (Skodas are manually retractable)
Audio control on steering wheel (Skoda would have a separate remote control)
6 CD changer with 6 speakers (Skoda has single CD player)
Headlight height adjustment
Keyless entry with theft alarm (Octavia has only keyless)



Skoda Octavia RS

Price ex-Thana (including insurance & taxes) : Rs. 14.01 lacs

Engine Layout : 1.8L DOHC 20V Turbo charged. Output 148 bhp/22.0 kgm torque.

0 - 100 : 8.97s (Overdrive test)
Top Speed : 214.9 kmh (Overdrive test)
Power to weight : 117bhp/ton

Pros over the Accord
1.5 Lacs cheaper
Dealer & service quality is superior. Hondas dealers are severely running over-capacity (atleast in Bombay)
Teutonic build quality
Better ride quality
A much tighter overall feel
Sporty variant would express youth and excitement
Exclusivity of this variant

Equipment advantages over the Accord
Parking sensors
Rain sensing automatic wipers
Eight speaker music system (Accord has 6)
MP3 cd player
Cool interior fittings such as sporty pedals, gearshift, RS emblems etc.
Xenon headlights with water sprayers (Accord has conventional headlights)
Sun Roof/Moon roof
Spoiler on rear deck
Red and Yellow colours (Accord has only traditional colours)
Cruise Control

Your choice?

GTO