Honda Accord or Skoda Octavia RS?

[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

[shravan316]

Phew! This is a really tough one.........i gotta think!

[aadix]

man this is more tougher than that car or girl thing!

hate it when i have to think a lot to make a desicion!

[navin]

i voted for the RS because I want one! However if...i had the room to drive/park the accord it might have been different. given that most of drive in urban areas i think size (the octavia is much shorter) should also be a consideration. besides the octi more torquey. should translate to better in city drivability. also one can add a CD changer for small change in the octi.

[normally_crazy]

THE RS WITHOUT A DOUBT.

it is my next car.......anyone want a ikon 1.6 sxi ?

i simply have fallen in love with the octy....

but wait ...i can get also the mondeo..hmm that shud make me think !!

cheers

[ajmat]

I would go for the Honda - and add Mugen stuff as I go along

[sid_lath]

octavia it is.
maybe i would have bought the accord if i was 10 years older
octavia just looks so much more sporty and stylish(i wish they had a 2 door octavia coupe - that would have looked awesome). and with aprox 150bhp and 22kgm torque, it would be a great car to drive.
accord is too big. and looks bulky too.

[Aditya]

RS for me. 21km/l sounds like rather tall claim, but, I still love the Octavia.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (sid_lath @ Sep. 02 2004,13:39)]maybe i would have bought the accord if i was 10 years older

I think I am !!!!!

[Rtech]

Its the Octavia RS for me. Although I was intitially leaning towards the Accord, I've since changed that to the Octi. I love its styling, so what if its almost 8 years old...good looking is good looking! Its smaller and more nimble than the Accord. It has a much sportier image than the accord and I'm sure its ride is better too.

Also I love the solid feel to it, something the Jap's have yet to get close too.

As far as the advantages GTO has listed, a lot would really depend on the what actually matters to the prospective owner. For example:
Accord:
ABS with EBD (Octavia has only ABS. No brake distribution)
Makes no difference to me!

Dual zone climate control system (Skoda has single zone)
Again, absolutely no difference to me

Electric driver seat adjustment
Prefer a manual one as this is just one less problem to have in the future (as we've seen with the Mondeo!)

Power-retractable door mirrors (Skodas are manually retractable)
This I like...really handy in Indian traffic conditions.

Audio control on steering wheel (Skoda would have a separate remote control)
Again, I like this.

6 CD changer with 6 speakers (Skoda has single CD player)
6 is better than 1 I guess, but the Skoda has MP3 capability which matter more to me as all my music is MP3

Headlight height adjustment
The Skoda has this too, so its wrongly mentioned as an Accord Advantage.

Keyless entry with theft alarm (Octavia has only keyless)
Alarm is a definate plus!

Some handy features, but nothing to make a buyer pick this over the Skoda. Now lets see what the Skoda has:
Parking sensors
Very useful feature!

Rain sensing automatic wipers
Just a gimmik...

Eight speaker music system (Accord has 6)
8 is better than 6!

MP3 cd player
Again, MP3 is better than Non MP3

Cool interior fittings such as sporty pedals, gearshift, RS emblems etc.
Cool if its there, suits this car.

Xenon headlights with water sprayers (Accord has conventional headlights)
Way cool.

Sun Roof/Moon roof
hmm...no real use to me, but a nice gimmik.

Spoiler on rear deck
Again, suits this car.

Red and Yellow colours (Accord has only traditional colours)
i wouldnt buy it in any of these colors so...!

Cruise Control
useful on the expressway..thats about it!

Even if money was not a problem, I would still chose the Octi over the Accord. That its 1.5 lakhs cheaper is a bonus. The only reason I would get the Accord is if I really needed that back seat, which I dont!

Rt

[Shan2nu]

That's a null vote from me. Both cars are excellent in their own ways.

For a very fast drive through twisty roads, id close my eyes and pick the RS, but on an expressway, the Accord, anyday.

The RS might have more power but it's still a 1.8ltr engine, it wont be able to sustain high speeds for as long as the Accord would, CC does make a difference.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]0 - 100 : 8.97s (Overdrive test)
Top Speed : 214.9 kmh (Overdrive test)

Hey, wasn't it 0-100 in 8.4 and 219kmph?? Where did they get those figures from??

Man 8.97secs is a real shame, considering that it produces 17bhp/ton more than the Accord. Heck, that's slower than what yor Vtec managed!!!

On the whole, the Accord is the better car.

Regards...
Shan2nu

[navin]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (ajmat @ Sep. 02 2004,13:42)]

I think I am !!!!!

i am 2, maybe more! *

[salil_kulkarni]

octi for me. Love its muscular looks and powerful engine. The nice body kit makes the looks understated yet sporty. if i had the money, would surely go the the RS.

[navin]

Mugen Honda is about 5.5L more than an Octi. right?

[GTO]

I am with Ajmat on this. Would surely go for the Accord :

1. The current Octavia is going to be replaced by its newer generation within a year. Now if we were contemplating the turbo version of that, maybe my vote would have been otherwise. But the current one...turbo or not...14 lacs is a bit much for that.

2. The Accord is a full 6 years newer in design. Thats 6 additional years of safety development, chassis development etc.

3. The Accord is MUCH MUCH bigger. And for me - the bigger the better. I just love big cars, thats one of the reasons I dont have any hatches in my garage right now.

4. Honda - The name says it all. I have owned two hondas so far and have been 100% happy with their performance, reliability and uptime. In the last 6 months, my Vtec has been off the road for ONLY 12 hours - a routine service that cost a little over a grand. The Accord is one car that will last forever. Forget the recalls about the fuel pump issues and all. Those have been sorted out now and this is one car that will never see the service bay but for service intervals.

5. It is arguably the best sedan in India. Each and every car magazine in the US has awarded the Accord as best sedan in class. Forget the Octavia, it has squashed Camrys and Nissans and Mazdas. It aint the best selling car in the worlds biggest market for nothing.

6. Luxury. Its got oodles of space everywhere and the seats are amazing. I love the interiors which are just so well - appointed. Even though I never use the backseat, if I am spending in the whereabouts of 15 lacs, I want a complete car.

7. Potential for mods. In the Accord, there is a lot more aftermarket support if you want to do the right stuff. As Shantanu said, theres no replacement for displacement.

But the main pointer is this - Have you ever high-revved a Vtec ?

GTO

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Headlight height adjustment
The Skoda has this too, so its wrongly mentioned as an Accord Advantage.

Nope, the RS does not have this. Must be something to do with the Xenon thingie.