A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

[Sahil]

The auto park features are the biggest gimmicks and no one should ever rely on them. Even one bit.
I learnt this during my test drive of the previous gen w221 facelift S350, which was one of the first cars that got this feature. During the test drive the sales chap kept insisting I follow the instructions to the T. I warned him we were too close and boom it kissed the car at the back. Luckily no real damage. But I walked away without purchasing the car as I was disgusted and doubted all the safety tech it had.
I currently have the W222 that has a better version of the auto park feature and in the 2 years of ownership I not once have dared or even been tempted to try it out.

[petroguzzler]

Gosh! That auto park feature is dangerous and is a potentially lethal flaw in the product. Actually Skoda should recall all vehicles sold and deactivate or robustly upgrade that feature.

[Tanveer_2558]

Apart from a little off looking front end, Its a nice update to the car.

I am surprised at the auto park assist acting like that & does it not brake automatically once your too close to the obstacle & you still keep going? Maybe a specific car having an issue with one of the sensors, By no means the car is supposed to do that what it did in the video.

Back then when i installed this system in my jetta, Link, http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...-page-2-a.html (Installed! Self Parking System in Jetta. EDIT: More videos on page 2)

I found it to be very intelligent, So much that it was even able to park almost everywhere it was possible, Also the level of customisation that could be done via coding to the auto park system was crazy, You can really code the car to act the way you want it to.

Have a look at this video of mine,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keWVGBVE7-Q

The place between the 2 car's was not enough for both the door's on the side to be comfortably opened, So the car detected that, It asked me to again slot the car the 1st gear, Adjusted itself and this time parked itself in such a way to give more space on the driver's side so that the door could be opened comfortably, Also noticed by no means i was going slow during all the process, I would by hand too naturally park at almost the same speed only, Which also shows the confidence i had on the system.

One more instance i would like to share was when i was un-parking the car & the car wanted me to switch to reverse to which i din't realise and i kept going ahead to my surprise the car auto braked itself before i could touch the car in the front, After installing this i was using this system almost everyday & everywhere & for me it always worked fine, Mine was the PLA 2.0 version, Apparently internationally now most of the cars come with PLA 3.0 which is even more advance.

[sharktale]

With the new navigation system, led turn indicators, colour MID display, LED illumination, I wouldn't really mind the updated bumper now!
Feeling a little sad with the MY2016 edition I got in Sept 2016 :P.
Knowing the availability of mods of the VW & Skodas, does anyone think that an official replacement/addition of the head-unit and LED illumination is possible?

[pickdj]

Thanks. Appreciate the review and made my decision easier. Sitting in the Skoda showroom right now booking the 1.8TSI STYLE PLUS 😀. Here I go!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

I am surprised at the auto park assist acting like that & does it not brake automatically once your too close to the obstacle & you still keep going? Maybe a specific car having an issue with one of the sensors, By no means the car is supposed to do that what it did in the video.

Braking in time is the responsibility of the driver while listening to the warning beeps from the parking system. The car doesn't brake by itself. Unfortunately, it moves by itself as it is in D mode. That is what makes it tricky. It keeps moving unless you apply brakes. It makes the whole parking maneuver disconcerting. If you look at the second video (the one after the crash video), at video position 22 seconds, the car stops just couple inches away from the rear car. At first, I was impressed thinking the brake was applied by the car itself. Later I found out it was the driver braking just in time. That was freakishly lucky. But not so lucky little later when it backed into the Rapid. A soul crushing moment that was, to see two beautiful cars getting damaged.

Otherwise, the TSI was a lovely car to drive. As I drove out of the Airport, I was warned by a local that the Chandigarh roads are superb to drive on, but the local drivers are maniacs. After about 10 kms of drive, I wondered where are all the maniacs. Then it occurred to me that I am driving a TSI, which makes you blind to other maniacs on the road.

[Hells Bells]

What is the verdict on the updated DSG in the new model? Does it carry the legacy of the previous version? Is it also a dry clutch box?

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

What is the verdict on the updated DSG in the new model? Does it carry the legacy of the previous version? Is it also a dry clutch box?

The diesel gets the 6 speed wet clutch DSG while the TSI still continues with the (in)famous 7 speed dry clutch gearbox. There are still concerns with regards to the reliability of the latter.

[pickdj]

Originally Posted by vishy76

The diesel gets the 6 speed wet clutch DSG while the TSI still continues with the (in)famous 7 speed dry clutch gearbox. There are still concerns with regards to the reliability of the latter.

sorry for the query but can you point me to a recent complaint about the gearbox? All the complaints I have seen on the forum seem to be old ones. Even the new owners haven't really posted anything about the gearbox. It just seems that the complaints have dried down?

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by pickdj

sorry for the query but can you point me to a recent complaint about the gearbox? All the complaints I have seen on the forum seem to be old ones. Even the new owners haven't really posted anything about the gearbox. It just seems that the complaints have dried down?

I don't mean to offend you in any way, but the latest MQB Octavia has this problem. This review had the gearbox catch fire due to a mechatronics short circuit:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ed-dsg-11.html (Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DSG))

Again, very few cars have actually crossed even 50K for concrete evidence that this issue is sorted. Look up the Octavia thread and you will find other cases of failures as well.

I don't mean to scare you. It's just that the Octavia is a gem of a car. It was the first preference for us when we bought the Jetta, but Skoda has been ignoring these issues for too long now.

Hope you take this in the right spirit.

[pickdj]

Originally Posted by vishy76

I don't mean to offend you in any way, but the latest MQB Octavia has this problem. This review had the gearbox catch fire due to a mechatronics short circuit:

Oh absolutely! Thank you for your point of view. This is what everyone warned me about before buying the Octavia! However, it is a leap of faith from me to invest money in it today. I just hope that Skoda doesn't disappoint me like it did customers in the past. For today, I am still reveling in the pleasant high of buying something expensive

[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by vishy76

The diesel gets the 6 speed wet clutch DSG while the TSI still continues with the (in)famous 7 speed dry clutch gearbox. There are still concerns with regards to the reliability of the latter.

Ok, thanks. I was under the impression that this latest refresh actually brings in another new gear box for the TSI. I am already aware of the issues people have faced with the MQB platform Octavia which is a truly pitiful situation as there is no sedan which I find more alluring than the Octavia TSI :(

Would the upcoming vRS have a different gearbox? That is, of course, if they truly launch the 230 bhp version and not just the body kit version.

[SPARKled]

Just wondering if the manual gearbox diesel is reliable enough or does it also have problems.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Just wondering if the manual gearbox diesel is reliable enough or does it also have problems.

The diesel has a wet clutch DSG which is much more reliable in comparision and also has a longer clutch life due to the wet plate design. It can also handle more torque unlike the 7 speed dry clutch unit which is limited to only 250Nm.

This is the reason why we see the Superb manual producing 320Nm of torque while the automatic has to make do with only 250Nm. At the same time, Audi has beefed this very gearbox up on the A3 to handle more torque and dubbed it the 'S-Tronic'.

The reason why everyone loves the 7 speed dry clutch is its phenomenal shift times, especially downshifts. The wet clutch 6 speeder can't match the former's downshift times.

A huge thumbs down for not offering a 1.8TSI manual Skoda.

[lancer_rit]

Great update review as usual. I guess the main upside of the "park assist" system is that you get 2 extra sensors on rear wheel arch, which in our broken, odd obstacle filled roads, might mean that one sees some pole or slab on the side of the car, and takes evasive action (all the while doing manual parking) !

Would have loved to hear about the ride/handling with the suspension tweaks and rear track incrase.