[drmohitg]

The rear looks so much like the Rapid. Seems like Skoda has gone a step ahead of VW in keeping the looks similar for all its cars. Till now it was just the front. Now its the rear too.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by ACM

The Rear of the new Octavia is a Rapidish? Don't like that bit of the boot, but the tail lights are good.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The rear looks so much like the Rapid. Seems like Skoda has gone a step ahead of VW in keeping the looks similar for all its cars. Till now it was just the front. Now its the rear too.

It does indeed. The Indian Rapid, Euro Rapid and the New Octavia have similar rear design; with a bit of changes in the tail lights pattern.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by vb-san

It does indeed. The Indian Rapid, Euro Rapid and the New Octavia have similar rear design; with a bit of changes in the tail lights pattern.

Well lets wait for the pricing and see how it fares vs the Jetta. As far as looks are concerned the Jetta is miles ahead I feel. The pricing would be the key here. If priced close to the Jetta I feel it will find it tough to appeal to the customer.

[shashank.nk]

So was looking at a few reviews abroad, most conclude its a real good car. Its even got the Auto park feature in the UK spec model though I doubt if it'll come to India. I'm personally not a fan of its looks, the rear could've been much better.
It'll comedown to pricing and VFM may be ? I hope they price it well. On the other hand now's probably the best time to pick up a Laura

[AyAn!]

I can't wait for Pete's to get their hands on of these. That should be interesting!

[Abhi_Automobile]

I don't know anything about the Octavia being VFM against the Jetta talk here. If we factor in the discounts for Jetta, the Jetta will almost certainly be cheaper than the Octavia (variant for variant)

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by TNAWAYAJ

I asked for a price quote for the Laura TSI and TDI on Skoda's India website. I got a call from their customer service representative after a few minutes. I was told that the TSI manufacturing has been "put on hold temporarily" as the company was working on a new 2.0L TSI engine.

Interesting considering that the Jetta which is supposed to be more premium than the Laura / Octavia ( that is what I read that VW is moving towards) has a 1.4L TSI .

[man_and_machine]

Some spy shots of the Octavia from Europe. Happened to see this one parked in the park. The car looks quite nice in person. The elongated wheel base is quite evident. The interior is made for VWish, I mean it sort of feels "built on the same shared platform" and some one seemed more "factory made" rather than the "hand crafted" feeling the existing Laura has. The build quality seemed the same as the outgoing Laura. The lines are more straight and if you miss the Skoda badge you might even mistake it for the Jetta. The interiors seemed a bit down market, but then its not beige so might not give the same feeling. This was the TSI, may be the entry level model, missed the projector head lamps. The car seemed taller in person, but then I might be wrong here. Its the European spec, so I guess we will get a sightly different feature list. Let the photos do the talking.
It was an overcast sky and sun was sort of not there. The car too was not in a bright color so you might not be able to get the dimensions and lines right.

Again, I have not water marked it, someone can point me to how to? I have just superimposed the teambhp logo, serves as a starter?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

Some spy shots of the Octavia from Europe. Happened to see this one parked in the park. The car looks quite nice in person. The elongated wheel base is quite evident. The interior is made for VWish, I mean it sort of feels "built on the same shared platform" and some one seemed more "factory made" rather than the "hand crafted" feeling the existing Laura has. The build quality seemed the same as the outgoing Laura. The lines are more straight and if you miss the Skoda badge you might even mistake it for the Jetta. The interiors seemed a bit down market, but then its not beige so might not give the same feeling. This was the TSI, may be the entry level model, missed the projector head lamps. The car seemed taller in person, but then I might be wrong here. Its the European spec, so I guess we will get a sightly different feature list. Let the photos do the talking.
It was an overcast sky and sun was sort of not there. The car too was not in a bright color so you might not be able to get the dimensions and lines right.

Again, I have not water marked it, someone can point me to how to? I have just superimposed the teambhp logo, serves as a starter?

Thanks for the pictures. But these are not really spy shots right? The Octavia is already launched in Europe.

[aditya101]

Question is whether Skoda will bring in the International Rapid in => and if yes under what name.

Any name but 'laura' will do

Originally Posted by Sahil

Yes. The Laura title was used in India only because the previous generation Octavia was yet selling well hence Skoda smartly rebadged the newer generation Octavia as Laura and continued to sell the older Octavia.

Now that the three generation old Octavia is finally phased out they are going back to the original name and killing the Laura brand.
___________________________

The interiors look top notch! Well designed,especially the new steering. The plastic quality as well as fit and finish look good. The Superb's level of interior quality seems to be coming into the new Octavia.

What is the expected launch date? And engines on offer?

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by aditya101

Question is whether Skoda will bring in the International Rapid in => and if yes under what name.

Any name but 'laura' will do

My hunch is the Rapid will come in with the same name. The current rapid will be chopped in length(similar to what Suzuki did to the Dzire) rebadged as Fabia sedan since Fabia is dead now. There have been rumor of the vento length being shortened to save taxes and lower prices. This the current rapid will have the same fate.

[shankar.balan]

[quote=man_and_machine;3137079]Some spy shots of the Octavia from Europe. Happened to see this one parked in the park. The car looks quite nice in person. The elongated wheel base is quit
/QUOTE]

Very elegant car. Looks a lot like a Superb.
This must be Cappuccino Beige or a similar shade.

The only thing I did not like are the interiors - that drab greyish fabric looks quite down market. Would have preferred Dark Grey Leather Interiors or Navy Blue Leather or Black Leather or for heaven's sake even a few acres of Beige leather!

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by vb-san

But these are not really spy shots right? The Octavia is already launched in Europe.

Gee, Spy for an Indian market. But yes, its launched in Europe, the car did not yet have number plates, so was fresh out of the bakery.

More pictures will follow once I find a better upload bandwidth.

[Abhi_Automobile]

[quote=shankar.balan;3137223]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

Some spy shots of the Octavia from Europe. Happened to see this one parked in the park. The car looks quite nice in person. The elongated wheel base is quit
/QUOTE]

Very elegant car. Looks a lot like a Superb.
This must be Cappuccino Beige or a similar shade.

The only thing I did not like are the interiors - that drab greyish fabric looks quite down market. Would have preferred Dark Grey Leather Interiors or Navy Blue Leather or Black Leather or for heaven's sake even a few acres of Beige leather!

Yes, but I am sure you do understand that the grey will vanish soon as the car lands in India. In fact, the ones we have seen on testing are black and beige ones.

All I am interested in is the quality of the interiors. Jetta is good in quality terms, but the current gen Laura pips it just. I am hoping the Octavia betters its last gen (Laura)

[akshay4587]

It looks like a full grown sedan like the Superb and not a Notchback,then why has Skoda retained the Wiper and washer on rear glass?