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Old 23rd July 2017, 22:53   #31
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Originally Posted by dZired View Post

However, it isn't as big an issue as is the car's tendency to incorrectly read the presence of a parking spot, when there isn't one. This incident happened just once during our test, but it ended pretty badly. The car incorrectly read the parking space to be slightly ahead than the real location and thus...reversed into a car that was parked ahead of the available parking spot - a red Skoda Rapid.
From what I can see, the Octavia was at very low speed when it bumped into the Rapid. Considering Rapid is German and is considered to be one of the stronger cars out there, does it speak volumes about Octavia's toughness?

Or am I mistaken in estimating the speed of impact?

Last edited by GTO : 24th July 2017 at 10:49. Reason: Removing video from quoted post
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Old 24th July 2017, 01:19   #32
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Considering Rapid is German and is considered to be one of the stronger cars out there, does it speak volumes about Octavia's toughness?
Its meant to soak up the bump exactly like that. The side doors of any cars will crumble like that before it takes the impact to the stronger part of the car. The space is hollow and you can test it in any car. The chances are if a small kid bumps it hard enough it will create a dent specifically at that hollow spot. And the Octavia hit the rapid with its stiffer part of the car.

Some one please post the video of this car at night time. Those lights are beautiful. Love the new design.
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Old 24th July 2017, 07:36   #33
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

I checked out the Octavia at the showroom over the weekend. Had to decide between the extra money for the Superb vs the facelift Octavia.

Besides the obvious larger appeal of the Superb and a few more nifty features like hands free boot release, boot opening memory function, umbrella holder (not a gimmick), the Octavia matched it well.

2 issues with the Octavia - the piano black finish does not look good or upmarket and the volume knob. The power symbol on it moves as you change the volume. It's extremely annoying for me and had the same grouse with the Laura as well.

That said, the car is beautiful, better than the earlier bland looks. The petrol 1.8L is sensational and a delight. I'm not sure of the vRS as Skoda is focusing on the October release of the Kodiaq (~45L Mumbai on road for the TDI top end).

At 34L OTR for the Superb TSI L&K, my decision is made. But my heart just wants to wait to see the Kodiaq.
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Old 24th July 2017, 10:59   #34
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Besides the obvious larger appeal of the Superb and a few more nifty features like hands free boot release
Biggest difference is the space IMHO. The superb is best owned when seated and chauffeur driven. Its a baby s-class in all possible ways while Octavia is the spoiled kid of Skoda. The new generation offers some ridiculously attractive looking car.

Go for Superb if you will simply be sitting in the back and driving once a while and vice versa for Octavia.
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Old 24th July 2017, 11:40   #35
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Superb has the next generation Skoda looks as it was launched in 2016. Octavia is a 4 year old design and does not possess the new crystalline design cues to the full extent. The face-lift is limited in its ability to make major changes to design and therefore unlikely to stay fresh for more than 2-3 years. It is rather boxy compared to the new Skoda design language. Superb, on the other hand is totally fresh design and takes the aesthetics to a different level. The Kodiaq is based on similar design philosophy as the Superb and looks great too.
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Old 24th July 2017, 12:21   #36
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Once you get used to the Superb, it's pretty darn tough to go back to any other car below it's class. I am still enjoying every moment on my 2012 1.8 TSI with 6 MT. I have tried getting used to many other cars post that (read Q3, Fortuner, 3 series) but somehow always come back to it. Still don't feel any need to upgrade even 5 years down the line.

Cheers...
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Old 24th July 2017, 12:36   #37
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

Drove the Octavia Facelift. Loved high-revving the 1.8 TSI with that fast-shifting DSG. Quite an all-rounded car when you consider the space, boot size, interior quality & ride + handling package. Jetta being discontinued makes the Octavia's case all the more compelling. Three downsides = DSG reliability, Skoda's after sales & torsion-beam rear suspension of the 2.0 diesel.

That blunder of a product demo reminds me of these:

In 2015, I interned with Volvo as part of my college curriculum. In one of the test drives, the sales manager asked me to stand in front of the car (it was a V40) so he could display this feature to the customer. I blatantly refused as I remembered watching this video, or a similar one. He then tested it on an electricity pole.

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 24th July 2017 at 21:29. Reason: Removing Youtube URL from the quoted post.
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Old 24th July 2017, 13:01   #38
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Originally Posted by dZired View Post
The car incorrectly read the parking space to be slightly ahead than the real location and thus...reversed into a car that was parked ahead of the available parking spot - a red Skoda Rapid. Here's a video of the incident:
I think the Octavia was trying to point out the colour it actually wanted to be painted in.

Auto-Park is a cool party trick, but I feel it would be quicker to park manually. I have probably used the system on my Passat around 5 - 10 times since we got it in 2011, and most of the times it was just to show my friends how the system functioned.

The system can sometimes be overwhelmed and misread the conditions around the car when presented with tricky situations as we often see in our country. The driver always needs to be aware of his/her surroundings when using Auto-Park. I almost ended up like the Octavia driver in the video a couple of years ago, when my Passat targeted an i20 instead of the empty slot next to it! Thankfully, I could see what was happening and slammed on the brakes (my friends had a good laugh at my expense).

IMHO, features like Auto-Park work much better when used in ideal surroundings like we see in more developed countries.

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 24th July 2017 at 21:30. Reason: Removing Youtube URL from the quoted post.
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Old 24th July 2017, 14:40   #39
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Originally Posted by pickdj View Post
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!
Congratulations on the purchase! What colour did you book? Also what are the wait times in Pune?
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Old 24th July 2017, 14:50   #40
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Auto Park and even Cruise Control are useless features in Indian conditions, as useless as heated seats imho. Even on expressways, I have seen people or vehicles jutting out without warning. Manufacturers should customise vehicles according to a country's need. What works on US or European highways or parking lots will definitely not work here. That is why self driving cars will not work in India, at least not in our lifetimes.

Cheers...
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Old 24th July 2017, 14:57   #41
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Congratulations on the purchase! What colour did you book? Also what are the wait times in Pune?
Thanks! There is a limited choice when it comes to colors though. I wrote about this somewhere else but the available options are
- Black - Too hard to maintain
- White- too taxy'ish as per the better half
- Silver - too boring as per me, and
- Quartz Grey - Which is basically dark blueish. That's the one I have chosen. I might just get it re-painted in a few years if I feel like it.
Wait times are not much. I had pre-booked so I will get the car around July end. I was told that the deliveries will start in August September for people who book now. Looking forward to collecting the car and then posting pics on TBHP
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Old 24th July 2017, 15:04   #42
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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Originally Posted by pickdj View Post
Thanks! There is a limited choice when it comes to colors though. I wrote about this somewhere else but the available options are
- Black - Too hard to maintain
- White- too taxy'ish as per the better half
- Silver - too boring as per me, and
- Quartz Grey - Which is basically dark blueish. That's the one I have chosen. I might just get it re-painted in a few years if I feel like it.
Wait times are not much. I had pre-booked so I will get the car around July end. I was told that the deliveries will start in August September for people who book now. Looking forward to collecting the car and then posting pics on TBHP
That's nice man! Actually agree with you'll about the black and white. I'm considering the same 1.8 TSI Style Plus though in silver. Will be my third boring Silver car .

Skoda should have really got the Carbon Steel colour over from the Rapid. I find it really smart!

Also now you have so many options of Wrapping the car, so why not consider that over a repaint?
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Old 24th July 2017, 15:19   #43
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

They discontinued the blue color!?!! Wth! It's possibly the sweetest color on the Octavia (at least the pre face-lift)

pickdj - can we really paint cars with newer colors now? I thought that was banned.
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Old 24th July 2017, 15:23   #44
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

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They discontinued the blue color!?!! Wth! It's possibly the sweetest color on the Octavia (at least the pre face-lift)

pickdj - can we really paint cars with newer colors now? I thought that was banned.
Amen to that brother! The blue was definitely the best one of the lot. I tried very hard to find out if there is any way (official or otherwise) to get the new one in blue but no luck so far.

Banned? I don't know about this but they can't stop someone from painting their car in whichever color they like? It might not be exactly similar to the Skoda blue but I am sure we can find out the hex color code for that. Anyway, not planning to change the color anytime soon.
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Old 25th July 2017, 01:10   #45
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Re: A close look: The 2017 Skoda Octavia Facelift with hands-free parking

Hi Guys,

Long and confused post disclaimer

I currently own a sx4 and have been looking to upgrade for past 18-20 months now. Have been in love with octavia even before I knew how to drive. So have been saving ( I, for some reason, am averse to loans) for octavia for quite some time now.

People who know me, know that I have been confused about what car to buy for past 18-20 months. Have posted multiple queries on tbhp also. Around that time I had enough money saved to buy the car and started reading about octavia on tbhp. Read a lot of horror stories about octavia ASS and how Jetta is better, So decided to instead book Jetta. Now as luck would have it, some other needs arose and funds got diverted.

So unable to get Jetta, I decided to book Vento but cancelled the booking after a week, since I just didn't feel like buying it. Have been saving again since then and now finally can afford one.

The problem is that now there is no Jetta. So back to Octavia. Heart says buy octavia 1.8, it's the only car you hv ever wanted. Mind says vento 1.2 is all the car you need.

My needs are frankly not much. Usage is 800-1000 kms per month with 50-50 city highway split, so I guess petrol should be okay. I don't drive very fast so 1.2 tsi should have enough power for me. 90% of the time it is going to be 2 adults and 1 kid so again vento is good enough. Boot in vento is enough for our needs. I need an automatic with very good low end torque where also vento is decent. So basically vento seems to be perfect for my needs.

Except that whenever I see octavia my heart starts to sing, eyes twinkle and there is a sheepish smile on my face. Good car/bad car, I just love the way it looks. Have loved it since the first version of it was launched.

Any idea what should I do???

PS: SX4 had an accident last week. Everyone is safe and car just had some body damage, but dad for some strange reason has restricted it's use to city limits now. So need to get another car soon.
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