[Roadster17]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

As far as features go, you may not appreciate a 360 degree camera amd other features. But others may. And it is these others who are likely booking the car. I stay in Gurgaon and I know the value of a high GC vehicle here.

I know that and there is a reason why 50,000 Seltos has been sold. It has something which touches the requirement of 95% Indian buyers. May be I was talking about the remaining 5%. However, I am sure, majority of Seltos GT line buyers over HT line would be looking for a car which is more fun and engaging to drive.

I realize, this is not the correct thread to rant and compare. I will not rant further on Seltos, but I am still convinced that Octavia Onyx is the best fun to drive car below 20 lacs in India.

Lastly, on the craters of Gurgaon. My friend owns an Octy and drives in Gurgaon and he has never faced any issue related to its ground clearance there. May be, this ground clearance thing is more of a past baggage. Nowadays if you are driving in Indian cities, seldom you will feel a need of very high GC cars. Octy included.

( I am in no way associated to Skoda )

[anandpadhye]

I took a good long test drive of Seltos petrol and diesel ATs - good cars in their own right but nowhere near the Octavia. Test drives were for a friend who is looking to buy a car @20L budget. After the Seltos test drives, just went to the Skoda showroom across the road and test drove the Octavia 1.8 TSI AT just to show him what a real egine and gearbox feels like The difference was like day and night. TSI and DSG are miles ahead of the Seltos powertrain, there is no comparison. Kudos to Skoda for bringing such tech to India way ahead of it's time (DSG came in 2006 and TSI in 2008). Astonishing that it's been 11 years and yet there is no competition.

Octavia TSI DSG - the fastest and most fun to drive car @20L.

[RevJ]

I personally believe it is the next best thing to owning a Skoda Octavia VRs, comes in red too! A super mod friendly car, a looker and driving dynamics which might put Ze Big 3 Germans to shame. The infamous Skoda service center stories are like a feature of Skoda or VW cars, i have owned 2 Skoda cars in the past and now have a VW total 5 years of ownership apart from some exuberant spare prices (read VW) the service centers are up-to mark and provided resolution to every issue identified. We have about 5 Skoda cars in our friend circle every car under warranty and no major issue or any horror service center stories and these are owned by hardcore automotive enthusiasts. So is it just me or are people just dragging on something which happened a decade ago?

P.S- Just like any other machine or vehicle they can crop up issues, as a group of like minded automotive individuals we need to stop bashing a brand just cos issues for some owners went south. It could happen to any brand, some get hyped some just slips past unnoticed.

[Turrrb0]

Originally Posted by RevJ

P.S- Just like any other machine or vehicle they can crop up issues, as a group of like minded automotive individuals we need to stop bashing a brand just cos issues for some owners went south. It could happen to any brand, some get hyped some just slips past unnoticed.

I think the problems people have are more about how they are treated after the warranty ends.

[kauphylover]

Had anyone taken the plunge yet? What's the team bhp verdict on the VFM-ness of the onyx edition? I got a call from a sales guy and he said there won't be any discounts except perhaps a corporate discount.

[Timothy]

Hi Folks,

I am in the market for a petrol Car / SUV in the range of 25 Lacs and was considering the Skoda Octavia Onyx 1.8 TSI or the Honda CRV Petrol. Do you think it would be worthwhile to go for Octavia at this stage considering its been around for several years the new one is around the corner ? Also if any one can share reviews on the Petrol CRV. Need to buy within the next couple of months. Am not a great fan of diesel.

[Durango Dude]

The Skoda 1.8 TSi and DSG has no equal in the Indian market, surely ahead of it's time. If it hadn't been for the infamous Skoda 'blues' I'd have owned one by now, have been drooling since 2005, when I got my Elantra. I still drool over Skoda products!

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Timothy

Hi Folks,

I am in the market for a petrol Car / SUV in the range of 25 Lacs and was considering the Skoda Octavia Onyx 1.8 TSI or the Honda CRV Petrol. Do you think it would be worthwhile to go for Octavia at this stage considering its been around for several years the new one is around the corner ? Also if any one can share reviews on the Petrol CRV. Need to buy within the next couple of months. Am not a great fan of diesel.

I used to own a Gen-3 CRV for a few years around 2009. The engine and gearbox felt adequately smooth and modern then. However, technology and consumer expectations have raced on since then.

Honda has been using the same 2.0 and 2.4 L petrol engines since 2002, with a few minor tweaks in each generation. Despite their larger markets lapping up turbocharged petrol engines from VW and Ford over the last decade, Honda was very slow to the party and only recently introduced the 1.5 turbo petrol in the international markets. They still have not brought this to India and make so with the same decades-old petrol engine tech, even in the latest generation CRV.

On the other hand, Skoda brought turbocharged and direct injection engines to India back in 2004. They brought in DSG transmissions a few years later, Honda still has not been able to master DSG, sticking with CVT and TC transmissions. However, once VW came to India, they brought Skoda to a screeching halt or at least slowed them down significantly. VW has been a total dud here and discouraged and crushed innovation by Skoda. Left to themselves, Skoda may have introduced MQB based Indian production years ago. Good that they have finally put Skoda in the driver seat for India, but the innovative DNA and people may be already all gone.

To cut through the rant, I would go Octavia any day - a generation old Octavia is more cutting edge and aesthetic than a generation newer CRV. Skoda is also starting to fix its dealer and service network and with the six year warranty, you can have peace of mind.

[speedfreak01]

If I had the budget for this car, I would go for the octavia onyx with my eyes closed. However my next car budget is only 15L otherwise I would absoloutely love to own this machine right now.

[rauldsouza]

Originally Posted by kauphylover

Had anyone taken the plunge yet? What's the team bhp verdict on the VFM-ness of the onyx edition? I got a call from a sales guy and he said there won't be any discounts except perhaps a corporate discount.

I will likely be in a few days, getting a 70k discount on Oynx Petrol.

We could team up if in Bangalore and hunt if yr keen.

[vickyP]

Originally Posted by rauldsouza

I will likely be in a few days, getting a 70k discount on Oynx Petrol.



We could team up if in Bangalore and hunt if yr keen.

I am keen but equally confused with the new Octavia lined up for next year. Not sure if picking up the Onyx would be the right thing or wait for the updated model and pick the new one, though it may not be a 1.8 for sure!
Also, for an outgoing, though hot, model shouldnt the discounts be higher than 70k?

[kauphylover]

Although the next Octavia looks nicer, it'll likely be more expensive and be out of my budget (it already is a stretch) and have a less powerful engine. Not sure if the 2L petrol will be available.

Anyway, I'm taking a test drive (not onyx but soon me 1.8 variant) this weekend and will see what next after that. I expect to be blown away. I will also go checkout the onyx on display in their showroom.

[anoop cheeran]

Am in quite a catch-22 situation and this thread adds fuel to the fire. I have a Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDi MT that has served me beautifully these last 5.5 years and 70k kms. Car still drives like new. And IMO, the ASS horrors one hear have decreased as each year went by during the last 5 years. Skoda service centers at least in Bangalore, are getting more realistic and less haughty. In spite of all that, considering how road size seems to be shrinking as each day goes by in Bangalore city and my daily commute to work through a very crowded ORR, i decided against upgrading to an Octavia. Prices north of 25L for the DSG did not help, either.

So went ahead and booked a Seltos GTX+ Diesel AT, OTR of 21.3L here. But with Kia playing hide and seek on delivery for higher variants even with those of us who booked in August, am getting a bit flustered. And then comes along the Onyx edition. I can get one for a couple of lakhs more than the Kia pricing. There are good offers on 1.4 TSi Manual too, almost a similar OTR as the Kia GTX+ AT. I know there is no comparison between the two cars, as both are entirely different segments and mechanics, still, would like inputs on below points if i were to consider moving off the Kia and going for Octavia:

1. The BS4 vs BS6 question - does it really matter for a petrol?
2. City drive-ability in tight traffic - am pretty cool with Rapid dimensions, how different will be that few extra inches of Octavia in getting through kiss-the-side kind of traffic we see in Bangalore and adapting to shrinking parking spaces?
3. Current owners of DSG who does daily commute through heavy city traffic - do you think there can be higher negative impact on DSG with the crawl speeds one has to employ daily?
4. If not DSG and if one opt for 1.4 TSi Manual (no more Style 1.8 TSi am told, L&K is way out of my budget), do any one feel there can be an issue with the low torque of 1.4 in moving in and out of heavy traffic?

Apologies if any of the questions are naive, just that I am, as the Japanese say, having 'many minds'. Any and all advice will be appreciated.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by anoop cheeran

Am in quite a catch-22 situation and this thread adds fuel to the fire. Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Hey Anoop, here are answers to your questions since I drive an Octavia and have extensively driven a friend's Rapid MT earlier and Vento 1.4 TSI AT now.

2. City drive-ability in tight traffic
I have never had issues with Octy in Bangalore traffic and parking. I feel the design is really clever and is not out of proportion and this helps a lot. I even drove a friend's latest Superb and felt the same interestingly!

3. negative impact on DSG with the crawl speeds one has to employ daily?
This has been a very debatable topic in the forum with no clear solution. Signing up for 5 year extended warranty should give you peace of mind should it fail.

4. If not DSG and if one opt for 1.4 TSi Manual (no more Style 1.8 TSi am told, L&K is way out of my budget), do any one feel there can be an issue with the low torque of 1.4 in moving in and out of heavy traffic?
Doesn't Octy come with the 1.4 AT? I have driven my friend's VW 1.4 TSI AT on a Vento and felt the engine was really peppy in stop go traffic. In fact, on few highway runs, this could easily keep up with my 1.8 TSI. The only differentiator could be the added curb weight of the Octy, you could take a longer TD to determine. But am thinking this should be better or on par with the Seltos you have considered.

In addition to this, these are some other positives I see in an Octavia:
1. Excellent boot space. It can swallow almost the same amount of luggage as my XUV.
2. One of the segment leading GC. I have hardly scraped it, even with 5 pax and a fully loaded boot. The trick being maintaining the correct psi.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Doesn't Octy come with the 1.4 AT? I have driven my friend's VW 1.4 TSI AT on a Vento and felt the engine was really peppy in stop go traffic. In fact, on few highway runs, this could easily keep up with my 1.8 TSI. The only differentiator could be the added curb weight of the Octy, you could take a longer TD to determine. But am thinking this should be better or on par with the Seltos you have considered.

Couple of corrections:
The 1.4 TSI is available only with a manual gearbox from Skoda. However Audi offers it with their 7S Tiptronic DSG in the A3 & A4. This 1.4 will be globally replaced with a 1.5 shortly.

Vento comes with a 1.2 TSI + 7S DQ200 combination, i.e. same as the Polo. This will probably be replaced with a 1.0 as well.