Diesel war : Chevy Magnum vs Skoda Octavia. Whats your pick?

[GTO]

Finally, the Octavia has some genuine competition. The previous diesel alternatives were either from a segment lower (Verna, Fiesta) or from a segment higher (sister Laura).

Whats your pick between the two 10-lac diesel options?


Advantage Chevy Magnum:



- Cheaper by about 1.5 lacs

- Far more power and torque. A whopping 3 seconds faster in 0 - 100!

- Greater interior room and space

- Comfortable backseat (A real backseat!)

- Extended warranty available (for upto 4 years). May turn out much cheaper to run.




Advantage Skoda Octavia:



- Solid build quality and a "built to last" forever feel

- More fuel efficient (as much as 15-20% more)

- Better handler. And superior overall chassis balance.

- Huge boot

[mclaren1885]

If it only had the old Optra front. Like Rudy's. This one is not to my liking.

[manikjeet]

i would like to choose the optra as its a newer car and not like skoda octavia a much older model

[rishibravo]

I would have to say Magnum. On contrary to mclaren1885's choice I prefer the new front of the magnum than the old optra

[nevertouchme]

I did like the old Optra. This is not my type . Can we even call this American? Korean stuff right?

My vote would be for Skoda.

Cheers,
Jai...

[nbr]

Originally Posted by manikjeet

i would like to choose the optra as its a newer car and not like skoda octavia a much older model

Octavia has started showing its age, the new shape of Optra is not that bad. i guess its just matter of time for us to get used to it.

[abhibh]

Optra for me:
- Build quality almost as same as skoda. I dont feel much difference
- Faster and Common rail engine
- Great suspension
- Great interiors
- Comes at a bit lesser price
- Cheaper to maintain than Skoda

But the things that go in favor of skoda are:
- Its FE though both will have same FE in city and i am gonna post a thread soon related to "Skoda Rider 1.TDi FE woes" as soon as BSNL broadband works.
- Boot is huge as GTO says
- Climatic control etc and lot of information display on board
- Better handler / gear box than Optra.

[Absar]

How about choosing the Skoda? I'd choose the Skoda family over the Chevrolet Magnum. I liked the older front of the Optra!

A

[NIP]

base skoda rider is around 2 lakhs more than the base magnum...about time someone showed skoda what ripoff's they are !! and look at the magnum package !! magnum anyday for me...

[GTO]

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

If it only had the old Optra front. Like Rudy's. This one is not to my liking.

Its still available on the petrol? Yup, I like the regular Optra front end too. This one, somehow, doesnt match the rest of the car.

I added the price point in favour of the Magnum. Will be interesting to see how the market responds.

[wizardofid]

I dont like this front at all, but I'd still go for the Magnum, if I had to, which I don't. More space inside and relatively much cheaper (possibly cheaper to maintain as well if the current Optra is anything to go by). Maybe in black? So that that strange front does not stick out too much

[markiv]

Have voted for Magnum for the sheer performance (from the specs mentioned). However, I didnt like the new nose/grille.
Somehow all the GM cars have a very bland front. No character. I thought the initial optra had the best grille.
Even newer models like SRV, UVA are not good looking from front.

[rahul_intlad]

Skoda certainly have responded ,nowadays you get ads which read do you think owning a skoda is expensive...and then finally they too show their three year warranty scheme.
Competition is always beneficial to the end user and nice that we have the octavia and the optra now but would be even better if only we get a few more in the battlefield.

[totaloverdoze]

Skoda Octavia looks better but Chevy Magnum is a driver's car...

[Rtech]

On paper it looks like the Magnum is the clear winner. More space inside and more power under the hood. But, I am still waiting to test it before I caste my vote. However, right now, it's 95% Magnum for me. The other 5% will happen after my test drive.

Also, seems like I'm in the minority here, I actually prefer the facelift to the old chrome grill. But yes, the front does not gel with the rear.