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Old 14th May 2014, 13:01   #31
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Originally Posted by 9thsphinx View Post
Congratulations on the classy black Skoda. Looks much more menacing than your previous white. As much as I love Skoda's design for their Laura and Octavia's I just can't make up my mind to invest in the Czech maker and probably never will. Not much of a risk taker myself. Atleast not on one which costs some 2 odd million rupees

I somewhat agree to your Vento ride quality perception. I'd double GTO on how he put it on the Official Vento Review thread. "The ride is "Compliant" and NOT plush" unlike other competitors.
Czech is country of orgin and their entire technology is from VAG since 2000 and Octavia is based on most modern MQB platform. Just curious to know which other car you will invest in this budget range which is fun to drive (not just loaded with features like Koreans)

Last edited by B747 : 14th May 2014 at 13:04.
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Old 14th May 2014, 13:16   #32
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-spee...

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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
Pls pardon my ignorance on that. We don't have many good BP fuel bunks, only Indian Oil. They offer Xtra Premium, now what Octane would that be? Skoda has strictly warned me against filling up with additive based fuels.
Xtra premium is also 91 Octane. Regular unleaded is fine for this Engine. A lot of premium car makers advise against using additive mixed fuel as a precautionary measure as oil companies do not disclose exactly what additives they are adding. But I have used Shell Super, BP speed and BP Speed 97 on various occasions and have never faced any problems. The additives help to keep the injectors clean. I believe its good to use additive mixed petrol about once a quarter to keep the injectors in good shape.


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How do you feel about Pirelli and Continental? How silent are the Michelins? I haven't seen anything as silent as the Yokohama dbv550 which were on my Laura
Haven't used Pirelli or Continental yet so can't comment. I am a fan of Michelin Rubber. Almost all my cars are running on Michelins. Its something about the quality of their rubber. They stay soft and supple throughout their lifetime and don't harden like.... say the Goodyears. Infact I am blown away by the quality of the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 that I am running currently. I have done about 12.5K kms on them and they are simply the best tyres I have ever used. Amazing grip and very confident braking, yet silent and gives a good ride. The wear rate too seems to be good. Sadly these are discontinued. I am already worrying about replacement tyres as nothing is in the same league as of now. My suggestion to you is the Michelin P3ST. Lots of good reviews and is the latest offering. The Dbv550 is quite old now.


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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
But your car is TUNED! So the figures you are getting are normal with the tune up aren't they? 200 PS and 12-13 kmpl is very very good in my opinion. What would a BMW 328i deliver you think? much lesser I am sure.
No no I am not complaining. I am very happy with the efficiency of the engine. Even with spirited driving my highway FE has rarely dropped below 10. Post the remap the FE has dropped by about 1/2 to 1 kpl. I also switched to 225 section tyres to handle the extra power. This would also have contributed to the drop in FE to some extent. But as I said I am not complaining.

Last edited by Santoshbhat : 14th May 2014 at 13:42.
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Old 14th May 2014, 14:22   #33
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The longer wheelbase takes away some fun from the driving dynamics. The Laura is very chuckable due to its short wheel base.
Just curious to know why longer wheelbase takes away driving dynamics, a longer wheelbase will provide better stability isn't it? Did you mean that a longer wheelbase will cause the rear to skid out in turns?
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Old 14th May 2014, 15:31   #34
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DS

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Originally Posted by B747 View Post
Just curious to know why longer wheelbase takes away driving dynamics, a longer wheelbase will provide better stability isn't it? Did you mean that a longer wheelbase will cause the rear to skid out in turns?
I didn't mean stability is affected due to the longer wheelbase. Shorter wheelbase cars are generally more nimble and fast at changing directions. Precisely why a good handling hatch is so much fun. Or why the BMW 3 is more fun to drive than the 5 series or why the Jetta or Laura is more fun than the Passat or Superb. Longer wheelbase cars handle long sweeping corners better, but for fast directional changes shorter wheelbase is preferable.
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Old 14th May 2014, 18:10   #35
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Originally Posted by Santoshbhat View Post
I didn't mean stability is affected due to the longer wheelbase. Shorter wheelbase cars are generally more nimble and fast at changing directions. Precisely why a good handling hatch is so much fun. Or why the BMW 3 is more fun to drive than the 5 series or why the Jetta or Laura is more fun than the Passat or Superb. Longer wheelbase cars handle long sweeping corners better, but for fast directional changes shorter wheelbase is preferable.
Got it thanks, so longer wheelbase is good for stability but lesser is good for agility.
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Old 14th May 2014, 18:29   #36
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-spee...

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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
I have ordered License Plate LEDs from Superskoda.com Lets see how good are those, expensive at 42 Euros though.
I have one in my shopping cart also. Along with 2 more products. Just waiting to get a nod from my installer if he would be able to do all the work. If he says yes, which I believe he will, i shall place order today and get the thing installed very soon. (deliveries from superskoda doesn't take very long)
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Old 14th May 2014, 21:35   #37
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I have one in my shopping cart also. Along with 2 more products. Just waiting to get a nod from my installer if he would be able to do all the work. If he says yes, which I believe he will, i shall place order today and get the thing installed very soon. (deliveries from superskoda doesn't take very long)

What have you ordered besides the LED license plate lights? You don't need an installer for that though. Its simple plug n play.
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Old 14th May 2014, 22:28   #38
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DS

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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
What have you ordered besides the LED license plate lights? You don't need an installer for that though. Its simple plug n play.
Octavia III - MEGA POWER LED mirror downlight KI-R and

Octavia III - MEGA POWER LED cargo trunk light - KI-R

I haven't paid yet. They are still in the car. Are these purchases worth it? Each about 40 Euros.
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Old 14th May 2014, 23:34   #39
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Why don't you just wait till my ordered lights arrive? What say? If its any good, I might order the trunk lights too. I am also keen on the brushed metal finish mirror covers, and the most wanted, hood dampers!!
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Old 15th May 2014, 07:23   #40
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DS

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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
Why don't you just wait till my ordered lights arrive? What say? If its any good, I might order the trunk lights too. I am also keen on the brushed metal finish mirror covers, and the most wanted, hood dampers!!
Sounds good, I'll wait for your feedback.

I had ordered the hood dampers twice only to get refunds for that. They say, it is not possible to send the dampers through air as they might get damaged.

Let me know if you order the same. We can club the purchase to save on the shipping cost.
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Old 15th May 2014, 12:56   #41
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DS

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Originally Posted by noopster View Post
Nice review, Adi! The Octy is quite a looker and looks like yours has every bell and whistle you could possibly need!

My Vento 1.6 NA petrol that produces 103 ps power returns a highway average of 15 kmpl and regular running FE of 11 kmpl approx. Used to be pretty proud of that (my Swift delivers around 12 kmpl) but am very impressed by the TSI numbers.
As Adi mentioned, higher speeds don't seem to matter much to these Germans, between 80-100 you get very good FE numbers, which dip slightly when you go over that speed. But the worst in my car is when you stay in low gear (1st/2nd) where is becomes an absolute gas guzzler, I get numbers like 6 kmpl regularly in South/Central Mumbai traffic.
Even in heavy traffic, 6 kmpl is extremely poor for a 1.6 petrol, not even turbocharged. Even in heavy traffic, 30-40 minutes of idling with a/c on, the 1.8 is returning approx. 8 kmpl.
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Old 16th May 2014, 08:34   #42
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How sweet is this steering? Love the black overalls too! Wish they were an option in India 😒
Love Hate Relationship | My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance | EDIT: 180,000 km update-imageuploadedbyteambhp1400209445.077395.jpg
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Old 16th May 2014, 09:05   #43
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Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead View Post
How sweet is this steering? Love the black overalls too! Wish they were an option in India 😒
Attachment 1241156
Wow looks awesome, will be great to hold too. Look at that large centre screen,brilliant.
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Old 16th May 2014, 11:06   #44
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Re: Love Hate Relationship: My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance (7-speed DS

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Originally Posted by B747 View Post
Wow looks awesome, will be great to hold too. Look at that large centre screen,brilliant.
I hope this Flat bottom steering makes it to India via installers like Vagtune and Petes. The screen is large as its the Columbus unit with navigation. Also notice that the MID screen in the instrument cluster is a Color Maxidot. I've seen it in the Passat, its UI is also very smooth. Wish it was possible to just retrofit the screen instead of changing the whole instrument cluster.

Last edited by adi_petrolhead : 16th May 2014 at 11:07.
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Old 19th May 2014, 15:42   #45
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Just got the rear diffuser wrapped in 3M Carbon Fibre finish Schotchprint 1080 film. Finishing was 95% to my expectations. 5% was for just one shabby corner, but its not visible unless you really lay down and look at it.
Love Hate Relationship | My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance | EDIT: 180,000 km update-imageuploadedbyteambhp1400494234.544065.jpgLove Hate Relationship | My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance | EDIT: 180,000 km update-imageuploadedbyteambhp1400494248.758578.jpgLove Hate Relationship | My Magic Black Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Elegance | EDIT: 180,000 km update-imageuploadedbyteambhp1400494262.961059.jpg
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