[graaja]

Hi Friends,

As I have mentioned in some other threads, I have booked a Skoda Octavia 1.8TSI after considerable deliberations. The most important issues that challenged me during the decision making were the reliability of the DSG7, lack of extended warranty and the after sales support of Skoda. After many positive inputs from existing Skoda users (dkaile, hayek, santhoshbhat, adi_petrolhead to name a few), and drastic decrease in reported DSG7 issues post 2012, news that extended warranty will be announced this quarter, I went ahead and booked the car. In parallel I also did a survey to reinforce my decision. However, the fact remained that DSG7 still introduces some risk and the perfect car would have been a 1.8TSI with manual transmission.

Yesterday, I saw a thread on Skoda planning to introduce a facelift to Superb and the only change in the facelift Superb would be the front and rear external designs, with all other functional specification remaining same. This could mean the old Superb would have good discounts. So, I called my SA and asked what is the OTR for a Superb 1.8TSI MT Elegance and if there are any offers. The OTR is 24.9L in Coimbatore including insurance and 4 years extended warranty. I was told there is a free insurance worth 75K which will bring down the price to 24.15L. My SA has promised to come back with the final offer in a couple of days time. With corporate discount, I expect the total discount to be near 1L, which will bring down the price to 23.9L. This is about 1.7L more than the OTR of Octavia that I have booked.

I would like to take inputs from fellow TBHP'ians on what would make more sense, sticking to the Octavia or upgrading to a Superb. I compared the features of Octavia and Superb and the following is the list of Pros and Cons of Superb compared to Octavia. I also went through the ownership thread of dkaile (thank you dkaile for the detailed and fantastic review) as this is the exact model I am thinking of.

Pros:
1. Manual transmission with 1.8TSI engine. Manual transmission makes this more reliable than the DSG7.
2. 8 airbags vs. 6 in Octavia
3. Moves to the next segment
4. More space. Per late Yeti Sam (being a new member I came to know about him only a few days back and since then have gone through his complete ownership thread on Superb) one could do a seated belly dance without the knees touching the front seat.
5. More luxurious interiors with Napa leather upholstery, sun shades for rear windows and windshield, power sockets in the rear, interior mood lighting and the popular Skoda umbrella etc.
6. Electrical seat adjustment for passenger side with lumbar support. Octavia only has this for the driver side. My wife was not happy with the passenger side seat comfort of Octavia, but I had somehow convinced her

Cons:
1. Even with discounts, costs 1.7L more than Octavia 1.8TSI
2. Size may be a problem with in city driving and parking. The present car I own is a Hyundai Getz. So, I do not have any experience with long cars, leave alone a limousine!
3. 160bhp vs. 180bhp of Octavia and Superb weights 150+ kilos more than Octavia. Fuel efficiency is 13.1 vs. 14.7 of Octavia
4. Introduction of facelifted Superb will make this model outdated.
5. Lacks the fresh looks of Octavia
6. Audio system lacks support for USB and iPod interface. Bluetooth streaming may counter this disadvantage
7. The BiXenon with AFS in Octavia is more advanced than Superb

Of the cons, 5,6 and 7 are features that are not very significant in terms of drivablity and hence I can live with them. But 1,2, 3 and 4 are the ones that I need advice from fellow TBHP'ians. Is 1.7L worth spending for the listed pros and how significant are the cons for the ownership experience.

Thanks in advance for all the advice.

[F150]

Originally Posted by graaja

Cons:
1. Even with discounts, costs 1.7L more than Octavia 1.8TSI
2. Size may be a problem with in city driving and parking. The present car I own is a Hyundai Getz. So, I do not have any experience with long cars, leave alone a limousine!
3. 160bhp vs. 180bhp of Octavia and Superb weights 150+ kilos more than Octavia. Fuel efficiency is 13.1 vs. 14.7 of Octavia
4. Introduction of facelifted Superb will make this model outdated.
5. Lacks the fresh looks of Octavia
6. Audio system lacks support for USB and iPod interface. Bluetooth streaming may counter this disadvantage
7. The BiXenon with AFS in Octavia is more advanced than Superb

Of the cons, 5,6 and 7 are features that are not very significant in terms of drivablity and hence I can live with them. But 1,2, 3 and 4 are the ones that I need advice from fellow TBHP'ians. Is 1.7L worth spending for the listed pros and how significant are the cons for the ownership experience.

Thanks in advance for all the advice.

What is the primary use of this car ? Highway cruiser or day to day usage in the city.

If its a highway cruiser, MT will suffice. If its a day to day usage car, your knees and ankles will thank the DSG.

Assuming its a highway cruiser:
Superb makes more sense with the ample amount of space and ride comfort.
It gives decent/good FE if driven in a sedate manner. Santoshbhat's thread will be you reference for the frugal and the same time beast of an engine 1.8Tsi is.
Your family and MoH will love the superb. You can still retain the getz for city runabouts.
Since the new model is round the corner, you will be able to squeeze more discounts on the superb.
160 horses are enough, if you want more a remap will make sure you quench your thirst for mire power.

Assuming its a city drive with occasional sprints to the highway.
DSG will be very useful in your daily drive.
From a reliability perspective, there are few complaints about the new DSG and Skoda has even offered good will warranty in few cases, post the warranty period.
If Skoda is offering extended warranty upto 5 yrs, then you are completely safe.

All the above suggestions are based on the assumption that you have a decent Skoda ASS in Coimbatore, like Vinayak Skoda in Blore.

Happy Shopping !!

[IshaanIan]

The Superb is a brilliant buy and I suppose you will be able to get even tastier discounts during the launch of the facelift. According to me, it is the last Skoda to retain character in the looks department with every facelift or new one beginning to look like another VW/Audi

The sheer space offered and quality is unparalleled and as you pointed out; manual transmission is a huge factor towards peace of mind offered. Also, trust me when you move to the D2 segment, it really does open several metaphorical doors to you

[graaja]

Originally Posted by F150

What is the primary use of this car ? Highway cruiser or day to day usage in the city.

If its a highway cruiser, MT will suffice. If its a day to day usage car, your knees and ankles will thank the DSG.

Assuming its a highway cruiser,
Superb makes more sense with the ample amount of space and ride comfort.
It gives decent/good FE if driven in a sedate manner. Santoshbhat's thread will be you reference for the frugal and the same time beast of an engine 1.8Tsi is.

Your family and MoH will love the superb. You can still retain the getz for city runabouts.

...

All the above suggestions are based on the assumption that you have a decent Skoda ASS in Coimbatore, like Vinayak Skoda in Blore.

Happy Shopping !!

Thank you for the feedback. My usage of the car is usually 70% highways and 30% city driving. So, I think manual transmission should not be an issue. Though I would definitely miss the fun factor with a DSG, I think in another 5 years time, we will know for sure if the DSG problems have been permanently sorted out and I can safely go for a DSG for my next car.

I do not have first hand experience with the Skoda A.S.S in Coimbatore. But so far, my experience with them as far as providing information about the car, test drive etc have been good. Also, the service manager had talked to me in detail about the DSG7 issues and had assured they will provide their best services. So, I think I have to take a leap of faith on this matter.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Also, trust me when you move to the D2 segment, it really does open several metaphorical doors to you

3 months back, I had started my hunt with a C2 segment car in mind. With Octavia, made a jump to D1. Guess another jump wouldn't hurt

[Swanand Inamdar]

Are you sure the 1.8TSI in MT is still available? The dealers in Pune have stopped stocking it, saying it may, or would be discontinued.

If it is, then i would suggest the MT Superb, simply because the 7DSG is problematic and prone to failures. That, with Skoda not offering the extended warranty (on the Octavia) just yet, makes it a double whammy.

Yes, the length of the car is more, but not that more that it could be a problem. Unless you drive daily in narrow and congested lanes, it shouldn't be a worry.
That said, the Superb as a selfdrive may sometimes give an image of that of a chauffeur.

The only advantage the Octavia would have, over the Superb is; its a newer car. Cheaper too. But then again, the Superb is a different segment all together.

Good luck hunting

[alpha1]

I think it is kind of a no brainer.
You are comparing two different segment vehicles.
And to couple with this - the lower segment vehicle comes with the DSG7 which has had its share of bad name.

Unless you are looking specifically for 180bhp AND DSG, there is no comparison!

Besides, how can you ignore something named: SUPERB

[Akshay1234]

People will shoot me for saying this, but I think you should stick to the Octavia DSG. Its such a fun car, and the DSG is brilliant. Also as you said in your survey findings, not many DSG issues after 2011. I'm sure Skoda knows the Octavia can change their fortunes in India, and I am sure they will put in all effort to solve issues quickly.

The present Superb is great, but I think the 1l discount is less than what you should be getting. Maybe you can wait till the new one is launched, and then the discount should be 1.5l easily. The Superb does feel more luxurious, but then the Octavia is more fun to drive, has smaller dimensions and is better suited to driving yourself (mainly because of the size).

You will be spending more than the Octy on the Superb, and yet in a few weeks time people will say you have an old model. Though this may not be an issue for you.

Now back to the DSG Octy, most DSG issues seem to have happened in the city with cars driven in traffic. Apparently its because of heat. With your being being primarily highway driven, the shifts will be less and so will the strain on the gearbox.

Would be the Octavia TSi for me, nothing like it. Unless you need the bigger back seat and the sun shades and the umbrella

[drmohitg]

My vote will be for the Supreb here for the following reasons:
1. MT transmission over the Dsg so less stressful ownership.
2. Higher segment car.
3. More features.

Having said that why not take a look at the MT Octavia? Also as mentioned above the discounts look less on the /superb. Its a premium petrol sedan which is due for a facelift and hence the discount should be much more.

[androdev]

Super vs Octavia is pretty simple. Get Superb only if you have use for a comfortable rear space (kids, chauffeur, etc.). Don't buy it just because it seems like a car from the higher segment or based on feature-list comparison. If you can't put rear space to good use, the size of the car is a liability in every sense.

DSG vs MT: Hmmm... the million dollar question that every potential TSI buyer is asking himself. Get MT if you want to dial down some fun-to-drive factor for peace of mind. I would be very hesitant to buy DSG if I am maxing out on my finances, don't have a backup car and tend to lose sleep over car troubles. To put it politically incorrectly, get DSG if you don't get shocked by a car repair bill that can run in to a couple of lakhs and the car will be out of service for a couple of weeks.

[shashank.nk]

If you'll be driving most of the time and in city,the Octavia makes more sense. In almost every other way the Superb is much better. The advantage with Octavia is its new and feels fresh and will be easier to park in city. I wouldn't count the DSG as a plus since its still not 100% reliable. What if 2 out of 10 fail and you're one of those ? Why risk it when you have other options

If you can live with the size and MT,get the Superb. You'll won't have to worry about reliability issues as much, than with a DSG car.

[sriramv.iyer]

My vote would be for the Octavia:

1. A really modern car, with a fresh design. Superb feels old already (definitely a looker, though)
2. A lot of features like Panoramic Sunroof, Adaptive Lighting, Better Music system etc.
3. In my opinion, it is 90% A4 at 60% Price
4. Facelifted Superb was teased an hour ago (in SKoda website already - http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/models/N...rb/Coming-Soon)

Originally Posted by graaja

Pros:

4. More space. Per late Yeti Sam (being a new member I came to know about him only a few days back and since then have gone through his complete ownership thread on Superb) one could do a seated belly dance without the knees touching the front seat.

I would recommend Octavia unless you are very particular about seated belly dance (I have no idea what it means! )

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Having said that why not take a look at the MT Octavia?

MT Octavia is for 1.4TSI - I am not aware if we get one in 1.8TSI

[vb-saan]

I would suggest that you stick to the 1.8 TSI Octavia booking. It’s a good package, and probably a better driver’s package compared to the Superb. If your requirements warrant a big car and the space it offers, the Superb may make sense. If DSG is the reason to make the switch, probably its worth looking at the 1.4 TSI Octavia Ambition variant.

[GTO]

The choice is simple: Do you want a backseat or a driver's car?

The Superb is built for chauffeur-driven comfort, while providing "acceptable" driving pleasure. However, that long wheelbase takes the outright fun of driving away.

The Octavia is built for self-driven owners, while providing "acceptable" backseat comfort.

Choose between the two, depending on where you'll be seated. It's that simple.

Suggestion: I would highly recommend the Octavia diesel MT or even better, the Jetta Diesel MT (multi-link rear suspension). The VAG diesels are very fast, fuel-efficient, have nearly zero turbo-lag and are more robust too. I drove the Octavia MT for 3 days and can tell you, it would be my pick over the TSI....eyes shut.

If you want an automatic, go for the diesel with the (more reliable) 6-speed DSG.

[eq24]

I remember enquiring about the price of the 1.8 TSi MT when Dkailes review was up, back then I was getting offers on or around 19 laks OTR Gurgaon. This was of course end 12 early 13 times and I am assuming Haryana is cheaper than Tamil Nadu.

I would vote for the Octavia simply because the Superb is just too big for city use. If you have a driver than fine otherwise running around in the city will be a pain.

More over the Octavia is brand new car, whereas the Superb as you said is nearing a facelift. The resale alone will take a massive hit not to mention that Superb Petrol resale is nothing to talk about anyways.

You are a brave man, I will give you that, just reading about Skoda on Team BHP gives me the jitters, sure people have had it good but general consensus is risky. Why not try the safer Japanese cars, the new Corolla will be out by March or if you want a bigger car go for the Fortuner or Camry(Discounts as well), Reliability takes a whole different level with the Japs. And you can also wait for the facelift Superb to get maximum possible discounts if you do end up going for the Superb.

[sh@rpshooter]

On paper the Octavia is more powerful, better Mileage and almost same size as the current Superb. Personally, it looks better too.
...and you can easily buy a Triumph Bonneville with the money saved

BTW I thought the Jetta Highline AT is an amazing vehicle, and if i were looking for a sedan would be my choice