Skoda Octavia : Official Review

[ajmat]

Great review

One thing that I am worried about is the DPF. It needs a burst of speed and a long run to recharge it. If this is not done, car starts running pretty rough. Also, the DPF needs to be replaced every 5 years or so, may be less given our fuel quality. Expect big bills!

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

I'm a little disappointed that Skoda chose to go with the 2 years/unlimited Km warranty despite giving a 5 year comprehensive warranty pack on the much lower priced Rapid.

Simple, there is more, much more to go wrong in the Octavia

[nipcarlover]

Awesome review Vid sir!

I agree that the headlights on the Elegance are just absolutely fantastic.

I think that the Octavia is a massive step up from the Laura, and almost sure to be a success given how the Laura has fared in our market.

I think the interior would have been better with black leather and black plastics, but beige is what the market wants, so I don't blame Skoda for not doing so.

Hopefully we get a full blown EU spec vRS version! That would be pretty awesome

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by invidious

Excellent review - can we have the price list of each variant?

The price list is already up for each variant. Please refer the table in the second post for details on prices for each variant and comparison with competitors.

[miharbe]

Excellent review Sir
This car is definitely the new benchmark in the segment! Pricing though could have been better. Not sure how it compares to the Jetta prices but I am guessing it's pretty neck in neck especially given that the Jetta has some discounts running.

Questions
1. Your pick of all the variants?
2. What is the remap potential of the diesel?
3. Is there is torque limit on the 6 speed DSG on the diesel?
4. Were you able to do some 0-100 times for all the variants? If yes please post them.

The 1.8 TSI with the DSG makes a compelling case for itself!

Once again thank you for the detailed review. Few bits were not covered in any other review out there.

P.S. The black car reminds me of the car Jason Stathom drives in Transporter! (Previous generation A8 I believe)

[evilshantanu]

Amazing pricing! The VW group seems to be working their hats off atleast on the competitive pricing front. Definitely my next car!!

[Vkrm_Rghvn]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Great review

One thing that I am worried about is the DPF. It needs a burst of speed and a long run to recharge it. If this is not done, car starts running pretty rough. Also, the DPF needs to be replaced every 5 years or so, may be less given our fuel quality. Expect big bills!



Simple, there is more, much more to go wrong in the Octavia

Hello Ajmat,
The DPF need not be changed (lifelong) unless it get physically damaged. Also today the strategies for clearing the filter, i.e the particulate filter (its called regeneration technique) have been designed and calibrated to minimize the risk of affecting the engine life. So we need not worry about that.

Cheers,

Vikram

[Vj13]

This is one 5 starred thread.
The pictures along with the details are simply superb.(Ya ya, it is the norm in TBhp)
That is some clean styling.Guess it is only right to say that the legend is back.
Disappointing to see Skoda cut costs on the suspensions and miss out on the extended warranty.Come on Skoda don't you trust your product. With your famed ASS, the common man does deserve more.

[musclecar]

Finally, the Legend is back. A great review of a great car. Hope it brings Skoda back into the leagues.

[spyder918]

5 star reviw Vid.. thanks to the detailed coverage, pictures, and useful opinions

This is the car I would love go for.. despite the poor after sales..

-MQB platform offerring the extended wheelbase, and what a design... this is simply a style statement.. definitely better than Jetta..
3 cheers to Jozef Kabaň...
-The tether for ISOFIX Clild seats is definitley good to have..
-Would have loved the white led lights for puddle lamps..
-AC vents styling below the front seats looks poor, could have been better..
-Roof styling, and big window...
-Doors opening from inside any time..european standard.. but does the rear doors have a manual locking system, that will not allow to open from inside, similar to VW ?
-Delay in starting.. does the delay vanish when you restart second maybe third time? looks like the oil pressure building an issue here, maybe the oil pressure is built up before signalling the injector to fuel the engine..
-Headlamps and tail lamps gives an urban look..
-DSG failures had gone with some enhancements, for its overheating due to handling.. I remember reading of similar issues occurring with european taxis' for similar reasons

Most important the pricing is most apropriate to appeal the customers.. I remember SA telling me that the base version is expected to start from around 15L..

I wish best of luck to this 'Legend' reborn !!

[_raVan_]

Great review Vid. Rated 5 stars!

Fantastic product but pricing is a bit on the higher side. Any news for the vRS?

In your review, you have mentioned "Octavia 1.8L TSI is only available with the 7 speed dry clutch DSG gearbox". Did you mean "Dual clutch" instead of "Dry clutch"?

[Tats07]

Pricing is very disappointing - 1.4 TSI Ambition will be 15 Lakhs+ ex-showroom Bangalore, which means OTR will be nearly 18 Lakhs! The Active version with numerous features missing is 14 Lakhs+ ex-showroom Bangalore.

I wonder whether we should at all have a segment called D anymore, given the fact that even the base version OTR of Octavia will be hovering around 17 Lakhs, which was entry level D+ segment pricing couple of years back! Add to that:

- Civic is gone; if it comes back it will be with another insane pricing.
- Corolla is not inspiring
- Elantra is good but not thrilling
- Jetta 1.4 TSI may not be worth after Octavia 1.4 TSI

What will C+ segment buyers upgrade to unless they make a big jump in their budget?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Great review

One thing that I am worried about is the DPF.

This one is Euro4 so no DPF. DPF is only for EU5 variants.

Originally Posted by spyder918

-Delay in starting.. does the delay vanish when you restart second maybe third time? looks like the oil pressure building an issue here, maybe the oil pressure is built up before signalling the injector to fuel the engine..

Delay in starting does not mean it needs more cranks. Merely that there is no direct cranking by turning the key. It's like a start/stop button. You press the button and the system takes care of cranking. Similarly you turn the key and then it will trigger the system. This has a half second delay.

[vb-san]

Thanks for the excellent review. As usual, the attention to detail is exemplary!

The pricing looks decent. It is pretty aligned to the current ex-showroom prices for the Laura – e.g.; Laura Elegance TDI AT v/s Octavia Ambition TDI AT, or Laura L&K v/s Octavia Elegance TDI AT. Good to see that Skoda went against the normal trend and did not try to price the new generation car much higher than the outgoing model.

[shinuak]

Nice clean looks and great engine options, the front headlamps feel Audi'ish too. The on paper specs for 1.4 TSI looks good and Iam looking forward to test drive it. The only dampener is the huge looking floor hump. I hate the Europeans for this, atleast they could have made it similar to my optra magnum where the third occupant can be seated without much discomfort. Istill dont understand why they need such a huge transmission hump which is like a wall of separation between the 2 rear passengers. Its high time that they take a cue form Honda and make it disappear, just like in the civic or at least reduce the height of it.
By the way great review by vid6639 with all the details, thank you !

[PPS]

Nice Review.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

and 6 airbags (Ambition gets only 2)

I'm surprised at this cost cutting! They should have given atleast 4.

no other reason to have 2 different setups on the same car. Considering that the Octavia is a premium product, it is plain ridiculous

Completely agree! But majority of the folks who will end buying this car will be oblivious to this fact! Btw, is there a possibility that the superior suspension will be added to the diesel/1.4 variant a year down the line?

The Ambition gets neither height nor lumbar adjust for the passenger.

My decade old Octavia base variant has this!

In comparison, the Ambition's halogen lamps in standard dual-barrel reflectors look boring:

I feel they could have given single beam projector setup for the other variants.