[Carmageddon]

Hi all - I’m the happy owner of a 2021 Octavia Style. Am curious if anyone has installed sun shades on the rear doors and window? A rollable OEM or equivalent solution will be ideal.

It’s something my wife really misses when she uses this car! Will appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

[GeeTee TSI]

The nifty little door bin is a godsent and I had carefully conserved the original garbage bag (it was always dry waste in my case) till the service center very thoughtfully disposed it off.

I now has to scout for the unusual sized 20cm x 30cm sized bag. An emergency attempt was a paper bag (fail) and the second attempt a 'zip lock' bag of the same size (passable), the latter was still too thick for the application.

Thanks to this pet poop bag of the same size, the bin is happily back in action

[abaliga]

Having completed 1 year since we welcomed our 2023 Octavia L&K 2.0 TSI, I would like to share my ownership experience of this very special car with the esteemed forum members and viewers

Highlights:
- This was the last Octavia delivered in Mangalore! We purchased this car only because it was being discontinued and were not in a rush as our Ecosport was running trouble free with only 25k on the odometer, Skoda was selling this without any discounts despite the rumors on the discontinuation! I was hardly able to bargain as I was not ready to walk away from buying the car (I knew it was unlikely to be launched again, even if relaunched getting it as a CKD with 2.0 TSI is a fat chance).
- Car has run only 6K in its first year! too less for my liking, but I have enjoyed every kilometer I have driven it.
- Extremely well built and worth every rupee we paid for (despite being priced slightly higher than desired, it is hard to find a car that is as good for a budget of 35-40 lakh on road today).
- Though looks are subjective, Octavia has a timeless design with a nice 3 box silhouette, something that cannot be beaten by any of the SUVs/Crossovers.
- Absolutely no issues to report, has proven to be a reliable companion till date(knock on wood), hopefully it remains that way throughout my ownership (I do not plan on selling the car for the next 10-12 years)!
- Extremely high safety standards, has received 5 Stars from Euro NCAP, L&K has 2 additional airbags for rear seat occupants in addition to the standard safety suite.

Service Experience:

- 1st year service was uneventful, I was charged around 12k that included Oil change (did not get the car washed and declined the wheel alignment), I did not let the car out of my sight for the entire 3 hours it was at the workshop and was standing outside the workshop door to respect their rules, I had informed the SA to not go on a test drive without me being present, Tafe Access Mangalore honored my requests without any hesitation.

Likes:

- Minimalistic dashboard design with high quality bits that should age well (Not withstanding the piano black inserts that are impossible to be kept scratch free).
- Sweet powertrain with 190PS and 320 NM of torque that can keep most enthusiasts happy. Only fly in the ointment being the wheel spin and torque steer raising its ugly head when one floors the gas pedal. RS tune for the engine with an AWD would have given a 330i/li a run for its money!
- Cushy ride quality at higher speeds, Low speed ride is a bit stiff though, may be the stock Goodyears are to be blamed.
- Decent space for folks with average build, taller folks will find it a bit cramped in the rear seat that is if a person above 5'10" is seated in the front.
- Retractable sun blinds for rear windows and rear windshield (missing on 3 series).
- Well designed digital instrument console with round dials (I hate the new age angled designs!).
- Powered trunk lid and an accommodating 600 litre boot.
- Compact turning radius that is shorter than our previous ride (Ecosport), very maneuverable for a 4.7m car.
- Did I mention good fit an finish inside out already? its hard to find this level of quality for the price I paid these days.
- DSG performs very well in most situations (97%), at times one can feel the jerks at speeds below 30 kmph as the box is hunting for the right gear to be in, this can be noticed only by keen observers.
- Neutral handling characteristics (nowhere as fun as our Ecosport was, but that had a harsh ride), the ride and handling balance on the Octavia is appreciated more than the fun we could have on the Ecosport.
- Very refined overall, NVH levels are very well controlled even at 3 digit speeds, Motor sounds sweet when revved! This is one reason we had to drop the VAG 1.5 TSI cars from contention, I hate the boomy nature of 1.5 TSIs at revvs higher than 3.5k rpm, wish VAG sorted this out (their 1.2 TSIs sounded much better at higher rpms too).
- Ground clearance at 137mm is more than adequate, as long as one is not rushing through speed breakers/potholes, this is easily manageable, the suspension tune does not let the car scrape its belly easily.
- Full LED head lights and tail lights that look nice when lit up.
- Ambient lighting for the dashboard gives the cabin a premium vibe.
- Well thought out dash cam port behind the IRVM is a blessing, no warranty issues stemming out of aftermarket installation!
- Wireless car play and Android auto are standard.
- Wireless phone charger is standard as well.

Dislikes:

- Ingress/Egress is a little tricky for seniors, not as comfortable/easy as some of the monocoque crossovers.
- Stitching on the seats and the steering is not consistent, hard to notice, but keen observers can find minor anomalies (I am nit picking here).
- Single digit fuel economy for the most part, bumper to bumper drive will yield only 7-7.5 kmpl, one can get a decent 10-12 kmpl if the average speed is above 30 within city limits, Highway economy is decent at 15-16 kmpl if one is a saint, although we (myself and my dad) have not been able to fetch more than 10-11 kmpl on a highway run where one is driving fast (within speed limits), the car gulps fuel if one is slowing down frequently and picking up speed quickly! Turbo petrols are not meant for high mileage users.
- Driving range with a relatively thirsty motor and 50 litres tank is limited to about 500 kms (Tank capacity should have been at least 60 litres).
- 205/55 R17 size tyres are skinny, I find the profile and the diameter to be adequate for our roads, but the width should have been 225mm at the minimum! Will definitely need better rubber next time around.
- Absence of physical HVAC controls is a trend I hate, however, there is an option to add a widget on the home screen of the infotainment for HVAC controls including the blower speed which makes it easier than navigating across menus.
- Wheelspin on aggressive launches, typical trait of a front wheel drive, I feel this dilutes the premium car experience at times.
- Low beam on the head lights were awful, this is despite the upgraded headlights for L&K, I got the beams raised a bit during the first service, have not been able to test whether there is any improvement as yet.
- Unacceptable cost cutting measures like not providing ambient light, soft feel plastics on the rear door pads (although the general quality of door pad plastics is superior all around).
- I do not mind the absence of sunroof, but not providing ventilated seats on a car that costs almost 38 big ones is unacceptable.
- Requirement of minimum 95 Octane fuel, finding this was tricky on our 2200 kms trip from Mangalore to Shirdi, ended up fueling regular 91 Octane fuel 2-3 times, luckily the motor performed well regardless of the octane rating! Availability of good quality high octane fuel is always on the back of my mind during road trips as some owners have faced issues with this motor being sensitive to fuel quality. Also, the fuel cap says the car is only E10 compliant, God help us if there is no availability of E10 fuel in the country few years down the line.
- It was cheap of Skoda to delete the extremely desirable Canton music system and the child lock controls from the driver door! As if these deletions were not enough, Skoda increased the prices subsequently adding insult to injury, I am an audiophile and greatly appreciate quality music, deletion of the Canton system is something I still cant get my head around after owning the car for a year, the stock music system is alright but not great, I guess I will bite the bullet eventually and upgrade the speakers and install a sub.

All in all, I am very happy with the purchase, 4th generation Octavia is an excellent offering that can give the luxury German Marques a run for their money! Brand Octavia has been the default choice for enthusiasts who are on a budget, unfortunately for many of them, the car is discontinued as of today, I am hoping this will be re-introduced soon (has to be in the CKD form as it does not make any sense as a CBU!) as this was the car that had established Skoda in India.

I would also like to urge Skoda India to manage the lead time required for procuring parts of their CKD options better, Have heard too many stories of delays over 3 months, this is simply unacceptable in a globalized world with a super fast supply chain.

And finally, Here are some pictures I have clicked over the past year, please do not mind the quality as all of them were clicked on my phone, Thank you all!

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Originally Posted by abaliga

Attachment 2590057

Aren't those tyre pressures level mentioned very high? That the reason for the stiff ride? Love the alloy design...so unique compared to others in the same segment.

[abaliga]

Originally Posted by rosh_aveo1.4

Aren't those tyre pressures level mentioned very high? That the reason for the stiff ride? Love the alloy design...so unique compared to others in the same segment.

The tyre pressure mentioned on the fuel cap is way too high, I generally maintain around 32-33 PSI, despite this, I feel the low speed ride is not something I would call cushy, dont get me wrong, it is not jarring and is way better than the Ecosport we had earlier, but something like an Innova Hycross I drove recently has sublime ride comfort at city speeds and is much better than the Octavia, May be I am expecting too much of a Euro sedan.

[elroydsilva]

Such a simple and beautiful car! Before getting my Harrier, I got a chance to test drive the Octavia and I summarized my experience in one word, "Delicious!".

How are the suede seats holding up?

[sudiptaadhya]

This is such a drop-dead gorgeous design. If looks could kill

The Octavia / Superb were always very aspirational cars while growing up.

Originally Posted by abaliga

Attachment 2590059

Remember these ads?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZluCEBS6w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzZPIy6Avos

[abaliga]

Originally Posted by elroydsilva

Such a simple and beautiful car! Before getting my Harrier, I got a chance to test drive the Octavia and I summarized my experience in one word, "Delicious!".

How are the suede seats holding up?

I havent faced any issue with the suede seats, they are pretty easy to clean and there is no visible wear to speak off, overall very happy as of now

Originally Posted by sudiptaadhya

This is such a drop-dead gorgeous design. If looks could kill

The Octavia / Superb were always very aspirational cars while growing up.

Thank you @sudiptaadhya! Indeed it is a looker! A simple and timeless design that will age very gracefully! It was the first gen Octavia that caught my attention when I was in my high school/under grad college, at the time my Dad owned an Indica and I had just started learning to drive (after I got a learner's license), there was this one instance while driving from Mangalore to Bangalore where I was being trained on a highway run and an Octavia overtook us without braking on a corner, I followed it at almost the same speed on the corner and our Indica understeered , I got a nice earful from my Dad for trying to follow a German sedan that was way more capable than our ride at the time, this is where I fell in love with the Octavia!

[sudiptaadhya]

Originally Posted by abaliga

I got a nice earful from my Dad for trying to follow a German sedan that was way more capable than our ride at the time, this is where I fell in love with the Octavia!

Back in 2017 when I was taking the delivery of my Rapid, I spent most of my time in the showroom just gazing at the Octavia and Superb, wondering when I would be able to buy one!

In 2022, when I finally could afford one, Skoda decided to withdraw the model

I ended up finally buying the new LWB Hyundai Tucson, and despite that being a fantastic car, I could never get over the Octi / Superb in my head. As they say - first love is unforgettable

[mah45]

It doesn't matter how good the car is if there are persistent issues that don't go off.
My car's Infotainment restart issues are back and more frequent off late.

Due to the scorching Chennai summer and this being my daily runner, was postponing to take the car to the Service centre.
But I can't wait anymore due to the Issue once again becoming more frequent and happening even when the car is parked.

Have booked an appointment for Monday and I am told it has to once again follow the process of raising Technical query with Skoda and following their instructions, so not sure how long again.

[vagster]

Originally Posted by mah45

It doesn't matter how good the car is if there are persistent issues that don't go off.
My car's Infotainment restart issues are back and more frequent off late.

Due to the scorching Chennai summer and this being my daily runner, was postponing to take the car to the Service centre.
But I can't wait anymore due to the Issue once again becoming more frequent and happening even when the car is parked.

Have booked an appointment for Monday and I am told it has to once again follow the process of raising Technical query with Skoda and following their instructions, so not sure how long again.

Dod you try getting this escalated to skoda, through social media or email?

Never trust a dealership unless you know the SA / manager personally. They will only put off the customer's tone by not escalating it further and not being helpful.

Note: I faced a similar restart issue thrice during my recent travel to South TN. Im not sure if this is a common issue across all Mk4 octavia.

[mah45]

Originally Posted by vagster

Dod you try getting this escalated to skoda, through social media or email?

Never trust a dealership unless you know the SA / manager personally. They will only put off the customer's tone by not escalating it further and not being helpful.

Note: I faced a similar restart issue thrice during my recent travel to South TN. Im not sure if this is a common issue across all Mk4 octavia.

Please refer to my previous posts on this.
I had escalated to Skoda support but to no use. They just create a ticket, assign it to the Service centre and do nothing further.

In Feb the car was there for 10 days with multiple Software updates and observations.
I was told it was resolved but not to be.

On Saturday it became so worse with multiple restarts and volume increases.
I had no other option but to drop the car in the Service centre to avoid neighbours complaining about blaring noise during middle of the night (from a parked car)

Don't know how long will it take now.

Is there anyway to escalate to Skoda management

[GoBlue]

Originally Posted by mah45

blaring noise during middle of the night (from a parked car)

Could this issue be elaborated please.

Where does the blaring noise come from when the car is parked (and locked)?

[mah45]

Originally Posted by GoBlue

Could this issue be elaborated please.

Where does the blaring noise come from when the car is parked (and locked)?

The issue is that the Infotainment restarts by itself.
And when it restarts, it starts playing FM automatically.
And the second issue is that, the volume keeps on increasing by itself.

So, even when the car is parked and locked, it starts playing FM radio automatically at random.
And when the volume increases to the maximum, it feels like playing audio from a loud speaker.

I know this is not believable but it happens and that's why I am extremely frustrated.

And all this when the car is locked, and keys are with me inside the house.

[GoBlue]

That is indeed vexing.

Prior posts on this thread indicate that someone faced this issue and was resolved by a replacement of the infotainment unit.

Has Skoda agreed to do this?

Is the audio setup from Canton in your car?
Remember reading somewhere that the Canton setup was buggy.