[Jo2]

So the D day was this week and we finally managed to get delivery of our black Octavia Style variant earlier in the week! The experience with the car has been outstanding so far and as a first timer to the VAG group, I have loads to learn! But oh boy, the car is more intelligent than I thought

Will share more pictures and a detailed drive review after a long drive. Just couldn't resist sharing the good news with all of you esteemed BHPians.

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

First congratulations on booking. Style variant is a great value for money.
Oh yes been through the path and decided to drop it. Chrome strip cost around 9k approx. Yes that's right once those numbers hit the part of brain it froze for some seconds. Shock lagaaaaa

I haven't had the chrome strip added yet as the dealer is still clueless as to whether this will fit the Style variant, which perplexes me

Does it mean everything is great? Following are observations on the Style variant

• One of the critical short comings is the definitely the head lights on low beam. Both the throw and brightness isn't sufficient and always needs the fog lamps to be turned on
• I noticed a setting in the infotainment system to adjust the throw in case you haven't tried it.

Big thanks to all BHPians who have shared their experiences here that have helped me in my early days with the Octavia. More to come!!

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by Jo2

So the D day was this week and we finally managed to get delivery of our black Octavia Style variant earlier in the week! The experience with the car has been outstanding so far and as a first timer to the VAG group, I have loads to learn! But oh boy, the car is more intelligent than I thought

Will share more pictures and a detailed drive review after a long drive. Just couldn't resist sharing the good news with all of you esteemed BHPians.

[*]I noticed a setting in the infotainment system to adjust the throw in case you haven't tried it.[/list]
Big thanks to all BHPians who have shared their experiences here that have helped me in my early days with the Octavia. More to come!!

Hearty congratulations and wishing you many happy miles and memories with the car.

Yes I have used headlight level setting. Doesn’t improve drastically but the issue is with overall brightness of the throw. It’s not much of a issue in city driving but on long drives it is much more evident.

[GeeTee TSI]

Just thought of sharing the operation of the electric liftback hatch in a restricted space (in length and height); which is the exact situation in my hometown garage with a 6'5" ceiling height
(Excuse the rather grainy gif which i ended up with)


The arc of the hatch doesn't protrude much beyond the length of the car and the height of the opening can be set to one's preference even in real-time by holding the tailgate and pressing the button to register that limit

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

The arc of the hatch stays doesn't protrude much beyond the length of the car and the height of the opening can be set to one's preference even in real-time by holding the tailgate and pressing the button to register that limit

Nice
Something I miss in my previous gen Octavia. It’s manual and need to be careful in closed parking lots

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Now this lead to some serious thinking on getting a PPF done.

Originally Posted by sandeepsaran

Thanks Rahul. PPF cost was 1.1 L including alloy wheel coating and hydrophobic coating on all glasses and came with 5 yrs warranty. I did not consider ceramic coating as PPF has self healing properties for minor scratches and swirl marks.

Folks, After a much of thought process, I am also planning to get PPF done on my car as some swirls and hairline scratches have started to show up on the exterior.

I wanted to check the brand you opted for, Was it from an independent detailer or any franchise? How has been it holding up so far (I know the time frame is too short but any red flags/observations?)

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Happy to end 2021 on a high note – took delivery of my L&K Octavia on 30th December from TAFE Access Skoda, St Mark's Road.

Originally Posted by Jo2

So the D day was this week and we finally managed to get delivery of our black Octavia Style variant earlier in the week!

Many congratulations on making a stellar choice and I envy your colour. Wishing you countless moments to enjoy and cherish forever!!

[solaris007]

It is wonderful to see this thread becoming more active over the last few days. I am usually never wowed by cars in this price bracket but I still remember the night I took it for a test drive.

The interior just simply exuded class and refinement. Everything makes you feel really special from the outside (beautiful tail light welcome animation on startup) to the inside (graceful ambient lighting). I really hope Skoda gets the sales that allows them to continue participating in this segment.

If it is not too much trouble, could the folks that recently purchased the Octavia mention the other cars they were considering and why they finally settled on this one. I would buy this car in a heartbeat but there are two really critical shortcomings:

1. Low ground clearance: Although the showroom models seem to have sufficient clearance visually - the brochure mentions that it is only ~107mm laden. This transforms it from a "go-anywhere" city car to "I hope there aren't any tall speed breakers on this route" car.

2. Beige seats: I have owned so many cars with beige seats - all of them required multiple seat cover replacements because it was impossible to keep them clean. Also, if you have viewed most video reviews of this car - they always have a black velcro strap on the door handle to keep the delicate interior from getting soiled. How are the current owners tackling this problem?

[timuseravan]

I did a test drive of the Octavia and was seriously impressed with the ride quality and refinement. I have shortlisted the Style variant (and Jeep Compass Diesel manual).

With all discounts (and no haggling), the Pune dealer is quoting just over ₹30 lakh for the Style variant.
Is this a good deal? Or is it possible to get more discounts?

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by solaris007

2. Beige seats: I have owned so many cars with beige seats - all of them required multiple seat cover replacements because it was impossible to keep them clean. Also, if you have viewed most video reviews of this car - they always have a black velcro strap on the door handle to keep the delicate interior from getting soiled. How are the current owners tackling this problem?

I can cover this, having used my previous gen Octavia for 6 years and 60k+ kms, I can say maintaining a beige interior is not difficult at all if you follow basics. Irrespective of the car I never open the window and drive, it’s very dusty in Bangalore. And I clean the interiors myself once a month using 3M products and never allow the local cleaning guys to do anything on interiors. Also will do an interior detailing once in 18 months. How much ever the car is dirty outside I want my interiors to be very clean and my car is in top shape. Not a single stain (touchwood) even with a 4 year old.

Now I am a sucker for black interiors and will prefer black over beige every single time. It’s not due to ease of maintenance but I love the sporty feel black gives. One way beige interior ensures you keep it clean against black where you tend to get a bit complacent

Originally Posted by timuseravan

I did a test drive of the Octavia and was seriously impressed with the ride quality and refinement. I have shortlisted the Style variant (and Jeep Compass Diesel manual).

From a drive perspective how would you compare between these 2?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

I can cover this, having used my previous gen Octavia for 6 years and 60k+ kms, I can say maintaining a beige interior is not difficult at all if you follow basics.

Correct, Skoda interior quality is frequently underrated. I clean them personally with a moist cloth weekly and professionally by 3M or a detailer once a year. I also exclusively wear blue denim jeans (when not in office attire), and have noticed blue staining on the driver seat. But nothing which cannot be removed easily.

This is my Octavia after 67K km & 6 years:

[KI07]

Originally Posted by timuseravan

I did a test drive of the Octavia and was seriously impressed with the ride quality and refinement. I have shortlisted the Style variant (and Jeep Compass Diesel manual).

With all discounts (and no haggling), the Pune dealer is quoting just over ₹30 lakh for the Style variant.
Is this a good deal? Or is it possible to get more discounts?

I'd say haggle a bit more, someone in the thread got Grey L&K for around 30.6

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by rahul1407

I wanted to check the brand you opted for, Was it from an independent detailer or any franchise? How has been it holding up so far (I know the time frame is too short but any red flags/observations?) !!

You get different price brackets across the range from local to establish brands. My approach was to have some form of warranty for PPF which established brands give. Go with XPEL, LLUMAR, STEK etc. Irrespective of brand outcome depends on the applicators experience. Octavia isn’t a easy one to work on. Additional component to bear in mind is 5yr and 10 yr warranty trap. I personally would never keep the PPF on the car beyond 5 yrs period and reapply after it. Reason being it might get bonded to surface. Difference between 5yr & 10yr warranty is the thickness of the film itself. Thicker the film costlier it tends to be. If the detailer gives you a option of mix & match 10 yr ones on the high impact areas and 5 year one the low impact areas it would be a good fit.

Originally Posted by solaris007

1. Low ground clearance: Although the showroom models seem to have sufficient clearance visually - the brochure mentions that it is only ~107mm laden. This transforms it from a "go-anywhere" city car to "I hope there aren't any tall speed breakers on this route" car.

2. Beige seats: I have owned so many cars with beige seats - all of them required multiple seat cover replacements because it was impossible to keep them clean. Also, if you have viewed most video reviews of this car - they always have a black velcro strap on the door handle to keep the delicate interior from getting soiled. How are the current owners tackling this problem?

My 2 cents based on couple of long drives.

Low ground clearance: Courtesy google maps have ended up on bad roads to virtually non existent roads with deep pot holes and encountering huge speed breakers. Never it has scraped once. Haven’t stress tested yet with very heavy load. Max was 3 medium size suitcase and other kink & knack along with 3 folks riding. With mudflaps too other folks haven’t experienced this. One needs to be careful though & understand cars limitations. Cross these deep pot holes and huge bumpers slowly & bit skill full. One will learn on the go.

Beige seats: I have had the beige color in previous cars and even after 5 years it looked as good as new with some maintenance, but there is a curve ball with new gen Octavia. It has suede leather in the middle section of seats & on dashboard. I don’t have experience with cleaning or maintaining this type of material. Initially would opt for every 6-9 months duration deep clean at experienced detailers place until i can start playing around with specific products. Yes ground rules for kids help and strictly no eating business in the car as much as possible. This can’t be totally 100% avoided with kids but even if you could achieve upto 90% that’s a win and less painful. Yes heart still skips a beat occasionally

[timuseravan]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

From a drive perspective how would you compare between these 2?

The drive feel is not very similar but both are extremely fun to drive - which is my number 1 criteria

The Octavia was very refined with plenty of power even in Drive mode. The DSG gear shifts are smooth and almost unnoticeable. Considering the size of the car, I found it very maneuverable. I could not test on very rough roads but the car was well managed in the general poor quality Pune roads.

The Jeep Compass has extremely slick manual gear box - the gears just slot effortlessly. The engine has very good grunt with barely noticeable turbo lag and pulls nicely even at high speeds! The clutch is also very light for a diesel (and especially more so coming from a Scorpio). In terms of control and drivability, I would agree with the well deserved reputation of the compass!

Around the ₹30 lakh range, I don't think any other car has a better drive.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by timuseravan

Around the ₹30 lakh range, I don't think any other car has a better drive.

You are absolutely spot on. Below 30L bracket until the new gen Tucson comes in there are no contenders.

Wondering how Manual vs Automatic is playing out for you. adding to mix with Diesel vs Petrol & to top it with High GC vs Low GC. Oh boy!!!

I had been through the similar choices but the only way to seal the deal was take it on a highway and understand what connects with you and how it compliments one’s usage pattern.

Saw your post on pricing have you considered checking prices from Mumbai dealers ? New dealers tend to be more aggressive. This is my experience from Mumbai.

Alternatively folks in Gurgaon seemed to have got very good deals you can purchase from there and get permanent registration in Pune.

[timuseravan]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Wondering how Manual vs Automatic is playing out for you. adding to mix with Diesel vs Petrol & to top it with High GC vs Low GC. Oh boy!!!

I am in total confusion at the moment.
Planning on back to back drives of both before taking the call.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by timuseravan

I am in total confusion at the moment.
Planning on back to back drives of both before taking the call.

As someone who test drove both quiet recently, I can give you the short answer. The Octavia is the more fun to drive of the two. This doesn't mean the compass is slouch by any margin. Its quiet good. Its just that the Octavia is a bit more fun. But again, I am biased towards Sedans. I am comparing the Compass top spec 4x4 diesel AT against the petrol Octavia L&K.