[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by sampadroy

Let's just hope they price it aggressively to snatch away many buyers from the luxury segment. I'm sure then many prospective 2series/ A class/ A4 buyers would take home the Octavia, instead!

ACI claims a ex-showroom price of 25-29 lakhs, so I am guessing that the onroad prices could touch 33 lakhs.

Quite expensive, especially given that you could've gotten a current gen Skoda Superb or even the last-gen CKD Octavia VRS for around that price just a couple of years ago (if I'm not mistaken)! One good thing is that the Mercedes C class and BMW 3 series have also gotten expensive over the years so, their price difference with the Octy remains the same, more or less.

This is an excellent car but only the niche sedan lovers would buy it at this price!

[Sahilrai166]

The Octavia looks stunning and elegant from every possible angle and the improved bits in the interior makes it look premium from the inside too.
But at 30lac ex showroom as hinted in most of the reviews I really think Superb Sportline would be a perfect option instead of the Octavia and if one can extend his budget there is the A4 with never ending discounts.
106mm of ground clearance is a matter to be worried upon and so is the single digit fuel efficiency figures . Getting a Jeep Compass is a practical decision on these aspects.
Required or not Sunroof at this price point is a must have feature.

[buntee90]

Originally Posted by vishy76

Superb review! Rating it a well deserved 5-stars.

I see the grille receiving a lot of flak, but personally, those alloy wheels seem to be more of an issue to me. They won't look out of place on a Korean or a Japanese sedan, but on an executive saloon like the Octavia, they are too radical for my conservative tastes.

Coming to the absence of a 2.0 TDI, I still genuinely hope it makes a comeback. A reliable source tells me VAG is considering a re-entry for the TDI (2.0 only) by 2023, but plans might change based on market demand. VW has also globally announced that the next generation A4 will not be getting a 2.0 TDI at all, so I have my doubts whether India will..

My thoughts exactly on those Alloys! They look so out of place in otherwise a very elegant looking sedan.
Alloys like these used to be seen on garishly modified Swifts in NCR.

Further I believe and various reports also confirm that VAG is not continuing nor will invest in Diesels anymore.

[ashish2135]

Just received this brochure from the Kolkata dealer this morning.
Octavia_June2021.pdf

[fulcrum29]

Awesome review guys, job well done Just hope they don't mess it up with the pricing. Just a bummer that it doesn't get ventilated seats, even my friends 10l verna gets it. I don't know if it's just me, but this fourth Gen doesn't seem a very big jump over the gen 3 car. The gen 3 set some pretty good standards over the Laura I guess.

[PrideRed]

Was going through some video reviews and appears pricing will be between 25-30L Ex-Showroom. This means, L&K is just 2L cheaper than Sportline Superb. With ongoing discounts, I guess one can get a Superb for the price of Octavia unless Skoda decides to price the Octavia lower.

One other observation, In comparison to previous generation, the suspension seem to be more on softer side and is missing the sportiness offered from Octavia. This further more blurs the gap between Octavia and Superb.
Just check the below video- the Octavia is bobbing/bouncing quite a lot, may be the roads but looks like the present gen is not as sporty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW0GELdEbFY

[pms]

Excellent review as usual! For me every bit of this car looks and feels premium. Some real downers being the omission of charging outlets for rear passengers (if am not wrong), sun blinds, wireless charger, TPMS in the Style Variant. Believe these features should have been part of the standard equipment list for the lower variant as well.

Lastly the ground clearance will be a big issue in a city like Bengaluru where we have mountains/pyramids on our roads by the name of speed breakers. Already facing this on my Honda City which has an unladen ground clearance of 165mm. Not sure how Octavia's suspension will behave in these conditions.

Dont really miss the sunroof on this sedan considering the safety features & other creature comforts provided. Hope Skoda make their dealerships and service centers to provide the best of services for all future customers.

[fulcrum29]

Originally Posted by Sahilrai166

The Octavia looks stunning and elegant from every possible angle and the improved bits in the interior makes it look premium from the inside too.
But at 30lac ex showroom as hinted in most of the reviews I really think Superb Sportline would be a perfect option instead of the Octavia and if one can extend his budget there is the A4 with never ending discounts.
106mm of ground clearance is a matter to be worried upon and so is the single digit fuel efficiency figures . Jeep Compass makes a practical decision on these aspects.
Required or not Sunroof at this price point is a must have feature.

I agree with you completely. If you look at it, the top spec diesel compass 4*4 can be had for 30-32 on road. The 2.0 l diesel is punchy, the facelift looks handsome, loaded to the gill with features( panoramic sunroof et all) , good fuel economy, solid build quality, engaging dynamics and of course 4*4 coupled with ample ground clearance can have you destroy bad roads with Elan. Where the compass will lose out will be that dimwitted 9 speed AT, outright performance and Street cred. Seems to be a good comparison across segments.

[07CR]

+ves and -ves over the older model, I will compare the Diesel AT and the facelift for the features. The unreliable 1.8 TSI AT was never in contention for me.

+ves-
EPB with Auto Hold
Electric boot
Keyless sensors on rear doors
Memory settings on the passenger seat
A washer on the rear camera

-ves-
Sunroof
Headlight washers
Physical controls for AC
Tuned more towards comfort than the mature setup of prefacelift
Likely to get a price bump of around 4-5L at least in onroad terms
Minimalist theme of the interior. (Lack of gear shift, Rotary headlamp knob, two spoke steering, etc.) This is strictly personal opinion.

I personally feel the facelift isn't really much of an upgrade as I was expecting. Heck, if they price it at an higher premium, I would say the pre facelift was a better deal.

[AMG Power]

It’s sad to see a good car brand being S L O W L Y destroyed and a legend demolished.

Let’s start by not ignoring the elephant in the room. Trying to sell an Octavia without a diesel will be like selling ice to an Eskimo. The Indian management team were not competent enough to convince their HO of this major lacunae in the product line up.

Secondly the 2.0 TSI engine is slower than the earlier 1.8 TSI taking 8 seconds to 100 kmph. It’s disgraceful that an SUV with a 1.4 Turbo engine is almost as fast at 8.96 seconds (Kia Seltos)

Thirdly check out the ACI video from 9.12 onwards - you will see the Octavia bouncing like a tennis ball. Seriously??

Fourthly there is no way that this car will be a handler - it is built on the MQB EVO platform.
This platform is longer, wider and will flex a lot more so the car will be a disappointing handler.

EVO stands for compromises, short cuts and cost cutting in VW speak. Whenever you see a VW with an EVO tag in its engine, gearbox or chassis remember you are getting a compromise in some manner and for heavens sake don’t liken it to another car with the same name.

This MQB EVO platform and the 1.5 TSI engine (EA 211 EVO) will be the flag bearers of this disappointing EVO handle in India.

Fifthly the exteriors and interiors are subjective and you don’t need to read anything to decide but just look at the pics. In my books the rear looks smarter and the fit and finish is good but that’s about it. Every other bit from the gaudy white interior to the two spoke steering wheel to the missing gear levers to those quirky alloys just don’t cut it.

Is it going to be a success? You gotta be kidding. Like the first Octavia made a name for Skoda, this car will be the first of the reasons for Skoda to exit from India.

That is, if they don’t quickly come up with something different from their L A M E India 2.0 plan.

[The21st]

Design is good except the alloys. Interiors looks premium.
I expected a lower price. If the Kushaq and maybe the upcoming Slavia is priced at 10 to 17 or 18 lakhs, I thought Octavia would be in the 20 to 28 lakhs. Maybe 1.5 TSI may reduce the starting ex showroom price and fill the gap. Hope they price it well. Superb was available at 33 lakhs on road with heavy discounts if I remember.

[AYP]

Originally Posted by romil.shroff

2) The taillights have dynamic turn-indicators and are standard across the trims. If possible, please post a GIF or video of the same.

Here you go-

[Axe77]

Great review. It simply can't be denied what compelling vehicles Skoda makes. The new Octavia is a class looking option indeed, with the only minor chink being the fact that it now has a space saver spare.

BUT, if I were to consider spending 35 big ones on a brand new Octavia L&K, I will always be compelled to instead consider a less than two year old used LWB 3 series, which to my mind should be available within nodding distance of that price tag. RWD, more fun to drive, more reliable than a Skoda, and more premium interior as well. I would be more confident owning a 2 year old BMW for 8 years (years 2 - 10 of its life) than a Skoda from Year 1 to 8.

[CEF_Beasts]

The first thing one notices when you view the Octavia head-on are those slim tyres! And second thing is in most of the video reviews the car is bobbing and pitching a lot, so looks like the suspension has been softened quite a bit compared to the previous gen.

The most important question: At the price at which several auto journalists are expecting the Octavia to be launched I would still prefer the Superb, anyday! One the Sportline with discounts will be really close to the Octavia L&K, two the touchscreen and aircon are controlled by knobs and buttons unlike this Octavia, three there is even more space on offer and last but not the least the Superb also gets a sunroof and ventilated seats (will have to stretch for the L&K for that).

[AutoConsultant]

Great review with some highly detailed photos!

Definitely this is an enthusiast's car but a couple of points :-

1. Absense of Ventilated Seats is criminal , especially in this country. You at least need to carry forward all the features offered in the immediate lower segment (Verna has it, although with Octy's price Verna looks like 2 segments lower)

2. Sunroof - a 30-35 lac purchase is generally a collective family decision and you will have certain members mentioning sunroof as their shortlisting criteria. You simply cannot miss out on it. Today Hyundai has announced an SX Executive variant of the Creta which is around 80k cheaper than SX, they have removed the music system entirely but the Panoramic sunroof is still available!

Skoda should have prioritised the Rapid replacement first to get good volumes. Even with Kushaq present in similar price bracket, Rapid replacement would still have done decent numbers.

Originally Posted by AYP

There is a lot of talk that a cheaper 1.5 TSi maybe introduced next year but no such thing about a diesel.

I also heard that the Rapid replacement will be offered with 1.5 TSI, so may be they will launch that first and gauge the response.