[gururajrv]

What I liked:

1) Slope back roofline. Looks sporty while still maintaining that professional stature. Nothing overdone there. Skoda clearly has taste.

2) Loved the interiors. I’d just sit there all day long and gaze at the MID screen and keep meddling with it over and over again.

3) Power on tap! Haven’t driven an Octavia petrol myself. So I’d just go by what the experts say.

What I don’t like:

1) The grille - its polarizing but again it might grow on us as we keep seeing more and more cars. That’s what happened with the outgoing model with split headlamps. It had polarizing opinions when it first hit the shores but later went onto become that sexy car as it’s always been and it went up exponentially when vRS came out.

2) No gear lever! Gives you that feeling of an EV. A big let down for me atleast.

3) 2 spoke steering wheel is something that I’m unable to digest with the overall design.

Nevertheless, I’m sure this car is more VFM!

And that rear roofline reminds me of the Volvo S60s which has a similar slope back lines, Isn’t it? Not to forget, the lettering is also so similar! I might be wrong

Source: web

[sunnysideup_]

I was awaiting this review for a long time, and what a banger of a review and a car! Great job!

The way the boot lid juts out a little like a spoiler and the rest of it recedes inside reminds me of the Ciaz. I for one absolutely love the interiors, and I really dig the two spoke steering wheel as well. I really dig the wheels as well, which really goes against the tide here, but alas.

It is priced exceptionally high though, which is a bummer. I don't mind the lack of a sunroof, but the pricing really is a deterrent to my plans, which I will have to reconsider.

[reppy]

Such an amazing car but missing the two crucial things on my checklist - ventilated seats and panoramic sunroof.

For the price they're going to ask, this car is struck off from my checklist now.

[lemedico]

The Octavia has potential to keep this segment of vehicles alive. Price it well, and this would sell. Might even inspire lazy Honda to bring back the Civic too!

[TokyoDrifter]

1. Price increase
2. Take away some practical features
3. Launch very few variants

Guess it’s going to be a dull takeoff. Disappointed to the core.

[sidharthg]

Here's the thing. IMHO, VW group has yet again got it wrong or I would say bad timing. Following are my inputs on the same, many would disagree but that my POV so no offence intended:

1. With fuel at 100, 2 ltr petrol with 7-10 KMPL would be too expensive for medium-high mileage folks.
2. Absence of Ventilated seats is a big big blunder.
3. Pricing it above 25L would be pretty disastrous, although that wouldn't prevent many people from buying it, but obviously not nearly at volumes they would've preferred.
4. Advance autonomous safety features (though useless in India) But! Unless it is started being offered no one will make use of it and appreciate it. Same was the case with automatic transmission, initially there was and is still an hesitance amongst a lot of people but slowly and surely, customers are warming up to it. For that matter, even seatbelts were a nuisance for many, but now most people put it on.

Besides, We've owned 2 Octavia & 2 Superb in the past, like many folks, the service was simply terrible!

[sameerg]

Really great review guys..

And I totally agree with GTO here that the car looks angry. Earlier ones looked aloof, confident and without a care in the world.

I also feel there is too much chrome, at least for my taste. Chrome around the front grill looks 'swift'ish to me, maybe it's just me. Even at the rear, I don't like this trend of spreading the name across the entire width of the car. Wish there is a way of cleanly removing 'Skoda' letters.

Other than that looks like a great car.

[Equus]

I am OK with the features removed - they have provided a lot as well, so lets look at the positive side. But wait - 25L to 30L ex-showroom? Sedans and are losing to crossovers every single day and it would be very brave of Skoda to price the Style above 20L. Even if they have the entire segment to themselves, the thug dealers cant be ignored.

[Surprise]

Thanks for the excellent review, very detailed. Wish to have video reviews along with our write up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM8Epb9tYj4

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.

Watch from 1.55

Originally Posted by AMG Power

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.

Faisal Khan in his review is very critical about handling, the floaty feel at higher speeds. Says around the corners, he is disappointed as the suspension is really soft & in terms of handling this does not have the same charm as its predecessor.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Here are my 6 cents.

Kudos to the BHP team for such a detailed and mind-blowing review where even most of the other auto journalists don't even bother to do it.

1. Octy is based on the MQB platform. And this platform should be definitely different (even if not significant) from Kushaq's MQB A0-IN one. Octavia is an international model and Kushaq is not.

2. VAG's benchmark and throned TDI engines are a big miss in every brand of the group - especially in Skoda Auto VW India group. And from the many interviews with the management of the brand - I think the diesel engines will be history for the brand in India.

3. Octavia has never been a volume maker for the brand neither was the brand's intention. Octy was always a niche product - especially for performance enthusiasts. I can probably compare it with the Compass - which is similarly positioned and in the same segment.

4. It is highly improbable that the Octy will be priced less/aggressive. In fact, I expect it to priced around 20 Lakhs ex or the style variant and 22-23 lakhs for the L&K

5. And the overrated feature's miss (Sunroof, Ventilated seats, etc) may be a deal-breaker for the Octy's sales number.

6. The most important factor is the hugely criticized customer experience so far which I think VAG felt the heat of it. So now it all boils down to how better or transformed is the experience henceforth with VAG's 2.0 strategy and initiative.

[Venkatesh]

Zac Hollis about lack of ventilated seats for India



Link

[shivasuma]

Great review!!! If this car is priced too high (30L Ex-showroom), the Superb makes more sense to me. There might be some discounts on the Superb making it a better deal.

[nidhikapoor]

So many complaints about the absence of a sun roof, but, to my mind, the biggest miss is the driver features, like adaptive cruise control, lane assist, emergency braking etc.

To my mind, those are the features that they have available abroad, but skimping out here.

[Asish_VK]

Great Review

Still the older version looks elegant.



Image Courtesy : Team-bhp Official Reviews

[Pyrotek]

I think the new Octavia will do really well. It's modern in its design and specifications and a significant step forward for the most part from its previous generation. This is probably the best car one can buy in India in the value luxury segment under 40 lakhs (based on expected pricing).