[CircleOfLife]

I have been looking at why the regular stalk operation wasn’t helping getting the wipers in service position.

There is some muscle memory also associated, as all cars in my ownership have always been from VW. This seemed odd. I expected it to work. It wasn’t urgent or a deal breaker for the time, gave it a pass for later day.

Today I had to clean the car and needed those
Wipers to be in service position for proper cleaning of front windshield. Did try via stalk operations again didn’t work. High time to dig around.

Surprise even wiper service position is now software controlled via the Center console. Not cool skoda. Prefer those mechanical touches.



Full disclosure Haven’t yet read the manual yet. Didn’t feel the need initially but seems there no way to avoid it anymore.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

I have been looking at why the regular stalk operation wasn’t helping getting the wipers in service position.


Surprise even wiper service position is now software controlled via the Center console. Not cool skoda. Prefer those mechanical touches.

Attachment 2232487

Full disclosure Haven’t yet read the manual yet. Didn’t feel the need initially but seems there no way to avoid it anymore.

Yes, adding this service position Toggle button in the infotainment is an option that can be coded for other Skodas like the superb. It makes sense as doing this manually needs specific knowledge about that combination of stalk pull and ignition off. Much easier by just giving this button.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Much easier by just giving this button.

There are both end of coins here, for folks who have owned VW / Skoda for them it’s natural to go with muscle memory. In my view it would have been beneficial if Skoda would have given both options rather than one. Mechanical bits are easily replaceable rather than any bug in OS.

[Floyd de Souza]

I am still surprised that there are no initial ownership reviews on the car.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by Floyd de Souza

I am still surprised that there are no initial ownership reviews on the car.

To put a review on this name Octaiva is a big responsibility. Everything is covered in the initial review and subsequent addition by GTO. Is there anything in specific that you are looking for? I would definitely like to add my experience after putting some kms on it and from a over all Skoda experience stand point.

True to it's tradition from over all customer experience, Skoda doesn't give customers visibility on progress of resolution or to track it to closure. Yes this is even the case when bought to attention to the man on the twitter Zac.

I have been following up with Skoda on a payment related issue for SMP and Jio activation for nearly 3 weeks with no resolution in sight.

On Jio activation for connected car tech every week there is a new story right from the day it was purchased. Now i am fed up and won't follow up on it until either Skoda or dealerships gets back by themselves. 30 Lakh car doesn't have reliable connected tech atleast in my case.

SMP payment is another sore point as i wanted to pay via American express and the Skoda india payment gateway doesn't accept. Alternative would have been to pay at nearest service center via POS, but hey no this is not allowed.

Skoda India has tie up with American Express for providing retail offers but their own dealers and payment gateway don't accept the card.

Skoda customer service is at another level together on this issue. Every day i call they will say that we will come back on it and then radio silence. Same query and same response next day. At one point one of the customer service representative says we have been suggested that you make payment via another card. Thank you but no thanks. Skoda portray as premium player in the market and sells product at higher premium then I expect the services from you at the same scale. This is where SKODA India leaves you high and dry. I am very disappointed, had much better experience with Volkswagen for 10 years than 1 month of Skoda till date.

[Floyd de Souza]

Thank you for responding CircleOfLife.

What I am looking for is mostly the driving experience, mileage etc. You see, I had mostly made up my mind on the Jeep Compass petrol after checking out the T Roc and the Kushaq. When I test drove the Kushaq, I saw the Octavia, which until then was not in my consideration set and what I saw impressed me as well as my family. As it is, the Compass is a stretch and the Octavia even more so. But I said, let me delve deeper into the Octavia and see whether the premium over the Compass is justified.

My overall impression was yes the premium is justified just on three aspects, engine-gearbox combo, space and ride quality and that its better put together. It just feels more premium. And this impression was conjured in a short 5 km drive.

I only needed a deeper insight from owners.

[magikrider]

I think within few months this car will be available with great discounts if it already isn’t. December is generally the best month to buy a new car. When I saw this one in flesh, I was really impressed. The GC didn’t look all that low compared to the other sedans around. I have driven 4-5 adults in Maharashtra in Vento comfortably without scraping anywhere. Even 4 adults with loaded boot from Mumbai to Nashik as well. Had to get rid of the mud guards which used to touch at all bumps and I used to think the bottom was scraping but it was mud guards. Since I removed them, never scraped the bottom anywhere ever. So if we don’t really do off-roading, like most SUV owners never do, a good sedan can be a great alternative to SUVs. Only thing for us Mumbai people is that SUVs will be safer during monsoon water logging that happens every year and huge bumps or craters on highways.

But does the bottom of this scarpe at highway bumps like we all fear and buy crossovers instead? People who’ve tried and tested this car can maybe answer better.

[rsk]

Originally Posted by rsk

After having deliberated a lot, took the plunge last week on an L&K variant in White. The expected delivery is towards the end of the month. Discounts were not much though (around a lakh).

I took the delivery of the car yesterday. With a very wet weather since morning, I was in two minds, but decided to do brave it and went ahead with the delivery. The overall process was very swift. Coming from a VAG car, the sales advisor was "sir, similar to your Vento" for the most part of the controls. The vehicle had 22 kms on the ODO when I took the keys. As the moment came to roll the vehicle out of the showroom, I enquired about how much fuel is there in the car. The reply I got was - "Sir, please go to the nearest petrol pump around the corner ".

And, boy he was not joking!, it was pretty much touch and go situation before we entered the fuel pump. As we were reaching the fuel pump thoughts in our minds were - if the car stops now because of lack of fuel, we would probably trigger a meme fest in light of the rising fuel prices - having been able to afford a brand new car, can't afford the fuel price . Luckily, we managed in time (DTE showing 5km Range, dropped from 10km to 5 in a matter of few seconds)

So with that , parked the vehicle at its home now. Haven't gone back to it yet owing to the continuous rains and work. Waiting for the weekend to get familiar with the vehicle. There is definitely a bit of a learning curve coming from a car with 0 touch/digital controls to pretty much all digital controls.

For now here is the only decent shot, will have to wait for the weather to clear out before I'm able to capture some proper pictures.

[umairalvi]

Originally Posted by rsk

For now here is the only decent shot, will have to wait for the weather to clear out before I'm able to capture some proper pictures.

Attachment 2234847

Looks like an Audi A6 man! The L&K lights definitely look sharper. Congratulations!

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by rsk

I was in two minds, but decided to do brave it and went ahead with the delivery. The overall process was very swift.

The reply I got was - "Sir, please go to the nearest petrol pump around the corner ".

And, boy he was not joking!, it was pretty much touch and go situation before we entered the fuel pump.

Luckily, we managed in time (DTE showing 5km Range, dropped from 10km to 5 in a matter of few seconds)

There is definitely a bit of a learning curve coming from a car with 0 touch/digital controls to pretty much all digital controls.

Hearty congratulations and welcome to the club. There is a certain learning curve and it's not that steep. One braves all odd to take delivery of this beast. White L&K looks very elegant.

• Any mods planned?
• Any accessories picked?
• SMP & EW opted?

For the folks out here it would help if you could share any discounts that were on offer. Total damages to the pocket.

Not a fan of digital controls also the AC controls. Nothing can replace touch and tactile feel of buttons.

One of the Octavia was recently coded in Mumbai by Dr Code my VAG in Mumbai. Fantastic additions indeed.









I am not official representative or advocating these changes other than active follower on other social media platform. I personally like these mods and if i am not wrong this could be one of the first current gen Octavia to be coded with so many features.

Car will always have reserve fuel than what shows up in instrument cluster, though it is not advised to run at such low fuel but car would have made it even for next 10 kms. Coming to the issue fuel do you plan to run it on XP95 or normal petrol 91 octane?

I had intentionally filled first tank at RIL and the next at COCO IOL both 91 Octane. Refinement of engine was much better with RIL fuel than COCO. Wonder why? Both tank full were before reduction in taxes by government. COCO that I went to at Jubliee hills in Hyderabad had XP100, which if I recollect correctly was rs 160/ liter. For a moment i was ready to bite bullet but looking at credit card bill backed off .

Call it a luck haven't been able take the car out much in past 2-3 weeks. Weekends has been official work off late. Hopefully next week onwards both weather and work takes a back seat on weekend and helps to pile up miles on the ODO.

[rsk]

Originally Posted by umairalvi

Looks like an Audi A6 man! The L&K lights definitely look sharper. Congratulations!

Thank you! The adaptive headlights are cool. It's probably a common sight in most high-end cars. I have not experienced them before, even during the test drives. So when I turned on the ignition and saw the adaptive lights come to life and "adapt" I was like damn!

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Hearty congratulations and welcome to the club. There is a certain learning curve and it's not that steep. One braves all odd to take delivery of this beast. White L&K looks very elegant.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

• Any mods planned?
• Any accessories picked?
• SMP & EW opted?

1. Mods - haven't even thought that far yet.
2. Apart from the standard accessories from Skoda (which I'm yet to receive), I have just added a Viofo A119 v3 dashcam (just for the front). Whatever options I had explored for dual-channel it appeared as though the wiring will touch one or more pillars which I was not comfortable with. So just front one now and will add a dedicated low-profile cam at the back later.
3. SMP & EW - Not at the moment, but definitely taking it within the 30 days window

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Call it a luck haven't been able take the car out much in past 2-3 weeks. Weekends has been official work off late. Hopefully next week onwards both weather and work takes a back seat on weekend and helps to pile up miles on the ODO.

Same here, adding to it I don't have the plates yet. Expecting it to come on Tuesday/Wednesday and have a long drive planned post that. Let's see how this spans out.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by rsk

Thank you! The adaptive headlights are cool.

1. Mods - haven't even thought that far yet.
2. Apart from the standard accessories from Skoda (which I'm yet to receive), I have just added a Viofo A119 v3 dashcam (just for the front). Whatever options I had explored for dual-channel it appeared as though the wiring will touch one or more pillars which I was not comfortable with. So just front one now and will add a dedicated low-profile cam at the back later.
3. SMP & EW - Not at the moment, but definitely taking it within the 30 days window

Can you share initial impression on the Adaptive lights. It's a suggestion to take out the ribbon from the bonnet. Rarely color of the ribbon does transfer on the body panel. Better to thread on cautious side.

L&K provides USB C port on the front windscreen. This enables ease of connectivity with Dash cams. This is omitted in Style variant. Which feels shortchanged after spending nearly 25 Lakhs exshowroom.

[rsk]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Can you share initial impression on the Adaptive lights. It's a suggestion to take out the ribbon from the bonnet. Rarely color of the ribbon does transfer on the body panel. Better to thread on cautious side.

L&K provides USB C port on the front windscreen. This enables ease of connectivity with Dash cams. This is omitted in Style variant. Which feels shortchanged after spending nearly 25 Lakhs exshowroom.

I will come back on the adaptive headlights. I have just seen it once so far and that was on the drive back after taking delivery. Frankly, at that time, it didn't even occur that the headlights are adaptive as the focus was completely on fuel and getting it back home.

I have never been a fan of decorations during delivery. I removed the ribbon as the first thing I did after getting out of the car!

The USB C on the windscreen is definitely a helpful feature. But that only solves for your front cam. The problem I see with almost all dashcams is that the rear cam also draws power from the front unit. They cannot be independently powered. So I personally feel you are not missing all that much in terms of windscreen USB. By the way, the housing of the USB on the windscreen seemed very flimsy/flexible, not sure if it is meant to be that way, only time will tell.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by RohanDheman

My 2 cents: Find another way to pay and just enjoy the beautiful car.

Agree, you're unnecessarily hassling yourself on this minor matter instead of enjoying your lovely car.

Skoda India is unlikely to enter into a one-off tie-up with Amex for your SMP payment, so suggest you move on. .

[manpreetsj]

Are there any discounts currently being offered on Octavia? Or is there any intel on upcoming discounts to be offered in December? As some learned person in this thread has mentioned that Dec month would be ideal time to grab good deals.

Given the low volume of Octavia, seems like excess supply will be offered at discount to get rid of 2021 manufactured cars.

How much discount can one expect on Style variant, given member's past experience?

Thanks in advance!