[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

I am really confused as to how to approach this. Octavia is a bit of a stretch for me, hence I intend to lower the price as much as possible. Do I try to buy the car now, or in January hoping for some discounts or wait for March for some last minute big discounts to clear inventory but with the risk of cars running out of stock.

You need to see what outcome you can live with easily - is it couple of lakhs discount after you buy the car or Octavia going out of stock and you not getting one. It’s honestly difficult to predict. But I wouldn’t definitely suggest you to wait until March, I am sure they will sell it all by then.
If in your place I will pick it now. Or if you really want to try your luck, I suggest you wait until Jan and not beyond that.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Az_Dan

Also, i went ahead with booking the Style variant as the features it misses out on are 'nice to have' but I won't miss them if they aren't there. Am still waiting for my VIN allocation.

Originally Posted by Travelfarbeyond

Do consider all factors and then take a call. Despite of spending around 33.5 lakhs I'm happy as this car beats models worth 45-50 lakhs

Originally Posted by sunikkat

If in your place I will pick it now. Or if you really want to try your luck, I suggest you wait until Jan and not beyond that.

Gentlemen, Thank you so much for your view points. It really helps!!
I went to 2 different Skoda showrooms in the city last week and both had similar expectations of not much discounts going to be available even next year on the Octavia.

I had one more challenge and that challenge is the Slavia. I went to the showroom 3 times last week, sat in both cars back to back and drove the Slavia as well. Even in all previous occasions of my experience with Slavia and Octavia, Slavia didn't feel that far behind the Octavia in terms of seat comfort and space. Of course quality, build and choice of materials are significantly better in the Octavia.

This time I observed in detail, spent time with both the cars and was surprised at what I felt. To be honest, I didn't believe what I felt, so I took another friend of mine along and both of us came back with the same observation. This became a deal breaker for me for the Octavia and that is the back seat. I am not sure, but I didn't find Octavia's back seat comfortable. I am a very short guy at 5'6'', yet the seat squab was not sufficient for my thigh support and the back rest angle was too upright. Slavia has a better back seat. To be honest, even my Vento has a better back seat. We have to take 12-14 hours drives to my hometown at least 3-4 times in a year. My wife and daughter sit in the back and they anyways don't enjoy long hours in the car. I felt this seat will make it worse (especially for my wife). Plus if anytime my parent or in laws will be there, they might not enjoy it too.

Can people share their experiences or feedback here of the Octavia's back seat? I am genuinely surprised on what I observed. Why does such a big car (maybe in the name of space between the 2 seats) has such an upright back seat?

Slavia is 11 lakhs cheaper has more features (a couple of them are useful), is fast enough and rides well enough and has more ground clearance. To be honest, I was ready to look past all that and was desperately finding reasons to buy Octavia, as I am buying a car after 11 years. But this back seat experience has almost sort of become a deal breaker.

CHEERS!!
Rachit

[EaurougeatSpa]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Gentlemen, Thank you so much for your view points. It really helps!!


Can people share their experiences or feedback here of the Octavia's back seat? I am genuinely surprised on what I observed. Why does such a big car (maybe in the name of space between the 2 seats) has such an upright back seat?

For me this exact experience was a deal breaker with the Octavia. Loved the looks, went like a freaking rocket and ticked almost every box. But the rear seat experience compared to my 9 year old Verna was mediocre to say the least. I am 6ft and just couldn’t sit comfortably at the back and the slope made it worse. Reluctantly had to say no to the Octavia.

[suvan1988]

[quote=Rachit.K.Dogra;5443088
Can people share their experiences or feedback here of the Octavia's back seat? I am genuinely surprised on what I observed. Why does such a big car (maybe in the name of space between the 2 seats) has such an upright back seat?
[/QUOTE]

I, personally, agree with your observation. While I sat in the back seat only during the test drive, and now I sit there rarely. But these are my observations and my understanding:
1. Slavia has less leg room than Octavia, so it makes sense to recline the seats more so that it feels roomier and you can stretch your legs underneath front seats. Octavia is large enough so that the design can be an upright angle.
2. During long drives, a relatively upright position and harder seat is better to reduce stress and strain on spinal cord. If you sit at angle for longer duration, the pressure is on spine, where as it should be on your hips. Thats why personally I prefer an angle of about 100 degrees ( little bit more than 90) when driving long distances.

These are my two cents based on some research which I was doing on internet due to my back and neck pain problem.
Whatever you decide both are good cars, but the quality and sheer driving pleasure :-p of Octavia is unmatched. It always brings a smile every time I drive and it’s luxurious for rear passengers. Cheers!

[mah45]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Gentlemen, Thank you so much for your view points. It really helps!!
I went to 2 different Skoda showrooms in the city last week and both had similar expectations of not much discounts going to be available even next year on the Octavia.

I had one more challenge and that challenge is the Slavia.
This became a deal breaker for me for the Octavia and that is the back seat.

Can people share their experiences or feedback here of the Octavia's back seat? I am genuinely surprised on what I observed. Why does such a big car (maybe in the name of space between the 2 seats) has such an upright back seat?

Slavia is 11 lakhs cheaper has more features (a couple of them are useful), is fast enough and rides well enough and has more ground clearance. To be honest, I was ready to look past all that and was desperately finding reasons to buy Octavia,

CHEERS!!
Rachit

I can write based on one of the long trips that we did last month.
We travelled 500 Kms one way and returned the very next day.
My wife had to sit most of the time in the back seat, thanks to my son switching to the front seats from the time we got the Octavia
And she never complained about any sort of discomfort.

In fact she herself said after the return that although we travelled close to 1000kms in 2 days, there was absolutely no body pain or stress or tiredness.

This was from someone who always prefers to sit in the front seats in all our previous cars - Nexon, SX4 etc.
Hope this helps.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Can people share their experiences or feedback here of the Octavia's back seat? I am genuinely surprised on what I observed. Why does such a big car (maybe in the name of space between the 2 seats) has such an upright back seat?

I recently did long drives in my Octavia across GJ and RJ. On days, I did 550 KMs in 8-9 hrs and then 500 KMs in 12hrs. It was my wife sharing the back seat with my kid (10Y) and none of them did crib about lack of any comfort.

On the contrary, they mentioned that this back seat is better than Jetta's, given this does not have art leather which makes you sweat. Of course both of them are short (wife 5'2 and kid 4'7) and this might have helped. But point to be noted is, they did not feel any fatigue on long drives.

Now between Slavia and Octavia: I was in same boat 6 months back and I felt Slavia offers a great value when you see the difference between them is almost 9-10L. Fortunately, I could get a deal on Octavia Style which narrowed down this gap to 7.5L and then it just made hell lot of sense to go for Octavia.

You get a much better engine, a safer GB (DQ380/381 - wet clutch), well put together interiors, more space overall and Euro 5 star rating - Of course Slavia would score well, now that we know Kushaq did awesome at GNCAP.

Slavia, however good as a package is, the interiors are low rent and it shows.
If you have to stretch a lot for Octavia, Slavia makes more sense as the same money would buy you fuel and maintenance for years to come.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by EaurougeatSpa

For me this exact experience was a deal breaker with the Octavia. Loved the looks, went like a freaking rocket and ticked almost every box. But the rear seat experience compared to my 9 year old Verna was mediocre to say the least. I am 6ft and just couldn’t sit comfortably at the back and the slope made it worse. Reluctantly had to say no to the Octavia.

Originally Posted by suvan1988

These are my two cents based on some research which I was doing on internet due to my back and neck pain problem.
Whatever you decide both are good cars, but the quality and sheer driving pleasure :-p of Octavia is unmatched. It always brings a smile every time I drive and it’s luxurious for rear passengers. Cheers!

Originally Posted by mah45

In fact she herself said after the return that although we travelled close to 1000kms in 2 days, there was absolutely no body pain or stress or tiredness.

Thank you so much for sharing your observations.

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

On the contrary, they mentioned that this back seat is better than Jetta's, given this does not have art leather which makes you sweat. Of course both of them are short (wife 5'2 and kid 4'7) and this might have helped. But point to be noted is, they did not feel any fatigue on long drives.

Slavia, however good as a package is, the interiors are low rent and it shows.
If you have to stretch a lot for Octavia, Slavia makes more sense as the same money would buy you fuel and maintenance for years to come.

I really thought about this and maybe just the shape of seats being different or the thicker padding is something I am not used to. Maybe that is why my body feels its not right. Maybe Slavia's seats being similarish to Vento feels familiar to my body and hence more comfortable. Because even in the driver seat I felt more at home in Slavia, just because it felt similar to Vento then in Octavia as it felt different.

Truth be told, Octavia is a stretch for me, doable but a stretch.
Another thing in favor of Slavia is it falls within the my Company's Car plan limit, which means I can have some minor tax savings too.

Waiting for the Slavia Monte Carlo edition to come out or to get lucky and get some good deals on the Octavia.

Thank you for all the help gentlemen!!

Rachit

[Karan_n8]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Thank you so much for sharing your observations.

Waiting for the Slavia Monte Carlo edition to come out or to get lucky and get some good deals on the Octavia.

Thank you for all the help gentlemen!!

Rachit

Buddy did you get in touch with GroupWE? They worked out a package on the Octavia for me with about 1.5L worth of discounts/freebies.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Karan_n8

Buddy did you get in touch with GroupWE? They worked out a package on the Octavia for me with about 1.5L worth of discounts/freebies.

Hello,

I just recently read about GroupWE on the forum itself. The thought did come across my mind.

Maybe I should check out with them what is the best they can do.

Thank you for the advice!!

Rachit

[vagster]

Hello

I had to cancel my booking in August as Octavia has lost its canton system . Now i am looking to get the Style variant (The machine is a monster by its means and i cannot think of any other car after having an TD) and spruce it up with aftermarket add-ons with factory harness (No cutting, no splicing of wires).

I need advice from fellow owners of Octavia.

• Style gets a standard LED headlamp, while L&K gets AFS. How is the lighting on both these variants, can we retrofit AFS on style , is it technically feasible?
• Im hearing a common issue with 'Gear lever selector chip' being replaced under warranty by Skoda. Does the car get stalled when this issue occurs or is it drivable?
• The sales person says "Skoda is stopping bookings from January", while i heard that Octavia and superb will be available until March '22

AFS and TPMS are major differences between the variants and it doesn't justify the ~4L difference. I can live without electric tailgate, auto parking, Fatigue assist.

Thanks.

[suvan1988]

Originally Posted by vagster

Hello

AFS and TPMS are major differences between the variants and it doesn't justify the ~4L difference.

As per me, you probably can also live without TPMS. It has happened 2-3 times with me that when I checked tire pressure, I found it to be 4-5 psi less than 32 PSI which is the suggested pressure, but TPMS was not giving any warning. I guess it warns only in case of drastic fall or when the pressure of one tire is lesser than the other three.

I do not know about retro fitting, but I am sure any after market fitting will void warranty and I am assuming Skoda will not do it officially else they are cannibalising sales of LnK.

[pratyush369]

Originally Posted by magikrider

Owners can ya’ll throw some light on how the low GC issue has been for you on bad terrains liKe monsoon spoiled roads or those sharp and steep mountainous highway speed breakers meant for trucks. Has it been an issue anywhere as such?

Hello @magikrider, I've had zero issues so far, I travelled from Chhattisgarh to Bengaluru on some very bad roads especially while entering Bengaluru, I was certain that Octavia would scrape but It didn't not even once, On speed bumps the Octavia's shorter wheelbase works like a charm, The rear wheel comes immediately after the front wheels and avoids scraping the underbody.
This was with two people in the front, luggage in the back and driving very cautiously on bad roads.
In Bengaluru pot-holes have become a serious problem on almost all roads, the Octavia is easily able to handle these, given the driver take caution.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by vagster

I need advice from fellow owners of Octavia.

• Style gets a standard LED headlamp, while L&K gets AFS. How is the lighting on both these variants, can we retrofit AFS on style , is it technically feasible?
• Im hearing a common issue with 'Gear lever selector chip' being replaced under warranty by Skoda. Does the car get stalled when this issue occurs or is it drivable?
• The sales person says "Skoda is stopping bookings from January", while i heard that Octavia and superb will be available until March '22

AFS and TPMS are major differences between the variants and it doesn't justify the ~4L difference. I can live without electric tailgate, auto parking, Fatigue assist.

Thanks.

1. I have Style variant and I miss the AFS most. The LEDs on Style are average at best and you need to keep the fogs on to illuminate the road better.
2. Style gets TPMS but it has no reading capability and would warn you only if the pressure drops abruptly.

The AFS thing also depends on the load sensor for self leveling and it might not be plug n play replacement. You can inquire with the sales/service to see if it is possible.

The TPMS is the easiest to fix as you get ample after market alternatives which can show the pressure on head unit through Android auto compatible app that comes with it.

[vagster]

As per me, you probably can also live without TPMS

The AFS thing also depends on the load sensor for self leveling and it might not be plug n play replacement.

Thank you for the pointers guys! I also looked upon and found few good TMPS aftermarket that comes as an external fitment and reads the pressure from the tube valve, will be considering them.

I am too concerned on the Headlight visibility. I come from VW polo (2013 Single barrel lights), where i had to try three different setup and still struggling to get good visibility by maintaining the Govt recommended wattage (60W).

Can anyone share some insights on the Headlight connectors for both Style and L&K are they same?

Also, the Style has the slots for 11 speakers (6 at the front doors, 4 at the rear doors one at center), just that thy are left blank to host 8 speaker system (4 Front and 4 rear), Correct me if i am wrong.

I have been quoted 32L OTR for Style, Chennai. This is the same price i received for L&K at 2021. Thinking about how have the inflation affected us

[vagster]

After googling around, These are the part # for the headlamps.

Style - 5E4941016



L&K - 5E4941016A



Going by the pictures, i see the mounts and Sockets identical for both, fingers crossed.