[vihangm3]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

While this is definitely not a good news, if it was just music system and wireless charger , don't see a reason for cancellation. If you liked rest of the car, especially engine, ride, handling please donot cancel car for cheap electronic stuff. Price hike is something to be watchful, if the hike is overshooting your budget or now comparable with higher segment cars, then worth considering cancellation.

Well, more than feature deletion, it is about feeling mugged every time you sit in the car for the next 10 years and using the infotainment. And to pay 20+ lakh for the flagship variant and get some outdated aftermarket infotainment right from the beginning, how is that sensible?

Originally Posted by amit1agrawal

When I booked in March my SA told me that Skoda is going to increase the prices from June. I didn't take it seriously as Slavia is already over-priced. I am already having second thoughts as interior parts quality is not to the level expected at this price point and now feature deletion plus price hike. Hope they honour the features and price for customers who have booked till May.

I am sure of opting out if the above news comes true.

I wish Skoda had spent more on building better quality products rather than on these cheap marketing tactics in their India 2.0 project. Instead of offering a price cut for feature removal the atrocity of Skoda for the price increase is nowhere ethical. Thus it is better to consider cancellation and look for alternatives!

[AKSarkar1]

Looks like VAG India is giving new owners reasons to not buy into the group and existing owners reasons to not upgrade their cars. The ICE is probably one of the most used features in the car and downgrading that will lead to a massive drop in the driving experience. I would not have cared if it were some other feature of the car but ICE truly does make a difference. The bar was already set high by the RCD330/340 units that came with the Polos/Ventos etc.

I hope that the panasonic unit is not similar to the horrendous android unit they had stuck in the Skoda Rapids recently. Hope potential new owners get no more new reasons to cancel their bookings!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by robby0707

No that is not true! In fact, majority of the failures were happening with the DQ200 gearbox which came with the petrol models in general. The SA is taking you for a ride. My SA even tried to convince me that the DQ 200 is a wet clutch unit.

Very true. Change your service advisor and/or dealer. This is wilful misrepresentation of facts.

While failure rates of the recent DQ200 gearboxes have gone down, they are still happening.

[driverabhi]

I booked a Slavia 1.5 DSG on 15th May from Tafe Access, St. Marks road, Bangalore. Today I saw this post regarding Skoda changing the head unit size from 10" to 8". Spoke to my sales advisor and he confirmed the reduction in the size of the head unit. Although, they have not sold any car with the 8" head unit yet so he does not have any photos to show about how the dashboard looks with that 8" head unit.
Apparently this is not temporary. Skoda will fit only the 8" head unit from now on in Kushaq and Slavia.
The SA also said that so far he hasn't heard any news about the price increase yet. Although, he will keep me informed if such a news arrives.

This is in fact a disturbing news. The test drive car and the display models, all had 10" head units. Lucky are the owners who have got their cars delivered with the same head unit.

Only time can tell now, how the 8" head unit of these cars - Kushaq and Slavia - turns out to be. The SA said that all the car functions will be retained and the difference will only be there in the size of the head unit.

[shivathedude]

What I fail to understand from this post is that delivery of VW Virtus hasn't started as yet. Deletion of features in a car which has never been driven even once makes no sense to me. Looks like the information is incorrect. Please confirm. Thanks!

[aniket13]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

While this is definitely not a good news, if it was just music system and wireless charger , don't see a reason for cancellation. If you liked rest of the car, especially engine, ride, handling please donot cancel car for cheap electronic stuff. Price hike is something to be watchful, if the hike is overshooting your budget or now comparable with higher segment cars, then worth considering cancellation.

Skoda ships a pretty solid head-unit so I wouldn't categorize it in "cheap electronics" stuff. It might be a deal-breaker for many. It is unlike, say, Honda which makes you feel for an ICE swap as soon as it leaves the showroom.

For wireless charging - totally agree with your point.

[CafeRacer16]

Any idea on what 8 inch Panasonic model is being installed now?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by vihangm3

Well, more than feature deletion, it is about feeling mugged every time you sit in the car for the next 10 years and using the infotainment. And to pay 20+ lakh for the flagship variant and get some outdated aftermarket infotainment right from the beginning, how is that sensible?

Let me tell you, even the 10 inch unit in a year or two will get outdated but what wont is the engine(EV as an exception aside). You will be able to swap your head unit anytime quite easily, but can you do that to your mechanicals? Now if you were not very happy about rest of the car, these minor bits is going to move you away further.

Originally Posted by aniket13

Skoda ships a pretty solid head-unit so I wouldn't categorize it in "cheap electronics" stuff. It might be a deal-breaker for many. It is unlike, say, Honda which makes you feel for an ICE swap as soon as it leaves the showroom.

For wireless charging - totally agree with your point.

I meant electronic gizmos are cheap in comparison to solid mechanicals. For people who weigh gizmos/features more, this might be deal breaker but I would put my money on solid mechanicals anyday in comparison to electronics/features which get outdated every couple of years.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by driverabhi

I booked a Slavia 1.5 DSG on 15th May from Tafe Access, St. Marks road, Bangalore. Today I saw this post regarding Skoda changing the head unit size from 10" to 8". Spoke to my sales advisor and he confirmed the reduction in the size of the head unit.

That's the VAG way of managing Demand vs Supply - do not increase the supply but do something stupid which will reduce the demand
First they did with deletion of auto ORVMs and now this.

On a more serious note, reduction of these features wouldn't have influenced my decision atleast. These head units can be easily fitted (and better ones) from after market after few years. But what matters is the 1.5 TSI which has no competition currently in the segment.

But still this is really stupid of VAGs to keep deleting features, doesn't sit well with prospective customers and they will only lose sales.

[aniket13]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Let me tell you, even the 10 inch unit in a year or two will get outdated but what wont is the engine(EV as an exception aside). You will be able to swap your head unit anytime quite easily, but can you do that to your mechanicals? Now if you were not very happy about rest of the car, these minor bits is going to move you away further.

I meant electronic gizmos are cheap in comparison to solid mechanicals. For people who weigh gizmos/features more, this might be deal breaker but I would put my money on solid mechanicals anyday in comparison to electronics/features which get outdated every couple of years.

It is certainly part of the package. For someone completely sold out on the TSI/DSG, no amount of feature deletion could affect their decision. We have already seen this with manual AC, Manual ORVM - same would follow with this head-unit saga. Also, given how sensitive Skoda warranties are to aftermarket fitments, it leaves lesser room for future mod jobs. Skoda is also probably not a good advocate for mechanical solidity. Removing features, price hikes are further damaging their potential customer base, especially those who are on the edge to invest in a Skoda due to the horrible after-sales stories.

[vihangm3]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Let me tell you, even the 10 inch unit in a year or two will get outdated but what wont is the engine(EV as an exception aside). You will be able to swap your head unit anytime quite easily, but can you do that to your mechanicals? Now if you were not very happy about rest of the car, these minor bits is going to move you away further.



I meant electronic gizmos are cheap in comparison to solid mechanicals. For people who weigh gizmos/features more, this might be deal breaker but I would put my money on solid mechanicals anyday in comparison to electronics/features which get outdated every couple of years.

Definitely, the engine specs and driving dynamics are the first things considered while deciding on any option. Wireless charger ain't a deal-breaker either but ICE downgrade cannot be classified as “cheap electronics” which can be overlooked as it is something which is used every time just like the engine.

These electronics do get outdated over 5 years or so(a year or two is quite ambitious) but these gizmos do play the part of adding on to your overall experience, they do count in the purchase decision. Swapping them later with an aftermarket unit cannot be compared to OEM installed unit any time soon.

[Gannu_1]

Could this be the upcoming 8” head unit? A friend shared this over WhatsApp.

[W16rocks]

Originally Posted by aniket13

Skoda ships a pretty solid head-unit so I wouldn't categorize it in "cheap electronics" stuff. It might be a deal-breaker for many. It is unlike, say, Honda which makes you feel for an ICE swap as soon as it leaves the showroom.

Totally agree with your point, a ICE on par with the one removed would cost at least 50k aftermarket and will probably not have the same fit and finish, being a Honda owner, I can totally understand your reference the first Accesories we got was a better ICE as the one in Honda was just useless and went kaputt in less than 6 months.

[driverabhi]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Could this be the upcoming 8” head unit? A friend shared this over WhatsApp.

Oh no! This looks horrible. Even the Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS has got a better looking head unit than this. I certainly hope that this is a false news and Skoda would give a head unit that is just a tad smaller in size and looks similar in appearance. It is a possibility that they might source it from an external supplier like Panasonic, but this is simply atrocious.

[kush812]

Hi Everyone,

Just had a chat with the SA I was dealing with for booking the Skoda Slavia and unfortunately he confirmed that the newer models both 1.0 and 1.5 liters will in fact come with in an 8 inch touchscreen from June onwards.
This news is almost a deal breaker for me as touchscreens do increase the premium quotient of the car and I am not a fan of aftermarket upgrades.