[itwasntme]

First things first. The Passat is exclusively diesel so is it even in your list? Buying a BS4 2000 cc German diesel is a gamble in it's own right.

IF it still is, take an identical back-to-back TD on the same stretch(es) of road. IF you still like them both, then we can debate the next steps!

[Epic]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

Yeah - it's not a great position to be honest. You're one of the few advocating VW after owning one that's not a Polo / Vento, so at least . Still, makes sense to check it out.

We I do own a 2011 VW Polo 1.6 and it is a car I am just unable to replace simply because there is nothing better out there at the moment. Bought the VW Jetta based on this experience and have no regrets what so ever even though it lacks so many features like a sunroof for example that the Octavia in the same price bracket has. And honestly the drive made me not care for what was missing.

Also, I feel that reliability of VWs are much better than that of Skoda.

Our own example:
- Our brand new 2016 Skoda Superb has already made multiple trips to the service centre for fuel tank change, AC compressor change (TWICE), starter button change, key change, and fuel sensor change. All this with in 03 years of ownership and fortunately covered under warranty.
- Our 2010 Skoda Yeti has had a compressor change, fuel tank pump change and ECM repair and after the warranty expired. It still has some minor niggles which needs to be addressed.

Where as our used 2015 Jetta has visited the workshop only once in our 03 year ownership (bought it the same month as the Superb in 2016) and that too for wheel speed sensors covered under warranty.

The 2011 Polo has had no technical issues till date!

Originally Posted by lamborghini

There are a lot of Passat posts here - and I can see why too.
The car is classy, feature loaded, compact enough for city driving, and feels a lot more premium than the Superb.

Absolutely agree to this!

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Service in Mumbai seems to be a non-issue, with reputed dealers like Shaman & Autobahn taking up dealerships.

Yes, you will have to wait for parts at times, but it is something you will have to deal with any car in this segment to be very honest.

Yes parts can sometimes be a bummer but after a lot of research, I have found a store in Czechoslovakia which has all parts available for VAG cars and delivers to your door step through DHL within 03-04 days at a much lesser price. And yes with the standard 02 years warranty. This is like my go to place when Skoda or VW don't have parts in stock.

The fuel tank pump of our 2011 Skoda Yeti was in order for almost a month with Skoda and they were not sure when it would arrive. It would cost us around 40k for the same. Got the same part delivered with in 04 days from Czech which cost me 24k including shipping, taxes and duties.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Epic

Our own example:
- Our brand new 2016 Skoda Superb has already made multiple trips to the service centre for fuel tank change, AC compressor change (TWICE), starter button change, key change, and fuel sensor change. All this with in 03 years of ownership and fortunately covered under warranty.
- Our 2010 Skoda Yeti has had a compressor change, fuel tank pump change and ECM repair and after the warranty expired. It still has some minor niggles which needs to be addressed.

Where as our used 2015 Jetta has visited the workshop only once in our 03 year ownership (bought it the same month as the Superb in 2016) and that too for wheel speed sensors covered under warranty.

The 2011 Polo has had no technical issues till date!

Yes parts can sometimes be a bummer but after a lot of research, I have found a store in Czechoslovakia which has all parts available for VAG cars and delivers to your door step through DHL within 03-04 days at a much lesser price. And yes with the standard 02 years warranty. This is like my go to place when Skoda or VW don't have parts in stock.

Yikes, your Skoda experience over so many years is alarming!

Would you mind sharing the name of the store please?

[Iyencar]

Get yourself a new VRS and give mom the older Skoda. You get all the familiarity of the Octavia and yet enough to feel like you have a different car.

[Lambydude]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

Any insight / help / advice would be appreciated.

Summarising some of your requirements - you need an additional car which will be chauffeur driven for your family members. Safety and build quality are important to you. 75% of the time it will be driven in the city and mileage does not justify a diesel.

My suggestion is, since it will be chauffeur driven, you don't need DSG. Octavia 1.4 TSI manual will be a good option. You save some money as well.

Else, Superb 1.8 TSI manual.

[PrideRed]

If you need a car for driving- Octavia 1.8
If you need to be driven- Corolla
If you need best of both world- Civic. Yes the engine/gearbox is a bit let down but the driving dynamics makes up for it. The rear bench is decently comfy too.

If you are willing to go beyond 30lacs, my vote goes for Passat if okay with Diesel or Camry if petrol. At similar price Passat beats Superb and Camry is a different ball game altogether.

[maverick.munish]

Would definitely give the New Honda Civic 2019 a look in.
It might be the right "bang for buck" option available in the market.
The ZX (1799 cc) Automatic -- Petrol retails around 21.5 Lakhs (Ex-showroom)

[imidnightmare]

Sigh. No way am I buying a Honda. Just no. Have 2 and that's 2 more than I wish I had. The Civic doesn't inspire any sense of "Wow". If I buy it, there's always the chance I'll drive it, or that my wife will need to. Hence, an AT (specially for the wife) is a must - and so is a good feel (for me). Also, like I said, always buy the top variant - no sense of "if only..." ever after the purchase.

Cue "human nature". Just as I started getting to a begrudging feeling of, "Looks like the options are very limited indeed", I see that there are whopping discounts on Mercs ... so, well, and therefore, I'm going to spend the next few days mulling over things and checking out the options with a "slight stretch".

PS: Honda and Toyota are out simply because of the CVT if nothing else. The cars feel dead and I'm damned if I'm going to learn how to "position yourself correctly" before any and every overtaking move. The Octavia has spoiled me on that front and I'd likely end up in a car wreck with a CVT.

[artemis_fowl]

My two cents:

• If this car is for being chauffeured around, there is no need to stretch until the D segment.
• Please convince your dad about the value in buying used. There are some Superbs hovering near the 25-28 lakhs mark. A bargain for a lakh at least should be doable. That’s a substantial saving. Do look at this carefully. You may show your dad the Team-BHP guide on buying used cars if needed
• If I may ask, why are you selling a car that’s just an year old? You will take a massive depreciation hit. Also, an upgrade for the TSi would easily be in the ballpark of 40-odd lakhs (Bimmers and the like), which I think is a significant stretch. Which once again brings me to the second point.
• No point stretching for the Mercs other than the B-Class or C-Class. A-Class, GLA-Class and CLA-Class have cramped backseats.
• If interior room is a big priority, consider a 3 Series GT. I’ve heard that the unregistered (showroom models) cars sell with discounts to the tune of 9-10 odd lakhs, with further scope of bargaining. Do check this option too.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Yikes, your Skoda experience over so many years is alarming!

Would you mind sharing the name of the store please?

Yes. Their website is www.oemvwshop.com and this is their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/oemvwshop/

[imidnightmare]

Originally Posted by artemis_fowl

My two cents:

• If this car is for being chauffeured around, there is no need to stretch until the D segment.
• Please convince your dad about the value in buying used. There are some Superbs hovering near the 25-28 lakhs mark. A bargain for a lakh at least should be doable. That’s a substantial saving. Do look at this carefully. You may show your dad the Team-BHP guide on buying used cars if needed
• If I may ask, why are you selling a car that’s just an year old? You will take a massive depreciation hit. Also, an upgrade for the TSi would easily be in the ballpark of 40-odd lakhs (Bimmers and the like), which I think is a significant stretch. Which once again brings me to the second point.
• No point stretching for the Mercs other than the B-Class or C-Class. A-Class, GLA-Class and CLA-Class have cramped backseats.
• If interior room is a big priority, consider a 3 Series GT. I’ve heard that the unregistered (showroom models) cars sell with discounts to the tune of 9-10 odd lakhs, with further scope of bargaining. Do check this option too.

Not selling the Octavia. Selling the old City. Not considering a small car. Would be a large sedan. Speaking to dealers etc. for various options across models up to the 350D. Let’s see. No idea when or where it’ll end but I love car evaluations.

[docprashant]

Among the options you are faced with I believe the Superb would be a reasonable bet. Overthinking the same might just give you headaches. Your relatively good association with Skoda would also be favorable in clinching a beneficial deal.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by docprashant

Among the options you are faced with I believe the Superb would be a reasonable bet. Overthinking the same might just give you headaches. Your relatively good association with Skoda would also be favorable in clinching a beneficial deal.

Agree.

What colour is your Octy? Choose a contrasting Superb colour and pick up the TSI while the discounts are on.

[Abhinav667]

I'm going to suggest two options at completely different ends of the pricing spectrum. Hyundai is launching the Elantra Facelift in a few weeks and so if Toyota and Honda CVTs aren't for you, then Hyundai might be worth a look. It won't be as fun to drive as an Octavia TSI, but should be pretty comfortable, plus gets all the kit with powered and ventilated seats. If you want to stay within the VW Group, I would also look at discounts available on the Audi A4 and A6. Both are due for a facelift, with the A6 apparently being offered with 7-digit discounts. See if that appeals to you and makes it worth stretching your budget.

If you're convinced on getting another Skoda, then get yourself an Octavia RS and use your current Octavia for family duties.

[me_navin]

Back in 2014 I was in the same dilemma. Brand new Octavia TSI or the facelift Superb TSI. We have been using the Superb TSI DSG for the past 5 years now. It’s done about 75000 kms and I’d say it’s still as good as new. It sure has had its share of garage visits, but Skoda has been quite proactive in fixing things fast and even after my warranty has run out, the have changed parts under good will warranty. I do have a VW Polo 1.2 petrol manual at home and let me tell you that the routine service costs of the Polo is more than that of the Superb!

With your requirements listed out, I really don’t see any confusion. Comfort, leg room, the 1.8 engine. The Superb has it all and I bet no other car in that price range would be better in those aspects. It’s a perfect car to be chauffeur driven in and it is extremely comfortable in the driver seat as well. Since you do like the Octavia TSi and since you are comfortable using a Skoda, I think the Superb is the perfect car for you. I haven’t driven the current gen car but i doubt it’s any worse. At least it looks way better than my car!

Do take a test drive and do take your mom along in the rear seat. I’m quite sure you both would love it. My mom fell for it even though we had no plans of buying the Superb till we test drove it! If I need to sell this car I do see myself picking up another Superb unless I have enough money to buy and maintain an S class! 😁