[anilkalvani]

Ok folks.
Decision time is nearing. The Logan dCi is a year and two months old around 12,700kms done. We just bought the Hyundai i10 1.2A/T 2.5 months ago.

Ever since the news of Mahindra and Renault having trouble in the JV, we have been thinking of selling this car and getting a new car. In the last week, things have got more vocal the heavy clutch adding to the voices. This time i want a true driver's car, one that i will drive late nights, out of town, to fulfil my speed needs. I am attaching a comparo of 3 cars that i have shortlisted which includes a car i am inclined to, the Skoda Octavia TPi.

Yes, now you can come and bash me up after all the experiences of Harish, Evo & diffsoft, not to mention others too. It all happened last week when i was offered to drive the 1.8TPi Ambiente to Pune as my friend was a bit jet lagged after his flight from Europe. The car gave me that Whoosh & kick that i have never experienced before. It jet rocketed to 100 in less than 9 seconds and i did not feel anything when i realised *HELL* i was doing 170kmph, without breaking into a sweat, totally in control.

He is planning to Mod it to 250bhp and out of curiosity i checked Petes where it is possible with numerous options stage by stage. I am just totally sold on it. i may sound stupid after first hand experiences from people but i was just thinking if i take proper care and find a good service engineer it won't be that bad. I have compared 3 cars i.e. Octy 1.8TPi, Civic 1.8iVtec & Altis 1.8 VVTi.

Have a look and give me your opinions and suggestions. I want to go with my heart this time in my life so please be blunt, honest and gimme a reality check if required.

[Ravveendrra]

Go with your heart. Your tabulation also supports you. Except on the A.S.S. front - the Skoda stands above the competition. If you have a good A.S.S. (as Mumbai does) or a good independent workshop (again available in Mumbai) you should be okay.

Cheers,

[sanjayatarizona]

Stick to the Altis and you will be a happy man..Your family would love it too.

[sgiitk]

On the face of it the Octavia beats them hollow. However, the issue of Skoda service and spare pricing is a big if.

Of the Japs the heart says Civic and the head Altis. Take your pick.

All three will be a big change from the Logan!

[Rotorhead]

Skoda would have been my choice, though a little dated than the civic or the altis, it still exhudes a lot of charm and macho factor. But the A.S.S and the recent bad reviews on the skoda dealership and service really makes one think about going for the skoda. My second choice would have been a real tough one between the civic and the altis, both are pretty good in their own ways. Civic with its sporty clean looks and the altis with an sleek executive profile. Feature wise, the civic seems to have an upper hand with the paddle shift and the superb honda engine, but again the toyota too has a proven , dependable and rugged engine. Choose either of the two and you will not regret it. Take a test ride for both and see which one has more appeal to you.

[Ardy]

If you are planning to do the mods, then I would definitely recommend Skoda 1.8 TPi. It is one of the most friendly when it comes to mods.

On a stock level playing field, it is a tough call. But then of the 3, Skoda is the best drivers car. Having driven a vRS, I would love to suggest Skoda, provided you find a good service center in Mumbai.

[vigsom]

Take the Altis - Japanese cars are way ahead in Technology and reliability.

The Civic is great but the one major shortcoming is its poor ground clearance - not acceptable at all

[ImmortalZ]

The Altis has 6mm more GC. But the 100mm less wheelbase makes the GC work more in your favor.

Of the three in question, the Skoda is the speed freak's car and is the most receptive to mods in stock form. However, the A.S.S is a big problem. It'll end up costly in the long run. The thing is a bit long in the tooth too, being decades old.

If the Skoda is out of the running, the Civic is the only choice for a driving enthusiast. The Altis made to make tick all the boxes. The most practical, the cheaper one, more loaded with toys. But as a driving machine, it is strictly average. The EPS is dead, dynamics are meh, the engine doesn't want to rev like the Honda and it just doesn't look the part!

If you can live with the Skoda, go for it. I'd choose the Civic any day (as I have) :P

If you want to be even slightly practical, the Skoda is a bad choice. It has low FE for the power it delivers, it has very low rear leg room, a bunch of rocks covered with fabric for seats, part price tags which blow your head off in case something goes wrong and an A.S.S network who would rather kill you than service your car. On the plus side, it has a turbo petrol engine which can be modded to high power levels with relative ease, a sorted chassis making for a great drive and is a solid car.

The Civic again, has low FE compared to the Altis, has soft suspension combined with a long wheelbase and low GC making it the speed bump cleaner of the city, A.S.S who'd rather you not exist at all than attend to your needs and part price tags which tend to give you a head ache. On the plus side, it has acres of space, great seats, a brilliant interior, a great drive and is Japanese Reliable (tm).

The Altis is the best compromise. With low GC which doesn't scrape that often thanks to better suspension, lots of toys for the money, cheaper spares, good interiors, brilliant A.S.S and is Japanese Reliable(tm). But it ain't a driver's car.

Have we managed to confuse you enough?

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

Go with your heart. Your tabulation also supports you. Except on the A.S.S. front - the Skoda stands above the competition. If you have a good A.S.S. (as Mumbai does) or a good independent workshop (again available in Mumbai) you should be okay.

Cheers,

I have to speak to my friend in detail about the A.S.S. and where he gets his car fixed. Yes, after driving this stonker, the heart beats for it.

Originally Posted by sanjayatarizona

Stick to the Altis and you will be a happy man..Your family would love it too.

This time its not just about playing it safe, though i agree with the 'happy' bit in the A.S.S. scenario.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

On the face of it the Octavia beats them hollow. However, the issue of Skoda service and spare pricing is a big if.

Of the Japs the heart says Civic and the head Altis. Take your pick.

All three will be a big change from the Logan!

Yes all 3 are a big change and will have to decide as i cant find any alternatives to these 3.

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

Skoda would have been my choice, though a little dated than the civic or the altis, it still exhudes a lot of charm and macho factor. But the A.S.S and the recent bad reviews on the skoda dealership and service really makes one think about going for the skoda. My second choice would have been a real tough one between the civic and the altis, both are pretty good in their own ways. Civic with its sporty clean looks and the altis with an sleek executive profile. Feature wise, the civic seems to have an upper hand with the paddle shift and the superb honda engine, but again the toyota too has a proven , dependable and rugged engine. Choose either of the two and you will not regret it. Take a test ride for both and see which one has more appeal to you.

Civic i will not go for and you can read it below. Its now either the 1.8TPi Ambient or the 1.8VVTi J.

Originally Posted by Ardy

If you are planning to do the mods, then I would definitely recommend Skoda 1.8 TPi. It is one of the most friendly when it comes to mods.

On a stock level playing field, it is a tough call. But then of the 3, Skoda is the best drivers car. Having driven a vRS, I would love to suggest Skoda, provided you find a good service center in Mumbai.

Mods is the sole reason for considering an Octy. Maybe after 1-2 years of ownership start stage by stage mods.

Originally Posted by vigsom

Take the Altis - Japanese cars are way ahead in Technology and reliability.

The Civic is great but the one major shortcoming is its poor ground clearance - not acceptable at all

That is the main reason why i am not considering a Civic - soft suspension. It bottoms out most speed breakers in Bandra, the area where i stay, plus the other downer is the price. As i am willing to spend just around 10.5-11L. Honda has discontinued the S variant and only have the V variant. Altis comes in the 'J' variant.

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

The Altis has 6mm more GC. But the 100mm less wheelbase makes the GC work more in your favor.

Of the three in question, the Skoda is the speed freak's car and is the most receptive to mods in stock form. However, the A.S.S is a big problem. It'll end up costly in the long run. The thing is a bit long in the tooth too, being decades old.

If the Skoda is out of the running, the Civic is the only choice for a driving enthusiast. The Altis made to make tick all the boxes. The most practical, the cheaper one, more loaded with toys. But as a driving machine, it is strictly average. The EPS is dead, dynamics are meh, the engine doesn't want to rev like the Honda and it just doesn't look the part!

If you can live with the Skoda, go for it. I'd choose the Civic any day (as I have) :P

If you want to be even slightly practical, the Skoda is a bad choice. It has low FE for the power it delivers, it has very low rear leg room, a bunch of rocks covered with fabric for seats, part price tags which blow your head off in case something goes wrong and an A.S.S network who would rather kill you than service your car. On the plus side, it has a turbo petrol engine which can be modded to high power levels with relative ease, a sorted chassis making for a great drive and is a solid car.

The Civic again, has low FE compared to the Altis, has soft suspension combined with a long wheelbase and low GC making it the speed bump cleaner of the city, A.S.S who'd rather you not exist at all than attend to your needs and part price tags which tend to give you a head ache. On the plus side, it has acres of space, great seats, a brilliant interior, a great drive and is Japanese Reliable (tm).

The Altis is the best compromise. With low GC which doesn't scrape that often thanks to better suspension, lots of toys for the money, cheaper spares, good interiors, brilliant A.S.S and is Japanese Reliable(tm). But it ain't a driver's car.

Have we managed to confuse you enough?

Eggjactly even i am confused , hence posted my query here, no better place than T-bhp for opinions from like minded people!

[muralisk]

While Skoda does score on all the parameters, to me the most important is *** as it really affects your peace of mind.

From that perspective, I would go for either Civic or Altis.

[tanwaramit]

well, I can understand what is going in your mind.

Skoda takes the cake, However just for moment think WHAT IF ___ will skoda A.S.S diagnose it correctly ? Will they honestly give you the due parts in time ? Will Skoda management help you out if dealer doesnt solve your problems.

I am sure after paying 10L you dont want to take a chance of not falling in that % of people who are facing issues.

You have time, just weigh the pros and cons of taking a skoda product. I may sound very pessimistic on skoda, but It would pain me to see anyone getting a product or service not upto expectations.

Altis is a good product, drive it and forget about servicing or parts. A.S.S is one of the best.

[GTO]

Not only the after-sales, but European petrol cars (Skodas, VWs, Mercs...you name it) are anything but reliable. While the Octavia diesel is stupendously reliable, the petrol RS isn't. Look up the many RS reviews on our forum.

Plus, Octavia petrols depreciate like stink. I'd recommend either a used RS (take advantage of the depreciation, they go real cheap) or a new Civic / Fiesta 1.6S. A used RS will also give you a long list of goodies (xenons, sunroof, alloys etc. etc.) for 6.5 lakhs.

[srikant]

I would vote for the Altis. Cost efficient, very good After Sales Service and Toyota backing. Its a great car for a family.

[ImmortalZ]

A 1.6S is a great suggestion too.

[StarVegabond]

If I were you, i would go with Corolla Altis. When i bought my Honda ANHC recently, the only reasony i did not go for Altis was my budget.

Toyota is the world leader, one of most reliable car maker.
i would suggest you to go for it.