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Originally Posted by etrast75 If the new octavia is nothing but a rebadged golf/jetta, I see tremendous VFM especially for the 1.4 TSI ambition trim if the rumoured price of 13.62 ex-showroom turns out be true. If the 1.4 TSI is good enough for UK, I am sure it is good enough for India. In fact , in UK, I did not even see the 1.8 TSI offered in regular trims. |
For the exclusively chauffeur driven crowd, this car would be the one to pick. You can save a pile of cash, invest in good Stanley interiors. On paper, the car has a strong mid-range and in the UK is likely expected to be bought by the budget conscious who crunch a decent amount of cruising miles but don't want or can't justify the maintenance costs of the diesels on offer. Our hoghways are anything but cruising motorways. In India, it will have poor resale value and if one is going to drive even some of the time, they'd be better off in the base Diesel.
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Originally Posted by Warwithwheels How does the Octavia 2013 compare to the Neo fluidic Hyundai Elentra? |
I haven't driven the Elantra but, it will have similar levels of equipment at a cheaper price, quality of interior materials are a notch below the Octavia, and frankly I have driven every other car from the Hyundai Garage and they are uninspired. If you can afford (and on a regular basis, the standard maintenance is not that much higher, our Laura TSI has cost us about Rs. 1 per KM over the last 4 years of ownership) the higher acquisition and running costs, I'd go with the Octavia with eyes closed.
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Originally Posted by Santoshbhat Interesting observations. All the media are going gaga over this new Octavia and talking about setting segment benchmarks. From your post it doesn't seem to score over the Laura in many areas. Or am I missing something? |
Hi Santosh,
These are observations of a current Laura owner. For people upgrading from B segment, I think they'll be overwhelmed with the level of kit and quality of dash that Skoda are offering. As a current owner, I am sure you'll agree with me that the 1.8 TSI is a near perfect car and may have ruined most relatively affordable cars for the Indian Mango Man. Now, as far as setting bench marks for the segment itself is concerned, it depends on whom you speak to.
1) Legroom is truly extraordinary for this segment, it's in 5 series, E class territory. This however, comes at the cost of thigh support. If looked at ergonomically, better thigh support at the cost of a few mm of leg room does more for long term comfort than being able to stretch ones legs till kingdom come.
2) The quality of the soft touch plastics is incredible, but not any different from the previous generation. This is good, if it ain't broke...
3) India may be one of the very few countries in the world where the rear seat is as important, if not more than the front, however the lack of a charging port, the design of the armrest is puzzling as they really could have made all the difference.
The car is good, no doubt about that, but to a discerning buyer, it becomes easily apparent that there is a level of cost cutting involved in the car. When seen up close and in person, your average TBHP member will quickly come to the conclusion that inside space aside, this car may not be as evolutionary to the Laura as it was to the MK1 Octavia. Revolutionary it won't be. To your average Indian consumer used to the Koreans and Japanese, it will probably be setting all kinds of bench marks.
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Originally Posted by Santoshbhat Terrible music system? I can't understand how car companies can screw up the good things that's already there in the present car with their newer versions. I mean surely they have a benchmark and all they've got to do is ensure that the same quality is maintained. The swing system in the Laura base versions has terrific sound quality for an OE system, with four speakers and four tweeters. All it lacked was connectivity options. They've given that but messed up the sound quality huh?
Any idea about OTR Bangalore prices? |
As a disclaimer my family are audiophiles so I'm very demanding of music systems. Having said that, none of us ever felt the need to upgrade the Laura system. We feel that is money better spent getting a re-map and suspension upgrade (which we haven't done yet);
I am going to tweak with the audio settings and play high quality WAVs and lossless formats through all 3 possible mediums (CDs, SD card and Media reader) but frankly the initial viewing session left one feeling that a system upgrade ought to be on the agenda at one point. Unfortunately the car is expensive enough as it is. Expect it to come between 21.5/22.5-23.5/24.5 lacs OTR for the Elegance models which will leave room for the L&K and VRS in the future (insane pricing IMO) and the cheaper trims and engines will come in at 18-20 in all probability.