[car-o-phile]

SO the pictures are here:

[car-o-phile]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Aah - you didn't introduce yourself! So that makes it 3 BHPians in the group of Unofficial Experts. Let's also read about your views and impressions.

Yeah! - Been a little inactive recently.
Well, here are views on the car. I actually liked it a lot.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3234178

[v&v]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Only if Skoda offers a 100,000-km/5-year all-labour-and-materials-inclusive service package for Rs.100,000 + taxes. If so, then a definite YES. It isn't the car that's bad, it's the service support. And I'm not interested to fight over minor issues with an asinine Skoda ASS. I hope you're listening, Mr. Rao.

I think Mr Rao is listening. 5 yr PMS & EW package announced for Rapid. Read it in today's HT. Might be the same they may offer for Octavia too.

[car-o-phile]

@moderators - I accidentally posted these photos here. I wanted to post these in my thread. link - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3234178

Originally Posted by manishalive

The store is located on one of the streets of China Town. Unlike many other stores, this store is simple in appearance but loaded with stuff. The location is also the unlikeliest.

Thanks. Pagoda Street. I googled it. Next visit!

Originally Posted by v&v

I think Mr Rao is listening. 5 yr PMS & EW package announced for Rapid. Read it in today's HT. Might be the same they may offer for Octavia too.

Isn't there a Skoda Shield concept for this.
Link - www.skoda-auto.co.in/service/skoda-shield

[v&v]

Originally Posted by car-o-phile

Isn't there a Skoda Shield concept for this.
Link - www.skoda-auto.co.in/service/skoda-shield

car-o-phile , shield is an extended warranty which is an insurance where as as per the current advertisement, the have announced 5 years PMS maintenance seems like BSI from BMW.

[PPS]

It seems all the Octavia's part of this drive were the top-end Elegance trim? Bi-xenons are standard for the top end but i do hope they provide the single beam xenon projector for the other variants!
Forgot to mention, brilliant write-up.

[car-o-phile]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Only if Skoda offers a 100,000-km/5-year all-labour-and-materials-inclusive service package for Rs.100,000 + taxes. If so, then a definite YES. It isn't the car that's bad, it's the service support. And I'm not interested to fight over minor issues with an asinine Skoda ASS. I hope you're listening, Mr. Rao.

I wanted to quote Skoda Shield then during the discussion when you said i would be willing to pay more for the extended service. But did not.

Originally Posted by v&v

car-o-phile , shield is an extended warranty which is an insurance where as as per the current advertisement, the have announced 5 years PMS maintenance seems like BSI from BMW.

Oh! that is great. I guess either Mr. Rao listened or He must be thinking in his head that he is on the right track as per customer's demands. Because BSI was quoted by Doc during that discussion.

Originally Posted by PPS

It seems all the Octavia's part of this drive were the top-end Elegance trim? Bi-xenons are standard for the top end but i do hope they provide the single beam xenon projector for the other variants!
Forgot to mention, brilliant write-up.

Thank you! in case it was for mine too.

[Abhi_Automobile]

SS-Traveller and car-o-phile,

Can either of you guys post the pics (mainly interior) of the manual version, which I assume only comes in the Active and Ambition trim? Based on the feature list, I think that both cars will look exactly the same from inside the cabin (Ambition and Elegance).

Also, I think the Active trim was not given for any review. I guess not even available for look and feel. Just in case I am wrong and you guys have some interior pics, please share them.

I am really keen to notice the differences inside the cabin between the three versions. This will help a lot of folks on the forum I guess..

[puchoo]

Great second part and had as much fun reading it as well. Great images , as another Himachali on the forum , appreciate the images and i think its great to be in some of these places in this type of weather as well and not only when its " Sunny" :-)

[bullrun87]

great review loved reading all of it." Skoda Unofficial Experts 2 Drive" contest seems to be a great idea, other companies should do similar contests. Some of the pictures are breathtaking.

[Ardy]

First of all, apologies for the delay in penning down my thoughts. Was caught up with quite a few things on return.

SS-Traveller: A wonderful write-up that sums up the new Octavia pretty well.

So, I am going to limit this post to my experience and what I thought of the car.

As mentioned in the starting post, I and SS-Traveller were paired together to drive the 2.0 TDi onward to Shimla and 1.8 TSi back. Both 2.0 TDi and 1.8 TSi comes through as a well spec car and is quite fun to drive.

Some observations that I have after I drove both the cars.

Steering System:

The steering being Electro-Mechanically power steering, I personally found to be a little light when I laid my hands on it for the first time, but as you drive one gets used to it. The steering starts to weigh as the speed increases and never lets you feel jittery.

Suspension:

The torsion beam set-up on 2.0 TDi is quite comfortable, although when you run over the uneven surface or potholes, the thud comes through to the cabin. This thud is negligible on the multi-link set-up on the 1.8 TSi. I would assume that the Goodyear tires are also responsible for this experience. Upgrading to a better component of tire would improve the ride quality.

Ground Clearance:

Initial thoughts of 155 ground clearance on an extended wheel base was that this new Octavia would be prone to bottom more frequently. However, this was not to happen. I was expecting the front overhang to scrape the ground when we were exiting the Wildflower Hall due to the steep slope leading into a slightly raised tarmac. The car did not scrape anywhere and did not bottom on any of the potholes or uneven surface.

Interior Space:

As the dimensions of the car has been increased, so is the interior space. The interior has much more room and leg room, especially in the rear. Skoda designers have played smart with the rear headroom, by contouring the rear headline out. That gives a good 1.5-2.0" more headroom in the rear.

Seating Comfort:

The seats are well contoured for comfort. Although, we did not get a chance to ride in the rear (SS-Traveller rode in the rear seat for a while) the rear bench seem to be well contoured and seem to have good under-thigh support.

We observed that the driver's seat on the Elegance variant that we drove was 12-way electrically adjustable with 3 memory, however the front passenger seat had no height adjustment. The technical brochure that Skoda gave us shows height adjustment for the front passenger seat as well. Not sure if the final product would have the height adjustment for front passenger seat or not. But this omission makes the front passenger seat a bit uncomfortable.

DSG Gearbox:

Although most of our drive was in the manual mode of the DSG, I found the 6-Speed DSG on 2.0 TDi to be a little slow in shifting between the gears while the 7-Speed DSG on 1.8 TSi was quite quick. By shifting speed, I mean the lag between 2 gears. On a sedate driving the 6 Speed would shift around 1600-1700 RPM while the 7 Speed would shift around 2000 RPM. Other than that, both the gearboxes are butter smooth.

Tank Capacity:

Interestingly, the tank capacity has been reduced from 55 Ltrs on Laura to 50 Ltrs on the new Octavia. This means driving range has reduce by a shade.

Turning Circle:

A marginal increase in the turning circle due to longer wheelbase goes unnoticeable. We were able to make a U-Turn pretty comfortably on a 60" wide road without the need to reverse. Of course, we used a bit of road curb for the U-Turn.

Drive-ability:

Considering that we were driving an European car, we expected the car to be a driver's delight and it did not fail us. On the twist & turns of the climb to Shimla, the 2.0 TDi held itself and was quite comfortable in the corners. The 1.8 TSi was even better in terms of holding its line. Absolutely negligible body roll making the car a driver's delight.

Entertainment System:

The car comes with a Bolero system with 5.8" screen which is well laid and though not an audiophile, the system sounded pretty good. Skoda could have given a larger screen with Sat-Nav in Elegance, if not as standard, as an option.

General Observation:

Skoda seems to be standardizing its offerings across the models and geography and hence the variants are Active, Ambition and Elegance. This means that there is a little scope for an L&K variant in the future. The company is smartly not badging its car externally with the engine variant, so this is very little to differentiate between 2.0 TDi and 1.8TSi unless one notices the bootlip spoiler on 1.8 TSi.

This seems to be trend on the new Rapid also which is the first car in India with the new logo.

Most of the drive was restricted to slower speeds, narrow roads and inundated with traffic. When possible, we opened up the engine for overtaking and the she did it with ease. Got an opportunity to drive the 1.8 TSi on 4 lane road and the car moved effortlessly on both dense traffic and open roads.

Between the two engines, if economy is not a constraint, 1.8 TSi is a gem of a car to drive.

To summarize as I did Skoda India on their twitter:

New Octavia is Elegant, Luxurious and Driver's Delight.

Cheers,
Ardy

[Ardy]

Some pictures from my end.



Loved the Silver with Panoramic Roof



Product Briefing





A/C Vent on Passenger Side



MID with Fuel Consumption Displayed



OVRM Shot







Chunky Steering Wheel - Good to hold



Some early morning pictures from Wildflower Hall





Loved the multi-spoke alloys on Ambition & Elegance. SS-Traveller's preference was the 5 spoke alloy on Active variant.



Observe the bootlip spoiler on the first car. That's a 1.8 TSi.







Cheers,
Ardy

Note to TBHP Support: Separated the my review post from the post with pictures for more clear read. And hence back to back posts.

[Kratos453]

Great detailing of a car with pictures and hearty congratulations on winning the contest!

I do have one query which is definitely on everyone’s mind. Was there any hint or gossip or some clue related to improving the after-sales apart from just displaying the service cost calculator? I mean how they are going to mange to put trust in our hearts, because even if this car is a hit many people will back down due to after-sales service and support.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Ardy

however the front passenger seat had no height adjustment. The technical brochure that Skoda gave us shows height adjustment for the front passenger seat as well. Not sure if the final product would have the height adjustment for front passenger seat or not.

I'm shocked to read this! My decade old Octavia has height adjustable front passenger seat!
Just hope this was due to a glitch on these CBU media cars! I find the alloys very plain & boring looking though.

[jeetaman]

Look forward to the new car. It has created enough buzz. A number of folks who were holding on to something exciting and choices in sedan segment, are looking forward to the new Octavia. Got first hand report from Ardy couple of days back. Cheers