[safeeri]

Have gone through the excellent writeup and pictures by Vidyut on Octy MK III. Good to hear the positive points about pre FL Laura and Octavia MKI with respect to Octavia MK III.

Having previously owned an Octavia MKI and currently a MKII (Laura), both lateral upgrades (purchased for less than half their on road prices), will wait for another 4 to 5 years to get my hands on pre-worshipped MKIII, if at all switching.

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by puchoo

What a catch 22 this is!! - there seem to be enough people willing to make a booking , but Skoda says its not available and does not let them book , which results in lower bookings hence the car is not produced?

I dont see any reason for a bare minimum stock to have been produced and made available for sale from day 1 , run a few batches on the production line , keep a few hundred cars available which can then be sold over the next few weeks post launch.

A friend who works for VW Finance tells me that VW-Skoda were never expecting to sell much of 1.8 TSI. Hence they kept it at a premium, not launched the manual. The idea (and this one is an assumption made by him) is to make money on the few cars that sell. They don't want to end up with a situation as the Laura TSI, selling at huge discounts. Diesel is what they aim at hence the 143 BHP version with MT and DSG. They expect, however, 1.4 TSI to do well to begin with (and yet I hear no cars for test drive on this either), so they came up with a lesser displacement+good features in two trims with MT and prices are similar to what 1.8 TSI Laura had around early 2012.

[kryptonite]

Folks,

The standard Extended Warranty (2+2 yrs) is called Skoda Shield. It is available for all Skoda models, including the Octavia as quoted on their website
http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/service/skoda-shield

The extended warranty booklet is apparently similar for all cars and gets appended with new technologies & components as they're productized and are made applicable for the vehicles launched here (it lists everything applicable to their cars that they cover), hence I'm attaching a hurried picture of what's covered from my Rapid's booklet so you'll get a rough idea to start with.

Hope this helps!

[tamsaif]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Excellent review. The following 3 factors are discouraging me: 1. Price 2. Ground clearance of 155 mm [10 mm less than my Linea; I want to have more ground clearance in my next upgrade! ] 3. 2 year warranty without optional extended warranty.

everybody is talking about how badly they need the 5 yr extended warranty on skoda cars, but my question is over a five year period won't it be very difficult to distinguish between manufacturing defect or wear and tear?

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by tamsaif

everybody is talking about how badly they need the 5 yr extended warranty on skoda cars, but my question is over a five year period won't it be very difficult to distinguish between manufacturing defect or wear and tear?

I'm not sure if gearbox failure can be classified under wear and tear.

Jokes aside, the DQ200 in the 1.8TSI is known to be unreliable. Even though they've supposedly sorted it to some extent, would it be totally reliable? I don't know. I'm on the fence. And a bit skeptical.

The sunroof, bi-xenon lights, better suspension AND most importantly, the larger engine do make a strong case for itself.

[nik_kapur]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I'm not sure if gearbox failure can be classified under wear and tear.

Jokes aside, the DQ200 in the 1.8TSI is known to be unreliable. Even though they've supposedly sorted it to some extent, would it be totally reliable? I don't know. I'm on the fence. And a bit skeptical.

The sunroof, bi-xenon lights, better suspension AND most importantly, the larger engine do make a strong case for itself.

Same apprehensions here too. I googled the DQ200 and it seems like this box is the most written about box. There are so many complaints from so many countries that I'm not too sure if this would be a wise decision.
On the other hand, this is VW and a company with its reputation would have fixed the problems by now. Why cant they just offer us a warranty on the box and make thing easier for us.

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I'm not sure if gearbox failure can be classified under wear and tear.

Jokes aside, the DQ200 in the 1.8TSI is known to be unreliable. Even though they've supposedly sorted it to some extent, would it be totally reliable? I don't know. I'm on the fence. And a bit skeptical.

The sunroof, bi-xenon lights, better suspension AND most importantly, the larger engine do make a strong case for itself.

I believe a lot of people are in the same boat as you regarding the reliability of DQ 200. But i hope that since it has now been introduced in the Polo and soon on the Vento, VAG would be reasonably confident about the reliability. Otherwise introducing in B and C segments where the volumes are much higher and people are more sensitive to total cost of ownership is a big risk and could seriously impact the confidence in the brand in the long term. I take it as a sign that the VAG is confident that the problems are sorted. I hope it is just not wishful thinking on my part

[aditya101]

Any pricing changes expected in the Laura? With the high price of the new Octavia, the Laura can be a VFM proposition ... Any word from Skoda as to how long they will retain this model?

[navin]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

.
Jokes aside, the DQ200 in the 1.8TSI is known to be unreliable. Even though they've supposedly sorted it to some extent, would it be totally reliable? I don't know. I'm on the fence. And a bit skeptical.

The sunroof, bi-xenon lights, better suspension AND most importantly, the larger engine do make a strong case for itself.

I got the opportunity to drive the 1.8Tsi yesterday. Unfortunately by the time it got to me it was 4:30pm and at that time, in Mumbai traffic, I was unable to really stretch it's legs or use the triptronic.

Having been a vRS owner from 2004 to 2012 I am quite aware of the perfomance of the vRS - what I would consider the closest Skdoa car to the current 1.8Tsi.

As Viddy stated in his review, purists will be disappointed. I now know exactly what he means. While the 1.8Tsi is quick, it does not have the unbridled acceleration of the vRS. Add a Pete's box to the vRS and you got a mean machine. I would be hesitant to do something similar to the 1.8Tsi - maybe because I am 8 years older, but also because the ground hugging handling of the vRS is missing.

The vRS felt like it hugged the road. I used to drive it with my hands at 10 and 2 but needed just the fiction of my fingers against the steering wheel to tell me what I needed to do. Not so with the 1.8Tsi.

The other thing I missed was the manual gear box. I know the Tsi has a triptronic but "5 of the floor" seems so much more "connected". I admit I did not get the opportunity to really push the car so using the triptronic was out of the question. It was a dealer's car after all and I did not want to wreck it.

Anyway I was driving the car around Malabar hill coming down towards kemps corner (those familair will know it is relatively little used steach of road with a slight twist and turn and slops down to a red light. I let the car flow and it did quite well (no comparision to the vRS though). It has significantly more body roll than the vRS but nothing uncomfortable and definitely not as bad as the Corolla or Elantra. Then as i approached the red light I hammered the brake. The ABS bought it to a nice controlled, if sharp, stop. I like it when the ABS works without letting you know it is working. Then it hit me, a friend of mine wanted a fast car with a big boot!!

I called her, the bluetooth of the 1.8Tsi connected first time with my Blackberry. No issues there. I drove the car over. We sat in the front and we sat in the back. We put the car thoguh it paces. "I like it" she said. So in 20 mins over a cup of coffee (the poor JMD guys sat in the car) we decided to buy one (i explained about the infamous DQ200 and also the limited warranty). My friend placed her order yesterday. The delivery is awaited. I can't wait to take the car out at 7am as opposed to 5pm.

Just one word of warning, while the driver's seat get all the goodies of motorised height, back and legroom adjustment, the passenger it left with manual controls. Oh how I'd hate to be a passenger in this car. I dont think there is a current car this side of 30L that can put as large a smile on my face - maybe a part of that was nostalgia for the "original" - the vRS and BTW by the stanrdards set by the other Mdoerators, I am not even a "car guy".

[paw1]

Originally Posted by aditya101

Any pricing changes expected in the Laura? With the high price of the new Octavia, the Laura can be a VFM proposition ... Any word from Skoda as to how long they will retain this model?

While querying the prices, I was informed by JMD, Thane that the Laura has been discontinued and they have no stock left to sell. (as on 6/10/13).

[ghostrider]

Looks fantastic, but they should have done a little more to differentiate the back from the Rapid - they look virtually identical.
Lovely features too, but what I gather is if you want the toys that make the car special you need the Elegance trim - and those prices are a little absurd for both the diesel and the petrol.
Considering the reputation that Skoda has in the market for not being the most buyer-friendly company, they really should do more to inspire confidence from an extended warranty point of view.

All in all though it looks fantastic and I, for one, am very happy that the Octavia's name is back. I always found the name 'Laura' a little laughable. Demand for the Laura had been flagging for a while but this should bring some life back into into Skoda's D-segment contender.

Fantastic review, but no inputs on the manual diesel?

[Bomi]

Originally Posted by navin

While the 1.8Tsi is quick, it does not have the unbridled acceleration of the vRS.
The vRS felt like it hugged the road. I used to drive it with my hands at 10 and 2 but needed just the fiction of my fingers against the steering wheel to tell me what I needed to do. Not so with the 1.8Tsi.

Navin, after reading this I am wondering if I should take my vRS off the classifieds or up the price. Truly, when I don't have to visit the stealers for a problem, the car still puts a smile on my face.

[anandpadhye]

Navin, the Octy 1 was the best handler (GC 129mm) . Octy 2 (Laura) is tuned for comfort (GC 160mm). That's known for years and the trend seems to continue with Octy 3

And the 1.8TSi + 6 speed GB is more linear than the 1.8TPi + 5 speed GB in Octy 1. The turbo lag in TSi is minimal and hence you don't get that sudden kick in the back anywhere in the RPM range. So that "surprise fun" factor that you are looking for may not be there. But simply because of this TSi does not get bogged down in the ghats - it's never short of torque even if you loose momentum. Forget that DSG, you should drive the 1.8 TSi MT Laura with that organ type A pedal - now certainly a rare car

[KSH7777]

Originally Posted by aditya101

Any pricing changes expected in the Laura? With the high price of the new Octavia, the Laura can be a VFM proposition ... Any word from Skoda as to how long they will retain this model?

As per my knowledge, Laura has been discontinued by Skoda. They sold the left over stock at great discounts just before the launch of the new Octavia.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

But i hope that since it has now been introduced in the Polo and soon on the Vento, VAG would be reasonably confident about the reliability. Otherwise introducing in B and C segments where the volumes are much higher and people are more sensitive to total cost of ownership is a big risk and could seriously impact the confidence in the brand in the long term. I take it as a sign that the VAG is confident that the problems are sorted. I hope it is just not wishful thinking on my part

That's the thing. The Polo GT's 1.2TSI is a much smaller application when compared to the much more powerful 1.8TSI. The DQ200 can handle just about 250nm of torque. The 1.2TSI in the Polo makes a helluva lot less torque than that, so I believe the strain on the gearbox isn't as much in comparison. The 1.8TSI's peak torque is exactly 250nm. That's right on the very limit.