[motor_breathing]

I am not liking the lip spoiler on the tsi and want to replace with another one, probably VRS style one. How easy it is to remove the existing spoiler? Can it be a DIY or i need specialized help? If there is any chance of paint damage, I will live with the existing one. The current one looks like pasted full length with some kind of glue. Any inputs ?

Thanks and regard, MB

[vikramk]

Skoda has increased prices by about 2% going by the new prices on their website http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/price/check-price. The top end 1.8 TSI is now costlier by about Rs. 40,000 in Bangalore.

Given the new 4 year warranty and roadside assistance package that comes with the car, the price hike was a given. They've also introduced a new 'Ambition Plus' variant in both 1.8 TSI (Automatic) and 2.0 TDI (Automatic as well as Manual) that leaves out some features from the 'Style Plus'. This could most likely go up against the top-end Hyundai Elantra.

For some reason the price hike does not seem to have found its way to the media as yet. Neither does Skoda appear to be in a hurry to advertise the new offerings.

[84.monsoon]

The new ambition plus 1.8TSI AT appears to have most features of style plus, including xenon headlights, LED DRLs and tail lamps, side airbags, ESC, dual zone climate control, MirrorLink, leather seats, cruise control, paddle shifters, etc.

What is missing compared to Style plus are. Sunroof, reversing camera, navigation, rear side and curtain airbags, push button start, electric front seat adjustment with memory, retractable screen for rear window, and storage compartment below passenger seat.

At 19.4 Lac ex showroom Chennai, the ambition plus is priced a good 2.2 Lacs below the style plus. Seems to be a good value.

[rutvij]

I have completed one and half years of blissful ownership of my Octavia. It has proved to be a very good companion and met all the expectations that I had at the time of purchase. Mostly my drives have been in the city. Last month I had an opportunity to take it out on National Highway. My thoughts of the ownership are summarized under:

- Engine is a rocket. Combination of 6 speed DSG and 2 Ltr. TDI engine is fantastic. It reads the throttle inputs very well and behaves in a very predictable manner. There is always power in reserve and you just have to press the pedal to get it going. In fact I have seldom used Sports Mode as I don't like high revs for normal speeds and even in normal mode transmission responds very well to my inputs when I need sudden acceleration.

- Insulation works very well to keep the engine and wind noise in control. Infact NVH levels in the cabin is very low. You have to hear the famous SKODA horn from outside to realise how quiet the cabin is! Recently I drove Mercedes-GLA and I realised that diesel engine in the GLA is quite vocal. Whereas in Octavia seating in the cabin, it is very easy to mistake the engine as petrol.

- Stereo works quite well. I have acquired an SD Card in which I store my music though USB port would been easier option. I also play music through my android phone. It has never missed pairing my phone through Bluetooth. Telephoning through the Bluetooth is also very hassle free. I have stored 6 FM channels at present and also stored symbols of these radio channels which improves the look when radio is on.

- Parking sensors are a boon. I have a very limited parking space at my work space and parking sensors - particularly front parking sensors are very helpful in parking the car in tight spots. Initially I was not happy with the fact that my Octavia did not come with rear view camera but after extensively using parking sensors I feel that there is no need for rear view camera in this car. They work better than the rear view camera set up that I had in my Innova. They cover blind spots on sides which are not visible on camera.

- Boot is huge. Parking tray is removable and can be hidden behind the back seats if needed. It can easily take 4 big suitcases. It offers excellent practicality.

- MFD gives loads of information. Quite a few customizations are also possible through various settings available in the car.

- Auto rain sensing wipers works quite well. It becomes very helpful when its drizzling because you don't have to adjust the speed of wipers depending on the intensity of the rain or speed of the car.

- Cabin feels very plush and is very comfortable. It is ideal for 4 persons + 1 kid. Back seats are very spacious. Only shortcoming is high transmission tunnel which makes the middle seat uncomfortable for an adult on long journeys.

- My experience withe Skoda ASS has been satisfactory. I had a problem of rattling coming from the sunroof and it was repaired and has been working well. My battery had also gone dead and it was replaced under warranty.

I have found following irritants:

- There are no lock/unlock knob on doors. One just has to open door from inside and it will unlock and also open the door. So if Child Lock is not turned on then the door will open on opening the door from inside! There is no backup like Honda/Toyota cars where you have lock/unlock knobs. I find this very risky particularly when you have kids inside the car.

- I normally keep the parking sensors on. When standing at the traffic signals it starts beeping. Currently I press the mute symbol on the receiver to turn off the beeping every time. Is there any way to turn off the beeping from the steering controls?

Overall it has been satisfactory ownership experience and it has always brought smile to my face.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by rutvij

- Parking sensors are a boon. I have a very limited parking space at my work space and parking sensors - particularly front parking sensors are very helpful in parking the car in tight spots. Initially I was not happy with the fact that my Octavia did not come with rear view camera but after extensively using parking sensors I feel that there is no need for rear view camera in this car. They work better than the rear view camera set up that I had in my Innova. They cover blind spots on sides which are not visible on camera.

- Boot is huge. Parking tray is removable and can be hidden behind the back seats if needed. It can easily take 4 big suitcases. It offers excellent practicality.


Overall it has been satisfactory ownership experience and it has always brought smile to my face.

Nice to read this review.

I also find the parking sensors (both front and rear) on the Yeti to be a far better option than the camera. The camera image appearing on the rear view mirror as in the case of my Dad's Hyundai, is a pain.

I vastly prefer to see the Blue and Orange colours and hear the beep on my Touchscreen Head Unit in the Yeti.

Yes, the Octy Boot is a Boon! Cavernous is what springs to mind. One can actually fit 4 full sized Pro Golf Bags in it as well as luggage and if you put the seats down you can make it a really huge luggage carrier. It is a fabulous car indeed.

[joethomasv]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

At 19.4 Lac ex showroom Chennai, the ambition plus is priced a good 2.2 Lacs below the style plus. Seems to be a good value.

The one at 19.4 lakh is the manual variant while the Style Plus is the DSG. The Auto Ambition plus costs roughly 1.3 lakh more than the manual.

Skoda stripped the Ambition variant without reducing the price and added more kit to the plus variant.

[84.monsoon]

I don't believe so, please check again on the Skoda.in site. It clearly says 1.8 TSI AT as the ambition plus TSI variant.

[joethomasv]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

I don't believe so, please check again on the Skoda.in site. It clearly says 1.8 TSI AT as the ambition plus TSI variant.

Apologies. My mistake. I was looking at the diesel variant prices. I wasn't aware that there was an Ambition TSI.

[itwasntme]

They have updated their website with the new 4 year service package but only for new cars sold after 1/9/16.

Their package deal (4 years or 60,000 km whichever is earlier) is priced at INR 39,999. If I use their own service cost calculator (comes to INR 58,000 for my TSi AT), it does seem to be a 'discount' of 18k.

http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/service/...e-package.aspx

[phreakv6]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Their package deal (4 years or 60,000 km whichever is earlier) is priced at INR 39,999. If I use their own service cost calculator (comes to INR 58,000 for my TSi AT), it does seem to be a 'discount' of 18k.

http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/service/...e-package.aspx

40k put in a deposit for 4 years at 10% would mature at 58.5k. Don't forget that you are paying upfront and there is always an opportunity cost in paying upfront.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Their package deal (4 years or 60,000 km whichever is earlier) is priced at INR 39,999. If I use their own service cost calculator (comes to INR 58,000 for my TSi AT), it does seem to be a 'discount' of 18k.

If I were in your place, I would purchase it outright without a doubt in mind. Some may say, you can get same amount in about FD, MF or any other financial instrument.

But do remember costs keep on increasing annually and then we taxes which too are increasing.

If you plan to retain the car, purchase it eyes closed. Even my Vento costs Rs. 10,000 anually to service. Octavia at same price is a steal.

[phreakv6]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

If I were in your place, I would purchase it outright without a doubt in mind. Some may say, you can get same amount in about FD, MF or any other financial instrument.

But do remember costs keep on increasing annually and then we taxes which too are increasing.

If you plan to retain the car, purchase it eyes closed. Even my Vento costs Rs. 10,000 anually to service. Octavia at same price is a steal.

My car is 1.5 years old and the 6 months service was free and the 1 yr service cost was around 7k (1k discount for something). The second yr service is going to be around 15k and the third around 12k adding up to 27k. So in all the total will be around 35k for 4 years. I fail to see the advantage of paying 40k upfront. I am certain the 4th year service will not be included as it will be fall in the 5th year. The rates I got from

http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/service-cost-calculator

What am I missing?

[adi_petrolhead]

In packages like BMW's BSI, they include the cost of each and every spare part your car may need such as brake pads, discs, wipers, other consumable items.
If Skoda has included all this, it will be by far a very cheap car to maintain. If not, then its a failed attempt to attract customers because every odd 35-40000 kms, you need new brake pads which cost around 8-9k alone, and discs cost even more! More so if you decide to stick to their schedule of Spark plug changes every 45K kms.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

In packages like BMW's BSI, they include the cost of each and every spare part your car may need such as brake pads, discs, wipers, other consumable items.
If Skoda has included all this, it will be by far a very cheap car to maintain. If not, then its a failed attempt to attract customers because every odd 35-40000 kms, you need new brake pads which cost around 8-9k alone, and discs cost even more! More so if you decide to stick to their schedule of Spark plug changes every 45K kms.

There is very little detail on the website apart from:

ŠKODA recommend service interval of 15000 Kms or one year whichever comes first, under ŠKODA Maintenance Package four services offered covering 4 years / 60,000 Kms whichever occurs first, inclusive of spare parts replacement and labour charges as per ŠKODA Norms, except wear and tear parts any.

I will try and visit the dealer over the weekend and see if they can provide the fine print.

[RohanDheman]

Took the plunge and booked the Octavia Style Plus Diesel DSG as the replacement for my Skoda Laura(stage 1). I know many will say that the Octavia is not a step up from the Laura and not the ideal replacement- hear me out on this one please!

New car criteria
1. 6 airbags minimum
2. ISOFIX child seat mounts
3. Diesel+ Automatic (18k annual running)

The above three were absolutely non negotiable. I lost my younger sister almost 6 years back in an accident, which she would have survived had there been curtain airbags in the car. So my dad and i have consciously taken a decision to ensure that all cars in our house have the maximum possible safety features in the segment that we plan to buy the car in.

Options considered

1. Hyundai Elantra
What works for it
- looks better than the previous model; i like the toned down looks
- top notch safety kit
- interiors are very German like in their look
- cooled seats!

What didn't
- 1.6 diesel with the 6 speed auto is no match for the 2.0 on the Skoda
- on road price of almost 22.5 lacs
- no test drives available even after multiple visits
- the interiors dont feel like a 2 million rupee vehicles

2. Toyota Innova 2.8Z
What works for it
- bullet proof reliability
- the ride is sublime
- top notch safety kit

what didn't
- price (same price as what i am paying for the octavia)
- interiors plastics felt cheap in places
- size (will be driven solo 80% of the time)
- is a 4 seater with luggage in place

Jetta was not considered because of the following reasons (i know i miss out on the independent rear suspension)
- non MQB platform
- has the troubled engine- god knows what the software flash would do
- lets face it; she is outdated
- no news about the new model coming in

Had also looked at the superb and camry hybrid but dropped them due to the self imposed 25 lac budget restriction.

Why the octavia
- looks absolutely gorgeous
- still drives like a dream. on normal roads, driving sanely you do not feel the difference in suspension.
- absolutely top notch safety kit
- i never faced a single issue with the engine and dsg combo
- paddles
- the boot space- once you are used to a Laura, you cant ignore it.
- i like the sun roof!
- the build quality (though not as tough as the Laura- it is still amazing)
- fully loaded
- 4 years warranty, RSA and service pack! basically i am sorted till 2020!

So, while it may not be the best upgrade, to me it was the most sensible. Its more of an evolution of the product- in the right direction.

Cheers
Rohan