Team-BHP - Review: Skoda Octavia (3rd-gen)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugsrags (Post 3385336)

Haven't got around to test driving the cars yet not that they aren't available or anything it's just a time constraint on my part. The sunroof rattle is making me think twice of the elegance model and not the car though.
The A3 while sounding appealing is not going to be as practical as the Octavia which is at the moment comparable to an A4. I do not care much for the brand as much as I do for the car in itself ( I own a rexton which while many might not find appealing but I find to be much more of a highway cruiser than a fortuner can ever be) so the audi does not appeal much to me.
I agree with you over the auto box issue and apart from my own diesel Laura's gearbox still going strong iv only heard of petrol dsg failures and never of any diesel dsg failure as yet! People tend to forget that even audi mostly sells their diesel variants as opposed to petrol and both these cars share a lot of components and it's mostly been the petrol variants that have been problematic!

Sunroof rattle need not be considered as the deal breaker. Look at other features that you are gonna miss if you take lower variants (it is a huge list, I could not consider it bcoz of my budget restrictions). DQ200 (7 speed) which comes in 1.8 was the problematic DSG, hope they fixed all the issues. Diesel variants comes with 6 speed DSG which is more reliable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugsrags (Post 3385336)

The sunroof rattle is making me think twice of the elegance model and not the car though.

The A3 while sounding appealing is not going to be as practical as the Octavia which is at the moment comparable to an A4...the audi does not appeal much to me.

The Elegance trim is definitely the one you want to buy if you want it with all the bells and whistles. The Ambition provides a cheaper entry point, but it's just so shorn of features compared to the Elegance trim.

If the Ambition trim came with those adaptive bi-xenons, they'd be great. As it stands, I think the Elegance trim is the one to go for if budget is no constraint.

As for the Audi. It is cramped in the back by all accounts. But it will have the badge and it will have more luxuriously appointed interiors. It's an Audi at a cheaper price point, and if you value practicality over the badge (like you seem to) it's worthless to you. Take a test drive soon though, it'll help you decide which trim you should go for.

Importantly, most owners are saying that spraying WD-40 or the likes eliminates the sunroof rattle, albeit temporarily. Make sure you stick up on it if you buy the top-end model!

Any idea whats the issue with Skoda Octavia sales steadily going downhill? Was just looking at the car sales figures for February in the thread linked below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-analysis.html

Are they not making enough due to some production issues as GTO has hinted there?

There does seem to be a lengthy waiting time for taking delivery if I consider what folks have posted here as well as what Giriraj Gurgaon sales guys told me.

Or is the Octavia just losing steam this soon with not enough buyers?

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Originally Posted by iliketurtles (Post 3385613)

It's purely a production constraint Manu. No idea what's going on with Skoda, the demand is there alright. It seems they made enough for the first month's deliveries and wanted to shout about the incredible first month sales figures. It's all been downhill from there in terms of sales figures.

Could this be because they focused on Superb production? Superb sold 200+ last month, right?

Even I am frustrated with the waiting time and still the lack of extended warranty.

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Originally Posted by graaja (Post 3385623)

Could this be because they focused on Superb production? Superb sold 200+ last month, right?

Even I am frustrated with the waiting time and still the lack of extended warranty.

It's possible, but then how do you explain the fall in deliveries since October? Deliveries have been consistently falling since month 1, it's not a recent phenomenon. The waiting time is ridiculous right about now, I know guys (including you) that have been waiting months. You'd think that Skoda would be keen to sell 20 lakh+ cars to as many people as possible!

I can understand some cars not being profitable (due to various reasons) and thus manufacturer not inclined to sell it. I think the pocket-rocket Getz-D was one such car and Hyundai never really pushed it though many folks on tbhp wanted to get their hands on one.

But to say that upto 300units we make money and anymore sold we lose, is like the craziest thing I have heard.

I saw an Octavia yesterday night and there is one in the community I stay in and have to say that this is one sexy car to look at and to drive. But pity that issues with the car in the early months of ownership plus Skoda's indifference seems to indicate that this will end up not getting the visibility it should have rightly got.

Went to Mahavir Auto in Jubilee Hills here in Hyderabad a couple of days back to check out the Octavia. They have a diesel Elegance which is used for TDs and they have a race blue diesel Ambition for display in the showroom. I enquired about the 1.8 TSi and according to them, no one in Andhra Pradesh has a petrol Octavia. They have a couple of bookings for the TSi and the waiting period is 4 months. I remembered one of the members here had taken a test drive of the TSi from the Somajiguda branch of Mahavir and mentioned the same to them but they said it was just not possible as they haven't received even a single TSi. It was late in the evening so didn't get a TD but did spend a good amount of time in the car, trying out the various gadgets and features. The sales guy was trying to compare the car with the A4, saying how it had features that even the A4 didn't. He wasn't very knowledgeable but was friendly and courteous. Am planning to get a TD this weekend, obviously for the diesel Elegance.

As for booking the car, I would like to do it and was encouraged to do it soon by the sales guy as the waiting period is already 4 months. I told him 4 months was too long, especially when they are just hoping that they would get a few TSis by that time and don't actually have a definite date or week or even month when they might get a few TSis. In fact, when I had enquired from them in the month of November, they said the TSi was expected in February. This uncertainty around when I might get delivery of the car is what is stopping me from going ahead with booking the car. I don't want to wait for 3 months and find out that they still don't know when to expect the car, which by the way, wouldn't surprise me at all.

Does anyone here in Hyderabad already own the TSi or has test driven one? If so, how long did it take you to get the car and which showroom did you get the TD from?