[prakhar1998]

Does Škoda have a Pre Owned Car Division? While the Laura was mated to a Multi Link Suspension, it had stiff yet absorbent set up. But wouldn't the Octavia with the Torsion Beam setup in most of its models be too stiff to withstand the Not-So-Good roads of India. I believe it might result in Premature Rattles like some Laura's suffered. Skoda should not have offered the diesel at such an Astronomical price, especially with the Diesel prices rising everyday, would it be worthwhile to save a few pennies in Say- 3 or 4 years (That too with a good amount of driving) for a less refined, less comfortable, costlier to maintain, worse to the environment vehicle. The Media, in my opinion is a big culprit for the negative marketing of petrol vehicles. This has also led to a higher depreciation of the value petrol vehicles in the market. Also led to an increase in the price of Diesel, which is mainly used by Trucks and Trains for Transportation leading to a rise in the cost of everything. And more pollution in the atmosphere. Good Job!

[kdeepakk]

its not worth 24.5 lacs in bangalore. I eagerly waited for this from past 4 months without booking the vehicle. Now its just waste of time and interest.

2.4 lacs for headlamp, LED, Seats & sunroof oh oh its not worth. difference between ambition & elegance.

Now am looking at alternatives but nothing much available.

Jetta - no production
Fluence - new model awaited & no whistles and bells
elantra - new model awaited

now confused??

[E63]

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[Mpower]

Because the Laura is still selling, they have to price the Octy at a premium to differentiate it.

Originally Posted by vyasachetan

On Road Bangalore prices including zero dep insurance :
1.4 active 17.69
1.4 ambition 18.95
1.8 elegance at 23.09
2.0 active 19.70
2.0 ambition 20.96
2.0 ambition at 22.22
2.0 elegance at 24.60

Old Laura ambition MT 16.2 after discount

Cheers
Chetan

Thanks! Its probably going to affect sales of the Superb also. They cannot jack up Superb prices because its already long in the tooth.

[hubolt]

The pricing seems a tad bit high vs the Jetta (should have been priced lower in the lower and mid-range ) - if you compare , for example, the 2.0 ambition manual vs the 2.0 comfortline -

- especially as it has a cheaper non-independent rear suspension in Octavia,
- 4 less airbags,
- light and sight on Jetta vs automatic lights / no cornering foglamp on ambition variant,
- co-driver seat ht adjust in Jetta vs not so on ambition,
- no 12V in the 2nd row ,
- no front parking sensors unlike the Jetta at this variant level
- not having 1 litre bottle holders in all pockets vs Jetta - useful for long trips.
- hill hod feature on Jetta - not covered in Octavia

The ambition does have a touch screen system (can be after-maerketed) and ACC (ACC is an OEM supply only feature)

They should have priced it lower.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by kdeepakk

its not worth 24.5 lacs in bangalore. I eagerly waited for this from past 4 months without booking the vehicle. Now its just waste of time and interest. 2.4 lacs for headlamp, LED, Seats & sunroof oh oh its not worth. difference between ambition & elegance. Now am looking at alternatives but nothing much available. Jetta - no production Fluence - new model awaited & no whistles and bells elantra - new model awaited now confused??

Deepak,the new Elantra is probably some time away and expect the prices to go up. I would suggest you buy the manual topend diesel elantra now and can look at a remap later on. Should cost you around 18.80 OTR Bangalore. I bought one recently and am completely satisfied.The handling is also very good and compares for space with the new Octavia. Does have all the bells and whistles. The cooled seats are awesome.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by hubolt

The pricing seems a tad bit high vs the Jetta (should have been priced lower in the lower and mid-range ) - if you compare , for example, the 2.0 ambition manual vs the 2.0 comfortline -

- especially as it has a cheaper non-independent rear suspension in Octavia,
- 4 less airbags,
- light and sight on Jetta vs automatic lights / no cornering foglamp on ambition variant,
- co-driver seat ht adjust in Jetta vs not so on ambition,
- no 12V in the 2nd row ,
- no front parking sensors unlike the Jetta at this variant level
- not having 1 litre bottle holders in all pockets vs Jetta - useful for long trips.
- hill hod feature on Jetta - not covered in Octavia

The ambition does have a touch screen system (can be after-maerketed) and ACC (ACC is an OEM supply only feature)

They should have priced it lower.

Hill hold is a confusing feature for a Manual Car - But will help people who are learning to drive.

ACC (of any car) has a mind of it's own. Like, automatically switching off "re-circulation" mode and letting in fresh (?) air, in heavy traffic. ACC also requires some kind of attention and can be irritating, since we expect it to work without our intervention.

[lancer_rit]

Sterling review vid :-)

The pricing seems too high for what's on offer esp for Bangalore. Even the ex-showroom price is 30k more than Delhi :-( At these prices, the 1.8TSI is almost at the same level as the Superb 1.8 TSI (which had discounts going on them). I mean the Elegance vs the Superb Ambition ... Rear seatback angle is a dampener. The lower trims have huge compromises - 2 airbags only, torsion beam suspension, lower spec 1.4TSI engine etc.

At the minimum Skoda needs to launch the 1.8 TSI Elegance in MT which would chop off 1-1.5 lacs of the 1.8 TSI DSG Elegance price.

I have a sneaky feeling they also factored in Rs-Euro conversion at the higher range, than what is currently the case ?

Just a 2 year unlimited warranty is downright short changing. Atleast, they needed to offer a 5-year warranty on the DSG transmission.

I waited for a long time for the new Octavia launch, but feelings are rather mixed currently - even a bit negative overall!

[nik_kapur]

I think we can expect a facelift. At least expect LED's and a Touchscreen audio. All over the world the Elantra has received a lift. Indian cars are CKDs and once kits are over, we will see the facelifted version.

[venkateshkm]

So now they dont need to bother about servicing Octavias because not many will be sold. So that is one product out of the way in terms of service headaches. They did a wonderful job of helping competition again!! First they messed up Yeti pricing, and now Octavia.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by kdeepakk

its not worth 24.5 lacs in bangalore. I eagerly waited for this from past 4 months without booking the vehicle. Now its just waste of time and interest.

2.4 lacs for headlamp, LED, Seats & sunroof oh oh its not worth. difference between ambition & elegance.

Now am looking at alternatives but nothing much available.

Jetta - no production
Fluence - new model awaited & no whistles and bells
elantra - new model awaited

now confused??

IMHO, Not very confusing...

If you are looking at a good car, with decent ride and handling and with bells / whistles - Octavia is the car.
IMHO, Jetta is a much superior car, without bells / whistles - If you are looking for one.
The above 2 cars are in a different league all together and so, I would not comment on Elantra / Fluence.

Jetta's production will start in January and this can be a boon in disguise - Since new kits will come with added features. Also, it will be a 2014 model car.

Octavia will also have a waiting period, once booked?

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by venkateshkm

So now they dont need to bother about servicing Octavias because not many will be sold. So that is one product out of the way in terms of service headaches. They did a wonderful job of helping competition again!! First they messed up Yeti pricing, and now Octavia.

Watch out for the monthly sales report in the following months. Am sure SKODA will prove you wrong. Even before the launch, more than 50 units have rolled out of the factory. That's quite an impressive figure considering the hefty price tag it carries.

YETI is a different story altogether. The launch of YETI, opened up a new segment altogether which din't quite entice the customers who wanted to buy a car in that price band. IMO, it is not right to even draw a comparison between the YETI and the OCTAVIA.

[Sanjubose]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

Sterling review vid :-)

The pricing seems too high for what's on offer esp for Bangalore. Even the ex-showroom price is 30k more than Delhi :-( At these prices, the 1.8TSI is almost at the same level as the Superb 1.8 TSI (which had discounts going on them). I mean the Elegance vs the Superb Ambition ... Rear seatback angle is a dampener. The lower trims have huge compromises - 2 airbags only, torsion beam suspension, lower spec 1.4TSI engine etc.

At the minimum Skoda needs to launch the 1.8 TSI Elegance in MT which would chop off 1-1.5 lacs of the 1.8 TSI DSG Elegance price.

I have a sneaky feeling they also factored in Rs-Euro conversion at the higher range, than what is currently the case ?

Just a 2 year unlimited warranty is downright short changing. Atleast, they needed to offer a 5-year warranty on the DSG transmission.

I waited for a long time for the new Octavia launch, but feelings are rather mixed currently - even a bit negative overall!

Well said...I waited tad long with my 18 lakhs to plonk on the new Laura (aka Octavia) and suddenly I donot feel like buying what is available for that money in Octavia. The taxes in Bangalore doesnt help either. I wish they launch the 1.8 TSI manual ambition asap at around 18L OTR else days of discounts upto 2L are not far for Octavia.

Thanks Vid. Fabulous review!!

[Sanjubose]

I was wondering the objective of research skoda top brass would have done before launching the octavia, more from pricing perspective.
They were selling Laura @300 nos. monthly average since past couple of years. I donot think they are aiming much higher for Octavia, keep aside doing the numbers of Ecosport/Duster at launch. Certainly they are in different segment and price range, but what probably conspire is that Skoda might not be aiming for a mad rush sales volume anyway.
A common man's common sense would have expected Octavia to be launched at price comparative enough to confuse the C+ segment to D1 segment, a 5 yrs warranty (or atleast the additional shield) to take care of the service related perceptions of Skoda and a bang on target marketing at launch instead of the ticker timer on the website for everything from announcing the car pic to price.
Nonetheless, I guess Skoda has more qualified and able business managers and they are thinking beyond my shortsightedness. Though shamelessly, I will keep waiting for the discounts to start rolling in on Octavia as soon as possible

[ackyash]

Guys, After owning 2 Skoda Laura's in our family, I would advise against buying the new Octavia if company does not offer extended warranty on the new octavia. Engine, electronics and transmission failure/issues are way too many on Skoda's and makes no sense to put one's hard earned money unless you are able to buy extended warranty.

Just my 2 cents based on owning 2 Lauras, your experience may have been different.