[sawnilrules]

Why replace the car

Octavia was always on my radar ever since it was launched in October 2013. But then since I had picked up the Honda City just a year back in 2012, didn’t think of upgrading immediately. But then back of my mind, always kept an eye on the Octavia. In last 4 years, I have lost the count how many times I must have gone to various dealerships of Škoda just to TD the car.
Circa 2016. I had replaced by Hyundai i10, with a safer and better Hyundai Grand i10 during the start of the year for my wife. The link for that review is here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...omes-home.html

There was no inclination of me buying a second car towards the end of the year, especially when I had already picked one at the start of the year. But then simultaneously, I had also got bored of driving the Honda City. Hence the itch of buying a car for self was always there. Additionally, now I also had an option of buying a car in my company package which worked as an added advantage for me.
You doing what you want to do and you being able to convince your better halves are two different things. I was sure she would not be in agreement to buy a new car at that stage considering there was already one in the house.

September 2016, we had embarked on a road trip to Goa, which was kind of a mini vacation for us. On the entire journey and during our stay and outing in Goa, I casually used to enter into small talk with her regarding how we need to upgrade the safety quotient of the car, considering we do lot of road trips together. And especially now with Kiddo along, it is far more important to have a car far more superior in terms of safety and comfort as compared to the City.

She probably knew what was coming next, and before I could say anything she asked me, what was on your mind? Err, that for me meant, probably a chances of Green Signal to pick up something better. And I was quick to say, Octavia. How are we managing the finances? To which I replied, anyways the company will fund the car, and if we trade off the City, DP too is taken care. Ok she said, and ladies and gentlemen, that day I discovered what true happiness is.

Why Octavia over everything else in that price bracket?

Well my requirements for my next car were clear. It had to have following things

• Petrol powered, somehow I don’t like the diesel clatter, no matter how silent it is
• Powerful than the outgoing car
• Laden with Safety features to the brim
• Comfortable on long rides, I keep doing a lot of highway trips
• Sunroof, bigger the better

How did Octavia fit the bill?

• Was it Petrol Powered- Check
• Powerful than the outgoing car- Double Check
• Laden with Safety Features- Triple Check
• Comfortable for long rides- Super Check
• Sunroof, Bigger the better- Excited Check

Other cars considered

Actually none, but for the sake of just taking second opinion, test drove the new Elantra.

Hyundai Elantra



Hyundai had launched the Elantra just a couple of days back, and as is true with most of the Hyundai products, I was expecting a lot of crowd the dealership. But to my surprise, even though it was a Saturday, there was hardly any crowd to see the car.

Since I was a prior customer for Sai Auto Hyundai, I was received warmly by the sales executive. We got seated and started discussing the car. By the time we had discussed the car over the broucher and the prices discussed, the TD car was ready. I test drove both the diesel as well as the petrol. My view of the car is as below.

First up the diesel motor, when I fired up the engine using the start stop button, I was amazed with the level of refinement the car came with. The NVH levels were simply astonishing, to the point that I double checked with the sales guy, are we surely driving the diesel. Now this 1.6 ltr diesel mill is not new, it’s the same workhorse which does duty in the Verna as well as the much famed the Creta. Does it drive any different than them? Well the power figures are absolutely the same as you will find in the Verna or the Creta; however Verna being the lightest of the lot, it feels more eager to fly as compared to Elantra. Don’t get me wrong, no way am I saying the Elantra is not an eager car, but it is simultaneously nowhere closer to its European rivals. It does what it is supposed to do without any fuss. However, it fails to excite the driver in you.

Immediately post the diesel, I drove the petrol powered Elantra. This all new 2.0 ltr petrol, churns out a handsome 150 bhp, and couple that with a 6 speed AT, it gains speed pretty quickly. However, get into some spirited driving and the gearbox starts to feel being confused. I would not blame the engine here, but the torque converter gearbox fails to deliver. However, regular office/home trips the gearbox will do the job flawlessly. This 150 bhp engine may be quick, but pit her against the range topping 1.8 ltr Octavia; it will be left to bite the dust.

Choose to ignore the technical specs; the Elantra has some features which are from a segment above. Particularly the cooled front seats which come as standard feature in AT, I would have loved to see that feature in the Octavia.

Had I been in the market to pick up a diesel car, Jetta would have been a close rung competitor to be pit against the Octavia for me. However, as I was keen on petrol, and the Toyota Corolla didn’t inspire me, we decided to go ahead with booking the Octavia in top end trim.

[sawnilrules]

Booking Date & Process 8th November 2016

I was in touch with JMD Škoda, a dealer in Mumbai regarding the car. All the conversations that were happening between me and my sales executive were on phone. To an extent that I met my sales executive on the day of the delivery of the car. Not a single time did I feel that I should visit the dealership.

Škoda offers style plus variant with two options. One is with Navigation & other is without Navigation. The visual differentiator from outside is that the car with navigation comes with slim sharkfinn antenna and the car without navigation looks like any other Octavia on road. Internally the differences are on two counts. One there are two slots for memory card, as opposed to one slot in the non-navigation car and Two, amber lights on the door have been replaced with reflectors in the navigation model. The price difference in both the models was INR 26000/- and since the difference was negligible, I went ahead with the car with navigation option.

Second biggest dilemma for me was the color. Personally I was in love with white color, contrasting blackened roof till the sunroof gave the car an executive look. What helped further accentuate the executive look were the blackened headlights. However, wifey was against the white color. She wanted to go in for the black as she found the black color more elegant then the white, and moreover, our last car Honda City was also white, so this time she wanted the car in darker shade.

After discussing, debating, fighting for over a week on the color choice, I did exactly what a wise married man does, decided to book the car in black color.

8th November 2016, I called up my SA, Amruta Nikam to send someone to collect the booking amount cheque from me. The offer that we finalized on was as below



Evening of 8th November 2016, Amruta sent over an executive from the dealership to my office. I happily handed over the cheque of INR 51000/- towards the booking amount. The timeline that I had given them for the delivery was first week of December. I had heard a lot of horror stories revolving around Škoda’s infamous customer service levels. But I was pretty surprised with the level of professionalism that Amruta and her team came with. Every single update regarding the car was informed to me well in time. 23rd November the car landed in Mumbai stockyard and I got the remaining payment done over the weekend.

As I had already picked up the chosen number from the RTO, the process of registration would take 2 days as compared to normal 5 day timeline. Jointly we decided to pick up the car on 4th December 2016, A Sunday. Probably the most waited Sunday of my life.

Delivery 4th December 2016

Since wifey has Saturday’s working, we chose Sunday as the day for delivery. Generally, JMD Skoda guys don’t do deliveries on Sundays’ but on my request, they got the delivery arranged for me on a Sunday. We reached the showroom at around 11:00 am in the morning. The car was draped in satin car cover inside the showroom. We were greeting by the Sales Manager Mr. Rupesh Gawale & our Sales Executive Amruta Nikam. My 2.5 year old boy is an absolute prankster, but is already in love for cars. Probably, I’m getting him ready to be a future bhpian. There was a Superb in L&K trim parked adjacent to the draped Octavia, and my kiddo instantly ran towards the Superb with a twinkle in his eyes. He looked at the car and then looked back at me probably wanting to tell me, are we taking her home.

Nevertheless, the showroom staff got busy with the kiddo and we three sat down for the usual business. All the relevant documents regarding the car were placed in a nice leather folder. The octroi receipt, insurance papers, owner’s manual, etc. were fitted nicely inside the folder. We were handed over two Škoda key chains as the car came with 2 keys along with a really beautiful Ganesh idol. With documentation part done, cup of piping hot coffee seeped, it was time to unveil the monster. We walked towards the car with all excitement to unveil it.

We un-wrapped the car and there she was standing in her Magic Black glory. She was mystically beautiful. Un-wrapping the car was nothing sort of a celebration. Cake cutting was carried out by the team alongside a wonderful bouquet of flowers was presented to us and to top it up all, a box of Ferrero rocher chocolate and another half a kg cake to take home along with us so that we can celebrate the new beginning at home too. We did the customary puja in the showroom, garlanded the car and then I cranked the car to life. The car settled to an extremely silent rumble in the showroom. I loved the overall pseudo luxury feel the car came with. Everything looked as if it was built for purpose.

The delivery guy took over to explain the car in details. He was honest enough and upfront to say that I may not be able to take you through the entire car and pardon me for the same. One he said, the car has laundry list of features and two; they either get updated or changed silently from Skoda. Something’s which are there in this MY17 car, may not be there in MY16 car and few things from MY16 may not be here in this car. Which initially I thought he’s being funny, but only later to realize he was right. For example, the MY16 car came with door hazard (amber) lights on both the front doors; this is skipped in MY 17. However, MY 16 came with only one SD card slot; this one comes with 2 SD Card slots. Nevertheless I heard him out patiently step by step to understand the car so that at-least I got the basics right.
Once explaining of the car was done, I was introduced to Mr. Sachin Panchal, who was the service head at JMD Škoda’s Kandivali Service Station.

Anticipating that I will obviously take the car to Kandivali for service and not come to Airoli/Bhandup, Rupesh had already pinged Sachin to be present for the delivery of the car. Thoughtful I must say. Sachin has been with Skoda for almost 8 years now and he knew the evolution of Octavia as a brand and knew the car technically inside out. He himself is passionate about cars and he follows Opel very closely and owns and drives an Opel Astra. Spoke to him at length on dos and don’ts of the extremely ill-famed DSG DQ200, in general regular maintenance of the car and so on so forth.

Got the car out of the showroom, had carried a box of sweets which we distributed to everyone at the showroom and happily left for home. The fuel in the car was 10 ltr and the fuel tank capacity is 50 ltr. 10 ltr was sufficient to bring the car home so did not stop over to fuel up the car.

Here are few pictures that we managed to click at the showroom.

[sawnilrules]

First Impressions



Škoda launched the 3rd generation Octavia internationally in December 2012, and it was spotted testing in India around April 2013 and was eventually launched in India in October 2013. It’s been a 5 year old design and still looks brand new. Look at her from any angles, she wow’s you. No wonder they say, European cars look classy even towards the end of their life cycle and probably even after that. The styling is clean and understated no fussy and funny crisscross lines anywhere. The lines are extremely sharp and chiseled and it gives a feel as if Jozef Kaban must have been a brilliant student of geometry in his school days.

Step inside and everything feels elegant. I would have personally preferred a darker shade of Beige as the current lighter shade is definitely a dirt magnet. The three spoke steering wheel with brushed aluminum inserts and paddle shifters behind looks perfect in size. The two pod instrument cluster with a large dot matrix (MID) in between completes the cluster. The dials are easy to read and the data thrown on MID is magnanimous.

The real fun in this car is behind the driver’s seat. Spotting a perfect driving position is not at all difficult as the 12 way electrical adjustable mechanism with memory function does the job well. Fire the engine using the start-stop button; engage the D mode and the car takes some time to move forward unlike the traditional Torque Convertor units where the car nudges ahead immediately after the brake is released. You tap the accelerator and the car moves ahead here. Upshifts are pretty butter smooth no lag anywhere whatsoever and more importantly one do not feel that the gearbox is working. Even before one realizes, you end up doing triple digit speeds very easily.

The ability of the car to mask speeds is in league with the big Germans for sure. And what I particularly liked is the way car keeps out all the road noise out of the windows. The cabin is completely serene and calm place to be.
The 1.8 Tsi engine is a gem of an engine for sure and coupled with super-fast 7 speed DSG, I think this car is a lethal combination of performance and practicality both bundled into one. All this on a chassis that is tight and coupled with superior multi-link suspension all around, the car truly is a brilliant handler. It’s truly a point and shoot kind of a machine.

In a nutshell then, what I like and What I think could have been better.

What I Like

• Premium Quality inside out
• Acres of Space, inside the car as well as in the boot and a unique panoramic sunroof
• Explosive 1.8 Tsi engine with torque and power always on hand
• Features list, which is longer than my wife’s monthly grocery list
• 5 star rated NCAP Safety Rating Safety features now include 8 airbags and continues with all other features like (EBD, ABS, ESP, EDL, MKB and more)
• Magnanimous MID throws practically everything you asked for and even more

What I think could have been better

• Skimping on utilitarian features which costs penny, considering they were present in earlier variant.
• Strictly for 4 occupants only, 5th one will be highly uncomfortable sitting behind
• Škoda should have added a sub and an amp to an already amazing audio setup to complete the package.
• Škoda should have provided Garmin Maps as opposed to extremely sad MapMyIndia Maps.
• Škoda should have given better tires instead Goodyear Tires. The NCT5 are just not able to cope up with the demanding chassis of the car.

Škoda Octavia a brief history

The first generation Octavia was released in November 1996 and was built at the modernized Škoda factory in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. This generation was made available in hatchback or estate styles only.

The second generation Octavia was introduced in March 2004, based on the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform also used by other Volkswagen Group cars, such as the Audi A3 Mk2, Volkswagen Golf Mk5, Volkswagen Jetta Mk5, SEAT León Mk2, etc.

Responsible for the design were Thomas Ingenlath and Peter Wouda. Along with a new internal combustion engine range, also shared with other models of the Volkswagen Group, body changes included more legroom for rear seat passengers (a weak point in the original model) and increased ground clearance at front and rear to reduce the risk of grounding on steep ramps or facing kerbs.

In India, the second-generation Octavia was marketed as the Laura to distinguish it from the first generation. The car was marketed in a higher segment, and was sold alongside the previous generation Octavia. However the first generation ended production in India in 2010, and as of 2012 the Laura's price was reduced and was competing in its predecessor's segment.

The third generation Octavia was revealed on 11 December 2012, at the Škoda museum in Mladá Boleslav. The car began to appear in showrooms in key European markets in February 2013. And it made its way to India in October 2013. It has had minor revisions in its variants and features in offer ever since 2013. Every year Skoda has been adding few and deleting few features here and there. But thankfully over the period of time, none of the safety features were given a miss.

Škoda Octavia Design Philosophy (Overall Exterior)

The car, designed by Jozef Kabaň, recalls the VisionD concept car presented in 2011. The new model is 9 cm (3.54 in) longer and 4.5 cm (1.77 in) wider than the second generation and the wheelbase lengthened by 8 cm (3.15 in). It is also up to 102 kilograms lighter than the previous model. The interior length of the third generation Škoda Octavia has grown - in comparison to its predecessor - by 33 mm (1.30 in) to 1.782 mm (0.07 in), while the legroom for the backseat passengers grew by 47 mm (1.85 in) to now 73 mm (2.87 in). The headroom in the back was increased to 980 mm (38.58 in) (Octavia II: 966 mm (38.03 in)). The elbow width was also increased, in the front by 39 mm (1.54 in) to 1.454 mm (0.06 in), and in the rear by 26 mm (1.02 in) to 1.499 mm (0.06 in). Similarly, the shoulder room was optimized, in the front to 1.398 mm (0.06 in) by adding 19 mm (0.75 in), and in the rear to 1.378 mm (0.05 in), a plus of 4 mm (0.16 in). The luggage compartment volume is a class leading 590 l (20.84 cu ft), slightly more than the 585 l (20.66 cu ft) of the previous generation model or 565 l (19.95 cu ft) of the larger Volkswagen Passat.

All this translates into a car which is proportionate in all angles and a design which looks fresh even after 5 years of its existence. Personally I feel that the lighter colors on this car highlight the length and subtle design that it carries, whereas the darker shade is able to mask the length and design elements.

Škoda Octavia Design Philosophy (Overall Interior)

Step inside the Octavia, and one thing that surrounds you is sheer luxury. Anyone and Everyone who have stepped inside the car have come out with a Wow expression on their faces. The dashboard design is contemporary yet simplistic, following beige and black color combination. Ergonomics are spot on and finding the right driving position is not at all a problem. The center console houses a 6 inch touch screen audio system which also doubles up as an on-board computer to control practically everything in the car. The instrument cluster is typical Škoda with two analogue pods flanked with a MID display in the center. The Style Plus variant comes with a three spoke steering wheel with paddle shifters. To be honest, till date in my three months of ownership, I have never felt a need to use those shifters. I personally found the gearbox intelligent enough to do what it is supposed to do.

Fit and finish in some areas I found could have been better. For example, the glove box doesn’t close in the first attempt. Similarly the rear manual blinds, the mechanism is a bit fidgety and looks like will give away if used on and off.

One of the major highlight of the updated Octavia was the introduction of Apple Car Play and Navigation. While there is nothing worthwhile to write about Navigation, Apple Car Play has absolutely made life easy. Connect the phone using the Apple Cable and viola the phone gets mirrored on the screen. You cannot help but notice the ease with which you are able to play audio, or take or make calls. Additionally it also keeps charging the battery for the phone. However, the audio player is able to play audio through aux in, USB, Bluetooth and SD card slot in case if you don’t want to use Apple Car Play or Android Auto.

While dual zone climatronic AC is good to have, it’s not a must have feature in my books. Probably in a chauffeur driven environment, it would make more sense. But as I drive most of my cars, I end up putting the temperature in sync mode. The cooling is pretty decent for the size of the car.

Come to the rear and one thing that impresses is huge amount of legroom. The angle of rear seats coupled with good under thigh support and good quality leather, ensures you arrive at your destination fresh. The rear sun blind is definitely a boon to have, however would have liked if the car came with sun blinds for windows too. The only hitch in the entire scheme of events is the transmission tunnel hump. It seriously at all times is a 4 seater sedan. Nevertheless it is able to transport the shetji from place A to place B in utmost comfort, luxury and style.

Engine, Transmission & Fuel Efficiency

Engine

German engineering generally is believed to be expensive, dedicated to dynamically gifted luxury cars and autobahn-scorching sport coupes.

But Volkswagen definitively demonstrates the integration of advanced technology into a brilliant and practical package need not cost a lot of money. The 1.8T is among the most affordable power plants springing from the smartly crafted third-generation EA888 engine family, which includes high-output 2.0T versions in the VW GTI and Audi S3. The EA888 engines are a family of four cylinder engines that are currently in use across the Volkswagen Group. The EA888 family is an Audi-designed unit that features some of the latest engine technology such as direct fuel injection, sintered camshaft lobes, thin-walled engine block, variable valve timing and lift for intake and exhaust valves, downstream oxygen sensors, turbocharger integrated into cylinder head, exhaust gas recirculation and cooling, distributor-less coil-on-plug ignition, lightweight engine internals, slide valve thermostat (some variants), and the addition of port fuel injection to aid low load fuel consumption and cold start emissions. The port fuel injection also aids in reducing the potential carbon deposits that can occur in direct injected engines. Currently, the EA888 engine is available in two sizes: 1.8T and 2.0T.

Interestingly, the 1.8T in India for now is used only by Škoda. The only other car to have this setup earlier was the Audi A3 and the Audi A4. With 180 PS coupled with 250 NM of torque, nobody needs an introduction to this engine. Performance is easily the best in class, and beats all cars from a segment up too. Sometimes I think the car has a split personality, the car is docile in nature, when in city traffic pothering behind the ocean cars as nimbly as possible and show her an open stretch of road, and she changes her color like a chameleon eating up anything that comes up her way. This is precisely why I call her the one with Mental Disorder. She can put you in all sorts of trouble when you and she, both are in the mood to go really fast.

For some cars it is said that attaining triple digits is difficult, but for the Octavia, staying below triple digit speeds is difficult.

Globally now the 1.8T is getting replaced by the 2.0T, it remains to be seen if with the Octavia facelift, 1.8T will be on offer or will be replaced by the 1.4T

Transmission

A direct-shift gearbox (German: Direkt-Schalt-Getriebe), commonly abbreviated to DSG, is an electronically controlled dual-clutch multiple-shaft manual gearbox, in a transaxle design – without a conventional clutch pedal, and with full automatic, or semi-manual control. The first actual dual-clutch transmissions derived from Porsche in-house development for 962 racing cars in the 1980s.

In simple terms, a DSG is two separate manual gearboxes (and clutches), contained within one housing, and working as one unit. It was designed by BorgWarner, and is licensed to the Volkswagen Group

DQ200 was launched at the start of 2008 as seven speed DSG Transaxle. It differs from the six-speed DSG, in that it uses two single-plate dry clutches. It has considerably less oil capacity than the six-speed DQ250; this new DQ200 uses just 1.7 litres of transmission fluid. All this has helped the gearbox to upshift much quickly as compared to the DQ250, but the problem with DQ200 is that it gets really hot during operation. Typically in the Asian climatic conditions, it has been the most problematic gearbox for VAG cars.

Also, the 7-speed DQ200 and 6-speed DQ250 gearboxes sometimes suffer from power-loss (gear disengaging) due to short-circuiting of wires caused by a build-up of sulphur in the transmission oil. It would be interesting to note that on November 14, 2013, Volkswagen Group announced a major worldwide recall over problems with the 7-speed DSG gearbox (model: DQ200) which might lead to loss of power, covering some 1.6m cars including those carrying the Audi, Skoda and SEAT badges

Whatever said and done, personally, I don’t think there is any other gearbox technology in the market as advanced or as complex as DSG. Now how does all this complex mechanism help, let me give you my perspective after using Torque Converter unit for almost 5 years in my Honda City

• I could make out that the cogs are getting engaged/disengaged in my City, but here in DSG, its extremely seamless and you just cannot make out that the car has changed gears
• Overtaking needed lot of planning with City, but here in the DSG, a quick dab on the accelerator prepares the gearbox for easy overtaking by downshifting one or sometimes two gears simultaneously.
• Fuel economy from a 1.8 ltr engine which gets pushed every time I get an empty stretch is around 12.5 kmpl to 13.5 kmpl. I used to get similar numbers in Honda City, after being driven in the same fashion. So here I am assuming, the DSG is doing its job well of increasing the fuel efficiency numbers. Had it been a torque convertor unit here, it would have given much lesser economy. Consider this, my colleague owns the New Elantra Petrol SX(O) AT, The 2.0 ltr engine there, with 150 PS of power, on his recent highway run gave him a range of 500 kms before he had to refuel. On the same highway, Octavia with more power on tap showed me 550 kms on the ODO before the empty sign glowed.

Fuel Economy

3500 kms on the ODO in the last three months of ownership, and 70% of that has been in the city bumper to bumper commute and 30% of that has been on pure highway inter-city runs. During the city runs, the car returns around 8 kmpl to 9 kmpl depending on the traffic and on those highways, if driven sedately returns 15 kmpl. However, it is difficult to drive this car sedately, considering the amount of power it has on offer. So mostly on those highway runs, I have ended up getting fuel economy between 12.5 kmpl to 13.5 kmpl. Am I complaining? If I had to complain, then probably I would have gone with the Diesel variant.


Ride Quality & Handling

One of the primary reasons I chose the petrol over the diesel, apart from that stonker of an engine was the superior multi-link suspension. While you may not appreciate how brilliant it is in your regular city drives, but take the car on the highways especially on the twisters, and you start appreciating on how the car rides and handles. It is right up there with the German Trio. Drive the Octavia through fast corners and you realize what a fantastic machine you have bought for yourself. The only downer in this entire package is the stock Goodyear Tire. They just don’t do any justice to the car’s capabilities. I am soon going to upgrade to Continentals Max-Contact MC5.

Another thing that the Octavia manages to do very well as I mentioned earlier too is masking the speeds. It’s just impossible to tell what speeds you are doing unless you glance at the speedometer. It also manages to soak the mild bumps and adulation's on the road with aplomb.

What I would have loved was if the steering gave absolutely precise feedback as to what the tires were up to. Don’t get me wrong here, I am nowhere saying its bad however, it doesn’t feel German enough. This can be attributed to electro mechanical steering wheel partly, partly to the tires and lastly partly to the weight reduction. The MQB platform has made the car almost 100 kg lighter than the outgoing Laura.

Overall I would say, a brilliant car which does what it has set out to do at the first place. Put a wide smile on your face every-time you crank her up.


Thank you for reading through. I will be soon updating the thread with Mods that I am planning to carry out and update with niggles as and when they surface.

Adding some parting photos before a proper photoshoot is done.










Opening Pics Credit: fellow team-bhpian and a friend Pritam Pawar

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[KaranP]

I've been waiting for this since December!
Following you since the Honda City days since that's what I'm rolling right now.
There couldn't have been a more obvious upgrade than this..cheers and congratulations!

[AkhileshY]

Congratulations sawnilrules. I am also a Skoda fan own a Rapid and can understand what it feels when you ride a Skoda. Truly amazing machines they are. Now that the focus on service and customer satisfaction also improved hoping Skoda will only grow in Indian market. Happy motoring.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by KaranP

I've been waiting for this since December!
Following you since the Honda City days since that's what I'm rolling right now.
There couldn't have been a more obvious upgrade than this..cheers and congratulations!

Thank you Karan. Appreciated mate.

Originally Posted by AkhileshY

Congratulations sawnilrules. I am also a Skoda fan own a Rapid and can understand what it feels when you ride a Skoda. Truly amazing machines they are. Now that the focus on service and customer satisfaction also improved hoping Skoda will only grow in Indian market. Happy motoring.

Thank you Akhilesh. Yes, Skoda truly makes cars which are Simply Clever. Only once you start using them, you really start appreciating the small things that the cars offer which makes a bigger impact.

[Zinda]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

The link for that review is here:

Hey sawnilrules, did you miss to mention the link?

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by Zinda

Hey sawnilrules, did you miss to mention the link?

Oops Yes, thank you for pointing out mate. Here you go the link is below

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...omes-home.html

[Zinda]

Thanks for an interesting read, nice review and pics.
Black is a good choice - the car looks splendid in black. Please share your experience on longer drives as well.

[The Brutailer]

Brilliant car. Looks very classy in Black.

You're lucky my friend. This 1.8 TSI is being phased out. And, the new Octavia looks garish in my opinion. Good that you bought this.

Enjoy!

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by Zinda

Thanks for an interesting read, nice review and pics.
Black is a good choice - the car looks splendid in black. Please share your experience on longer drives as well.

Thank you mate, Yes Black indeed looks fab. Definitely I intend to keep adding meaningful posts. Next up are the subtle modifications that I have carried out in the car and also about the last 500 kms return trip that I undertook with her.

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

Brilliant car. Looks very classy in Black.

You're lucky my friend. This 1.8 TSI is being phased out. And, the new Octavia looks garish in my opinion. Good that you bought this.

Enjoy!

Thank you mate, the quad headlamp arrangement is quite a hit or a miss kind of proposition on the new Octavia. Also, the 1.4 ltr engine is definitely a downer. But to pep it up, Skoda is launching the VRS version alongside which will come with a more powerful 2.0T pumping out 220 horses.

Now with 220 horses under the hood, who cares a damn whether your front profile is a hit or a miss. You just floor the throttle and see the world flyby.

[sawnilrules]

Mods carried out

Change of Puddle Lamps to LED & LED License Plate Lights

I had seen the pictures of fellow bhpian Rohan’s car with LED Puddle Lamps, a recent mod that he had carried out on his Octavia. They looked amazing. A quick chat with him and he was sweet enough to quickly share the link to order the bulbs. Immediately ordered them and the parts were delivered in 2 weeks on time.

Thanks @RohanDheman for the help bro.

A big dilemma in front of me was fitting the bulbs, as fitting them required opening up the entire assembly and I really didn't want to risk it by DIY way. Quickly contacted Sachin, the service manager from JMD and he was kind enough to let the technicians in the workshop fix the bulbs for me.

Additionally, I had asked Sachin if we can swap the license plate lights to LED lights as a direct part swap from Superb. He said, it can be retro fit and will require a simple coding on Amidus. So on a free Saturday, I headed to the workshop in get the puddle lamps and license plate lights fixed.
Below are the pictures of WIP and how it looks post the work was done.

The Bulbs


Opening the mirror


Disconnecting the connection and removing the older bulb


Bulb fitted in place and working


Brighten illumination in the night


Yet another view


LED license plate light


Better View


Brushed Aluminum finished strap on grill spoiler of front bumper.

During one of my visits to Pune, I had met up with a bhpian friend Pritam over a cup of tea and one glance to the car from distance, he said only if the car had the front aluminum finished running line on the bumper skirting just like the one in Superb, would have completed the look of the car. Something like this


Image rights with the original source. Used for illustration purposes

Well, in the same breath I took the sip of tea from my cup and nodded in agreement. Thus began the search of figuring out where can I find the strip aka Superb style, to make my Octavia look, err Superb.

That search ended on Skodadop, and I happily ordered the part. The lead time given was 3-4 weeks for delivery. The part just arrived this Friday, and I promptly got it fixed. It was a simple DIY job.

Part arrived well packed


The link for ordering the part, in case someone wants to is below
https://skodadop.com/octavia-iii-/ek...-original.html

Now my Octavia looks something like this



To give a perspective,

Old Look- The shine on the car with mirror like reflection is due to Ceramic Coating done on the car right after the delivery


New Look


For now, I don't intend to do any further modifications in the car. The only other thing that I have ordered for the car is Boot Organizer bag from skodadop. The link for the same is below

https://skodadop.com/citigo/interer-...000061108.html

Allow me some time to update about the Ceramic Coating Process. It requires an elaborate detailing to understand, why it was worth INR 35,000. Just to give a perspective, look at the reflection on the two photos posted below

Look at the reflection of Grand i10 on the car


Look at the reflection of bulbs on the bonnet. Parked along with bhpian Pritam's First Generation Octavia


Cheers guys!!!

[sandeepsarma]

Finally the thread is ready. Great read Nilesh! Well written. The insight into the design and history of Octavia is much appreciated. Congratulations on your car again quite identical machines we have and know exactly what emotions you go through too. Happy miles

[Tanveer_2558]

Nice one there brother! One of my all time favourite car's, If it did not have a skoda badge i would have chosen this over the Jetta back when it was launched! Also I am not a fan of the front chrome man, Think about it over time, This car specially in black colour begs to be in the stealth sporty look mode instead of a chromed up luxury car.

Wish you many miles of happiness, Lets catch up soon!