[sawnilrules]

Gudipadwa for us marks the start of New Year. We usually do a puja of our assets. And how can the cars be left out. The idea of this puja is to celebrate the start of new year and it is an auspicious day for us to buy anything new.

Adding some photos of cars post the puja.

Gudipadwa 2016, Sadly both of them not a part of the garage today


Gudipadwa 2017, how things move in life as you upgrade. Hyundai got replaced by another Hyundai, Sadly, Honda did not have anything to offer.


Fluidic lines of Grand i10, vs clean lines of Octavia from the front


Same fluidic design philosophy of Grand i10, vs crystalline philosophy of Octavia from the rear


Octavia with my kiddo playing (he loves the car)


2 black beauties in one parking Honda CBR250R ABS and Octavia


Also, I had ordered Phone come Key holder from Skodadop, which got delivered on Friday. The quality is good if not top notch for the price. It can easily hold phones up-to 7 inch size. It has an additional convenience of holding the key rather than just placing it somewhere in the car.

Product delivered


Perspective of the space for keeping the phone with iPhone 6 in place


how it fits in the car with the key in place


As team bhpians, our love for our cars is pretty eminent. There have been tons of instances where my wifey must have asked whom would you choose if given an option to choose between, Me and the Octavia. I look at this question from this angle, you are Parthiv Patel, at the batting end and Shoaib Akthar at the bowling end is gonna throw a next bouncer at you. You can't take it, neither can you duck it... All that you can do is, think that this one goes for wide. Err so I smartly try and avoid the question by changing the topic whenever it comes, as one bhpian friend of mine tried answering that and he had to spent that night in the car apparently.

But I'm glad to say that my 2.5 year old kiddo is starting to love cars at such young age. And he surprised me the other night, when I asked him do you love the Octavia, and his response for that question was this.

[sawnilrules]

Ok guys,

Finally, I could finish the write up for the Ceramic Coat Process. I have tried to be as detailed as possible and taking tips from the detailer wherever required to ensure that I was on the right track while putting this up.

What it entails is an 8 step detailing process which starts from

1. Degreasing
2. Interior Cleaning
3. Iron-contamination
4. Claying
5. Rubbing- first step compounding
6. Finishing- Second step compounding
7. IPA wipe down
8. Ceramic Coating

This whole process can take 3-4 days depending on condition, size and brand of car.

Step 1: Degreasing

This is a process which basically involves aggravating the stubborn dirt using degreasing chemicals which is stuck to parts of the car which is hard to reach or inaccessible and does not go away in regular washing. For E.g., cleaning of monograms, dirt stuck under the window rubber, corners of windscreen, etc.

Step 2: Interior cleaning

Interiors of the car are deep cleaned using 3M Germkleen Foam. The interiors are scrub cleaned using this foam and the parts included is seats, roof, dashboard, pillars, armrest, etc. every nook and corner of the interior is cleaned. Once the cleaning is done, GYEON LEATHER COAT is applied for leather seats. GYEON Q2 LEATHERCOAT is a user-friendly leather protectant and conditioner; it seals modern leather upholstery against the usual raft of contaminants that family life throws at it, and helps to keep it feeling soft and supple as the weeks and months go by. It does this by laying down a low key (think slightly satin-look), highly hydrophobic barrier layer that repels liquids and soiling, and which wipes clean easily when the need arises. It also filters out harmful UV rays from the sun, thus helping to keep everything looking and feeling as it should.

Step 3: Iron Decontamination

For this process GYEON Q2M IRON was used which is an intensive cleaner designed to dissolve brake dust and iron-rich fallout upon contact. Fallout bonds to exterior automotive surfaces both physically (by charge attraction) and chemically (by electrolysis), and typically contains ferrous compounds and particulates derived from industrial and commercial activities. As such contaminants gradually accumulate on bodywork, surface roughness gradually increases to the point where it can be detected by touch, whilst the reflectivity of the finish and the ability of the paint to sheet water properly gradually diminishes. Furthermore, as such contaminants slowly oxidize and corrode; caustic compounds may leach out and stain underlying surfaces. The periodic removal of such contaminants is therefore an important part of detailing, and should be performed once or twice a year.

By working chemically rather than physically, GYEON Q2M IRON immediately reacts with ferrous compounds and sintered iron particulates and reduces them to a water soluble complex which can then be easily rinsed away. This process can be seen to be working with the naked eye, as the initially transparent solution gradually turns purple as it progressively acquires freshly dissolved iron species. Although GYEON Q2M IRON is pH balanced, it is a professional strength product and should therefore be used with care

This is a process where the alloy wheels and disc and calipers are cleaned with a Product which gets rid of brake dust.

Step 4: Claying

Before the buffing machine is used on the paint, to get rid of swirl marks and scratches, it is imperative that the surface is smooth, a lot of detailer use sanding paper of 1500-2000 grit which is a STRICT NO-NO. Some detailers use this to save time as this is a fast process but it damages your clear coat by reducing it by a few microns every time you use a sanding paper. Claying effectively removes just the bonded contamination without causing any damage to the clear coat. This process takes more time.

The layer of paint is decontaminated. The reason of doing this is that there are lots of miniscule pores in the layer of paint which may be dirty, which cannot be seen to the naked eye. This process takes roughly 1 hr. Every panel is clayed and it is cleaned. The benefits of claying are

• Over sprayed paint correction
• Tar, Cement Spot removal
• Removes all type of bonded contamination
• Smoothens the surface

Once the claying is done, next step is rubbing

Step 5: Rubbing (first step compounding)

This is a very crucial step. Let’s face it, every car making company is different and paint process is different. For e.g., German car makers have a very hard paint compared to Japanese car makers, Indian car makers or American car makers. This basically means that it is harder to put a scratch on German paints and it is hard to remove the scratch on German paints. Paint correction on certain cars like VW or BMW or Mercedes, etc. takes a lot of time and patience and most rubbing compounds do not show good results on these cars, hence Menzerna from Germany is used which works perfectly on the European cars.

This rubbing compound is used with a rotary machine using wool pad which is followed by 2 rounds of polishing using Dual Action machine to achieve that striking finishing.

The next step after this is washing using Ph neutral car wash shampoo from INSTASHINE and the cloth used for washing is microfiber only.

Step 6: Finishing (second step compounding)

This process is done after the car is washed thoroughly.

The product used for Finishing is SF-4000 (Menzerna, Germany). It’s a reputed German product mostly used for detailing & it approved my all high end OEM manufacturers. The process to apply this is with a dual action polisher. The reason of doing this is, the rotary machine has a wool-pad, & it has a tendency of creating marks called as merry-marring. So the dual action polishing will remove the merry-marring and give a mirror finish.

Step 7: IPA wipe down

IPA is a short from for Isopropyl Alcohol, Generally used at hospitals and by doctors. This is the process just before applying the final coating. All the above mentioned compounds have oils in it, if an IPA wipe down is not done, the oil would be stuck between the coating and the paint and hence the coating would not bond properly with the paint due to the obstacle. GYEON PREP (imported from South Korea) was used for this process.

Once this is done, the car is finally ready for coating.

Step 8: Ceramic coating

So we have finally reached the last stage. Diamond coat which is imported from Japan and has a durability of upto 5 years was used for the coating. This premium product comes in small air tight bottles of 50ML each. It comes in liquid form and once it is applied and comes in contact with paint and air, it crystallizes and makes a hard layer of glass on top of the paint. This application needs to be done in a completely dust free area and hence we put our shutters down and apply this coating. It has to be done by professionals, panel by panel, and needs trained hands.

Ceramic coating was applied to all painted parts as well as fiber parts and Headlight / Tail Lights.

Application process is as below

• Apply with the applicator
• Let it haze 2-3 mins (dry)
• Use a dry microfiber cloth to buff it

For best results, once coating has been applied, it needs an immediate curing period of about 10 hours in which the car is kept in a dust free environment overnight and I had kept the car in a closed environment for 24 hrs.

What are the benefits that I accrued after getting the ceramic coat done

• First things first, you need to fire your guy who washes your cars. Yups, you read it right. Because the water that they use and the cloth that they use to wipe the car, trust me, your INR 30,000 is going to go down the drain.
  
• Wiping the car is a 15 minutes job. Just two steps are needed to clean the car. Step one swipe with Jopasu duster and step two swipe with a microfiber cloth, and the car is done. She’s clean and spanking new.
  
• Ceramic coat is a layer on the car paint, and it gives glossy effect to the car, hence dust and water don’t really settle on the car.
  
• Any scratches, unless it’s a deep scratch and the paint has eroded are superficial, and can be corrected during the course of time.
  
• Every six months I send the car for correction and the car come back with a shine which is better than the showroom shine.

Efforts in terms of days: 04
Monetary Efforts: INR 30,000

As I had given the car immediately after the delivery, I do not have many pictures pre the coating.

Now let the pictures do some talking.

Pre Coating Picture



Another Close-up shot


Reflection on the bonnet of the nearby building


Driver Side Door Panels


Reflection on the boot spoiler


Can you see the reflection of another European beauty?


Front 3/4th Quarter,


A Close-up look


Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting another beauty, that's Deepankar's aka Dippy's Tsi (His car also has the same coating)


2 mental cars, together


Yet another shot


Basking in the sun...


Thanks Dippy, for letting me post the pictures of your car. I truly love that color your GT Tsi comes in. Soon mate, soon will have that car in my garage too.

If you have any queries, I would be glad to answer those guys. Thank you for reading through.

[sawnilrules]

90% of the time the Octavia gets used in the city conditions, so it is imperative to also see how the car is to use in city conditions. I am going to restrict my views from the perspective of how it is to drive in the maddening traffic of Mumbai where you have unruly rickshaw drivers and clueless bikers who just zip past you without any regards for your car or their safety.

To be very honest, I try and avoid taking the car out to office as my daily drive considering the amount of traffic on the road, not that fuel economy bothers me, but getting a scratch or a dent for no fault of your worries me. However, whenever I have taken my car out for daily office runs or just late night drives within the city, following have been my observations

• First thing that comes to your mind is the sheer amount of space this car has. Both the driver and co-driver seat is supremely comfortable place to be in. Whether it’s the leather or the size of the seat or the suppleness of the cushioning on the seat, everything works perfectly fine to help you relax.
  
• The start-stop button is placed where the key hole is in non KEYSS cars; initially I found it cumbersome, but now I am kind of used to it. Yes indeed it’s a cost saving measure undertaken by Skoda, but come to think of it, if you have kids in the car who love to fiddle with buttons, you don’t want them to fiddle with a start-stop button for sure.
  
• While the right hand is busy holding the steering wheel most of the times, the arm rest comes handy to rest the left hand. The arm rest too can be positioned basis your liking as it is 4 way adjustable. This helps on those long journeys, which are shorter kms wise, but longer time consumption wise.
• You have to be aware that there are 180 odd horses at your command at all times, so your throttle inputs in traffic have to altered, and they have to be gentle. Just to close that gap if you end up stomping on the accelerator and then brake hard, chances are that either you have banged the car in front of you, or have got rear ended by the car at behind.
  
• DSG is quick to upshift, but I find it confused while downshifting. Especially in start stop traffic, the gearbox tends to go back to D1, even if it’s not required. Most of the times, D2 should have been the chosen gear.
• Navigating this car in tight traffic is definitely a pain. You just can’t blindly cut lanes, lane maneuver excises have to be planned, and hence I try and stick in one lane whenever I am out.
  
• Steering is super light at low speeds and aids while driving in traffic. You just don’t feel tired, but at the same time, the steering does feel lifeless at times. But in city traffic conditions, it doesn’t matter much.
  
• The suspension soaks up the bumps and adulations on the road with a muted thud and doesn’t let the car feel unsettled. However, I tend to go slowly even on the smallest of bumps to avoid any suspension issues at the later stage of life.
  
• One of these days I had a friend drive the car and I had an opportunity to travel in the car in the back seat for almost 40 odd kms, and must say, I was impressed with the leg room the car offers at the rear. However, the transmission tunnel restricts your leg movement a bit and if you are bulky in size, may find that a bit uncomfortable.
  
• I would have loved if the car came with reclining seats, ala Corolla style. But then as they say, no car is ever perfect. Heck, people are able to find faults in S Class too.
  
• Lastly, the turning radius for the car this length is surprisingly tight, so taking those U turns at the signal or in the by lanes are no problem at-all

Few other things about the car that I noticed as I live with it

City drives are the one where you really sit down and take a note of things this car has to offer, as no wonder I take 2 hours just to cross 20 kms one way. Few observations about the car in general

• The audio system with 8 speaker system is simply fabulous. Whoever has sat in the car, has spoken well about it. Lot of them have gone to say on record that the sound system sounded better than their personal HT. And I agree with them. Though the music system comes with basic sound settings and no broad equalizer settings, but if the phone is paired, you can play around with the equalizer settings in the phone to get the best out of the speakers. What I have also noted is that when the same song is played in Apple Car Play mode, sounds far better than when played in Bluetooth Mode. (Will explain the audio system in details as it doubles up as the car computer too)
  
• There are different temperature profile settings for the ACC. I have kept the profile to medium through the settings. So the ACC may not chill you down to the bone, even with 22 degrees, the car automatically maintains a temperature which is comfortable to live with. It doesn’t blast you down. I usually prefer to keep the ACC in full auto mode with both the temperatures set at varying between 22 or 24. Off late I am experiencing some foul smell being emitted at the start of the car, I am yet to figure out what could be the cause of it.
• I have said this earlier also, the MID is truly magnanimous. The amount of data it throws is huge. I will probably cover it through a pictorial to understand bit better. With every version change, Skoda has smartly added few things here and there in the MID which are not present in the earlier versions. For example, the MID now constantly shows which direction the car is moving, owing to its navigation feature.
• Talking about the navigation, the MapMyIndia maps are mostly useless. They are able to track/map only the prominent locations in and around Mumbai. For example, if I try to find Laxmi Towers in BKC Mumbai, it is not able to locate, however if I enter One BKC, the map is able to find the route. Secondly, the MID shows expected time of arrival basis the info given by the Maps, but that is never accurate. However, the good part to it is, if you are able to recollect a prominent place at a nearby place where you are headed, the map takes you through the shortest possible route. The navigation arrows come in MID right in front of your eyes and you need not take your eyes off the road. There is an acoustics feedback to let you know of any approaching turn that you need to take. Neat I would say. However, I am yet to test the accuracy of the maps during intercity travel should be able to throw some light once I use it then.
• There is this interesting feature in the settings under mirrors, where you can program the mirror settings with the seat memory settings basis the key. I am yet to use it, I am assuming what it does is that it creates 2 driver profiles and if both the drivers have different mirror and seat settings, it detects which key is used and therefore auto adjusts the seat and the mirrors to the key used. If this is how it works, smart I would say.
• To open the hood lever, I have to open the driver door, otherwise the lever doesn’t operate. This is kind of irritating as at hotel security checks where they need to check under the hood, every time I have to open the door and then pull the lever for the hood to pop up. Cool thing is, the MID shows that the hood is open and whether secured or not by the security team while closing.
• Talking about the hood, the hood is quite heavy and lifting it with one hand is a task. I am surprised that Skoda didn’t provide suspension struts to lift the hood, and chose to give regular manual mechanism. A must have feature definitely in a 26 lac car, which is also heavy. If you are lazy to go to gym and yet want to get fit, probably you can look at lifting and closing the hood 5 times a day.
• Beige is definitely difficult to manage; I have already sent the car once for interior detailing within my 4 months of ownership. You can imagine how dirt magnate the car would be.
• MID has an option of Audio & Phone. If the phone is connected via Apple Car Play, the MID only shows Apple Car Play in display when you scroll through either of this option. However, if the phone is connected via Bluetooth, then in Audio option, the display shows the name of the song being played and what mode is being chosen, viz shuffle mode on/off, repeat mode on/off, repeat one song on/off. And in Phone option, entire call list opens up in the display and you can easily scroll through it and make a call using the buttons on the steering wheel. Alternatively, when Apple car play is used, pressing the voice button on the steering wheel activates Apple Siri, which doesn’t work in Bluetooth mode.
  
• Top up Wiper Washer fluid warning comes post the tank is completely empty. I would have loved if it gave a precursory warning before going completely empty. Post its empty, even I can figure out that the tank is empty. Positive side to it, probably you will not end up swiping the wipers having known that the water tank is empty.
• Talking about windshield wiper tank, there is a filter installed inside the tank, to ensure dirt does not filter through the water that you are pouring, simply clever I would say. Also in auto mode, the bi-xenon washer sprays a jet on the headlights only if the lights are on along with spraying water on the windshield.

I am sure, even now I have not covered various aspects of the car, will update as and when I experience them.

A detailed photo shoot is planned along with bhpian Tanveer’s new ride. Please bear with me till that time.

Hope you enjoy reading and would be glad to answer if there is anything in specific you want to know about the updated 2017 car.

[pickdj]

Your detailed posts make my day. Thanks for posting such minute observations about the way the car behaves in traffic. Love the touch about the arm rest. For some reason, I am really picky about the position of my left hand and this helps a lot.
As of now I am tracking two cars: The 2017 Octy and the Jeep Compass. I am purposely not making up my mind before I see both of them first hand after launch. However, the Compass will have to be really good to overtake the Octy love I have .
Any thoughts/advice would be welcome.
Keep driving!
DJ

[anandpadhye]

Navigation direction on MID along with acoustic prompts is awesome!

Hood opening liver blocked by the driver side door is bad...Laura does not have this problem, Polo does. Every time I switch from Laura to Polo, this hits me hard when I reach my office parking!

2 hours for 20km! What's the fuel efficiency on these office drives (just for my knowledge, even though you are not bothered with it). I see that Polo TSi is roughly 20% more efficient than Laura TSi on my regular office commute (which is also ~20km incidentally).

Also, I saw in some pictures/reviews that the accelerator pedal is not floor mounted in the Octavia -3. I love the floor mounted pedal in the Laura, I wonder why they drop such cool things from subsequent generations!

[sandeepsarma]

Awesome updates Nilesh. Love the details on the Ceramic coating bit. Makes it easy for everyone to understand how much in depth the treatment is. I personally am thinking of getting it done on my Octy as well. Thanks for that. Looking forward to more updates from you

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by pickdj

Your detailed posts make my day. Thanks for posting such minute observations about the way the car behaves in traffic. Love the touch about the arm rest. For some reason, I am really picky about the position of my left hand and this helps a lot.

thank you dj for reading through and liking the posts. Somehow even for me, since we are a family of driving only automatics, placement of left hand becomes far more important. Infact even in my Grand i10, I have got a arm rest retro-fit through the dealer as FOC. Though not of great quality, but serves the purpose well. So here in the Octavia I was delighted to see that the arm-rest was four way adjustable, just as the steering wheel, for rake and reach.

Originally Posted by pickdj

As of now I am tracking two cars: The 2017 Octy and the Jeep Compass. I am purposely not making up my mind before I see both of them first hand after launch. However, the Compass will have to be really good to overtake the Octy love I have .
Any thoughts/advice would be welcome.
Keep driving!
DJ

Well, it really boils down to what your requirements are. What a sedan is capable of doing, a SUV won't be able to deliver and what a SUV can do, a sedan can't do. So basically its choosing between the head and the heart many a times when this kind of decision comes in. However to help you decide, here's a video review of Superb vs Endeavour by Arun Shenoy from CarDekho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llVXzqMkcZE

It should just give you a perspective while making a business decision.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hood opening liver blocked by the driver side door is bad...Laura does not have this problem, Polo does. Every time I switch from Laura to Polo, this hits me hard when I reach my office parking!

Tell me about it Anand, it's an absolute pain. Many a times the security guard keeps pondering, why the hell is this guy getting out of the car

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

2 hours for 20km! What's the fuel efficiency on these office drives (just for my knowledge, even though you are not bothered with it). I see that Polo TSi is roughly 20% more efficient than Laura TSi on my regular office commute (which is also ~20km incidentally).

When driving absolutely in traffic, on full tank with tank full to tank full method, the maximum range that I am able to derive from the car is around 320 km. Now with a 50 ltr tank and assuming approximately 5 ltrs in reserve, that means with 45 ltr of fuel and 320 km on the ODO, this translates roughly around 7.2 kmpl. And the MID roughly shows similar figures.

However, if the drive consists of one side traffic free drive and other side bumper to bumper ride, then the range extends to 410 km, which with similar maths works to 9.1 kmpl. Would say decent enough considering the amount of traffic that I encounter.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Also, I saw in some pictures/reviews that the accelerator pedal is not floor mounted in the Octavia -3. I love the floor mounted pedal in the Laura, I wonder why they drop such cool things from subsequent generations!

Europeans you see, you never know why they add some features and why they drop some really useful features

Originally Posted by sandeepsarma

Awesome updates Nilesh. Love the details on the Ceramic coating bit. Makes it easy for everyone to understand how much in depth the treatment is. I personally am thinking of getting it done on my Octy as well. Thanks for that. Looking forward to more updates from you

Thank you Sandeep. All the 5 days of efforts were finally worth it. Sometimes it's not about the money you pay, but also about the outcome that you get. And if the results are good, money looks well spent.

[sawnilrules]

6000 kms & 6 months

4th June 2017, the car completed 6 months with me and was at roughly 5400 km on the ODO then. Apart from the last highway drive, I haven’t really taken the car out of Mumbai and have been regularly using it for my office runs. As mentioned earlier somewhere, my office run is approximately 24 km one way and requires me to be in bumper to bumper traffic while heading back home. Meanwhile, as of today I am at 5919 kms on the ODO

A perspective of how these 6 months have been as a user.

• Fuel Range has settled to somewhere around 320-350 km depending on the traffic that I encounter. How much ever worst the situation gets, it has not gone below 320. I have been using regular fuel as opposed to the premium fuels.
  
• Once you get used to the length of the car, it is not that difficult to zip around in traffic, of course it’s no Wagon R with which you can simply zip in or zip out basis your whims and fancies.
  
• DSG, though quick to upshift, it’s a bit lethargic while down-shifting. So sometimes, sudden closing of those gaps becomes difficult as the surge of power that you expect right now, takes some time or by the time it comes, it’s of no use. However, once you get used to DSG, you don't realize that the car is freaking quick and you tend to take this as a norm. When you suddenly switch over to any other car is only when you realize that all this time you were actually driving a tamed monster.
  
• Auto Lights come on very early, even if they are kept at late switch-on through system settings.
  
• Intensity of lights are lesser to my liking, I am planning to upgrade the bulbs soon to Osram or Phillips Ultra Vision.
  
• Switching between other modes of music when Apple Car Play is on is not possible. I have to disconnect the phone and then switch over to radio or play music through USB/SD Card. Becomes challenging when I want to charge the iPhone and hear FM simultaneously, can’t do. Or I want to charge the iPhone but play music through my colleagues phone, can’t do.
  
• The wood finished console around the gear lever is prone to scratches. Be conscious that you don’t keep any keys around there.
  
• Leg room behind is in acres, width too is good, but that width is of no use due to transmission tunnel in between which spoils the show. Just can’t sit 3 behind comfortably.
  
• The car absolutely cocoons you well from outside noise, it’s only when you roll down the windows that you realize that how silent the cabin has been.
  
• Wipers operate smoothly as long as the water is flowing, however they start shuddering on that last swipe. Need to figure out where the issue is.
  
• The response time for the wipers to react during rains can be selected in auto wiper mode. Good thing to have must say, but the flip side is, the other night when I parked the car in basement parking with the response time set to highest, the wipers just refused to stop wiping. Now wondering whether that was one of instance or its some fault.
  
• A great audio system is a boon in maddening traffic, and thankfully, the Octavia comes with one. I absolutely don’t think there is any need to upgrade the setup. It is too good as is.
  
• The petrol engine though refined is not in the leagues of Japanese refinement of petrol’s. You can still hear the humming sound and you know that there’s a monster doing a duty there.
  
• I don’t know whether it is true with only petrol’s, but the bonnet of the car gets really hot, not able to attribute any reason to it. Will have to check whether the same is the case with diesel cars too.

Things that I think should have been a standard part of the car, or if not standard at-least optional

• Pre filled gas struts to open the bonnet, common Skoda you can't give me a 30 lac car and not have this feature.
• Auto Opening & Closing of boot, of-course than the Superb looses on it's novelty, but then again its a good to have feature
• A proper front camera for those AFS to function in much more better way rather than keeping those only sensor based. (this could have been optional extra at-least for all those tech freak customers)

Overall six months have been good with no teething issues as such; I hope that the car remains as good as it is now through its entire life cycle. A 6 month Ceramic Coat touch-up is due now, will be handing over the car either over this weekend or next weekend depending on how weekends are.

[sawnilrules]

Jawhar Road Trip 25th & 26th June 2017

As a long weekend was approaching, I was etching to make some weekend plans. I was sure that due to extended weekend, most of the regular resorts would be either full or over-priced. So I decided to try an off-beat location. While scouting through Google for various locations, came across this village called Jawhar, which is a hill station in Palghar and approximately 135 kms from Mumbai. Situated in the ranges of the Western Ghats, Jawhar is known for its picturesque setting.

Being closer to Mumbai was one of the reason I chose to explore it. While going through niva-link, I came across sunset point resort. Glanced through their website, found them decent and went ahead and booked villas with them. The entire world was traveling on Sat-Sun; I chose to drive on Sun-Mon. The details of their resort is here in this link

http://www.sunsetresortindia.com

We decided to leave at around 7:30 in the morning, so that we could reach the resort around 10:30. The plan was to start at 7:30, take a break at Hotel Shree Dutta at Haloli (on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway) which was roughly 60 kms away and then proceed to the resort.
I set an alarm of 6 for the morning, at 6 as the alarm rings, we wake up, glance outside the window only to see that it was pouring. Nevertheless with bags packed, left just 30 minutes behind the schedule. Though the car was on 3/4th tank decided to fill her up. It was pouring almost for the entire journey. The route we followed was this.



More than 70% of the road is the national highway which leads all the way till Ahmedabad. At Kosa, near Charoti junction, you take a right which then straight goes to Jawahar. This is a route which is extremely scenic, with some nice twisties to ensure you enjoy the multi-link suspension of the car. The usual route that people take is via Manor, however, I was suggested this Kosa route by a fellow bhpian, Nishant and I decided to take this route. Did some customary photo shoot on the scenic mountain and then took another final sutta break before reaching the resort at around 11:15.

How was the Octavia to drive?

Well with 4 people on board and the boot loaded with luggage, the car felt absolutely grounded. I am in absolute love with the calm and composed nature of the car. Even with 4 people and on the ghat sections, the car didn’t feel wanting for power. The DSG coupled always found the right gear at the right time. Many times just to check the capability of the car, I used to slow down while going uphill and then accelerate. Not once did the car feel losing out of breath. Infact I was surprised to see how seamlessly no matter on what gradient, the car would quickly reach triple digit speeds.

The only irritating thing was the inability of MMI maps to locate Jawhar as a spot. I was not expecting this. What’s the point in having satellite navigation in the car, if when the need be, the module is not able to detect places.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed driving her on the ever fantastic Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and then the inroads which led to Jawhar.

The Resort: Sun Set Point Resort

Well, the resort stays up to its name of being Sun Set Point Resort, as just with the boundary of the resort, there is a sunset point. The view from the sun set point as usual is breathtakingly beautiful. Plus it had rained, so you can imagine the lush greenery around. Coming back to our resort experience. I have broken down the review in three parts

Stay/Cottage

Well, the cottages by its standards are decent enough; do not expect luxury, its economy living with decent amenities. They had various sizes of cottages depending on the number of people.

Service/Amenities

The only amenity we saw there was a swimming pool and an amateur volley ball court. There was a multi-purpose hall too, but we didn’t really explore what all was on offer there. The service provided was prompt and the staff was overall wearing smile on their face. Whatever we asked for was provided pretty quickly

Food

Food was the most impressive part of the stay. Only one word comes to my mind “Yummy”. Though in buffet the options available were limited, but whatever was available tasted absolutely yum.

As it was raining, we decided to stay back in the resort and just chill around, however for enthusiast around; Jawhar has following tourist attractions that can be visited.

• Jaivilas Palace
• Sunset Point
• Dabosha Waterfall
• Khad-Khad Dam

Overall damage to the pocket

Fuel: INR 1875 considering the car came back in half tank; I am assuming it gulped 25 ltrs of fuel (280 km both ways)
Stay: INR 5000 per couple, includes all meals
Tolls: roughly 300+
Total Damage: INR 7175

Now let the pictures do some talking.


The car washed before the trip


Breakfast at Shree Dutta Snacks, Lip smaking vada-pavs, misal and kanda bhajis.


The scenic interior route post right from Kosa


That's me posing with the car in the ghat section


So my friend decided to join in for posing with the car


Beautifully captured the reflection


During the sutta break, Octi loves to pose too


Some off road parking right besides the cottage that was allotted to us


Amazing view from the sun set point


Yet another view from the same point


Monster resting on the way back to Mumbai during lunch break


Angry DRL- A close up shot


Below is the short video of the drive on the interior roads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRX6...ature=youtu.be

[sawnilrules]

6 months and Ceramic Maintenance Coat

Hey all,

The ceramic coat that I had done post the delivery of the car came with 6 monthly maintenance package. This Saturday I handed over the car at PMP for the maintenance coat. The process this time though not as detailed as the way it was in the beginning, however the results are equally good. During maintenance, only one coat is applied, as two coats are not required. Overall time taken is 4 hours. However I chose to keep the car overnight with him under closed parking and let the coat settle in.

Posting the pictures and a video of the car post the fresh coat.

Car handed over, I don't really wash her everyday. There was a ML & Jaguar XJR for company


Waiting for her turn to get washed


Jet Spray Washing


Car wiped


Next day, the car is back to factory finish


Look Maa, that gloss can give few a run for their money


Video to capture the mirror effect

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImz...ature=youtu.be

The car literally has come back to factory finish. All the smaller scratches on the car have vanished. It always feels nice to drive a car which feels new even after few months of ownership.

Do let me know if you have any specific queries, would be happy to assist.

[AkMar]

Your car looks great, sawnil! It seems the youtube link is broken, kindly rectify it

[pickdj]

Would you recommend getting the treatment done a few months after the new car has been delivered? The car will come with a factory finish so maybe its a good idea to enjoy it for some time. What's your suggestion?
Also, do you need to wash or wipe the car with a wet towel after the treatment? I have the car wash guy who wipes it every day. Will it be required?

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Your car looks great, sawnil! It seems the Youtube link is broken, kindly rectify it

Thank you mate, meanwhile check now for the link, at my end the link is playing.

Originally Posted by pickdj

Would you recommend getting the treatment done a few months after the new car has been delivered? The car will come with a factory finish so maybe its a good idea to enjoy it for some time. What's your suggestion?

I got it done immediately, there is no official timeline to it, however, if the car develops deep scratches in the interim, ceramic may not be able to rectify it, unless one layer of paint is scrubbed.

Originally Posted by pickdj

Also, do you need to wash or wipe the car with a wet towel after the treatment? I have the car wash guy who wipes it every day. Will it be required?

Well, first thing that you got to do after getting ceramic done is fire your car washer. As the cloth that they use will end up eroding the ceramic. Washing the car is technically not needed post ceramic. All you need is one Jopasu duster and micro-fiber cloth. One swipe of the duster and wipe post with the cloth is all you need to get the car back to shine. Probably once a month you can take her for a wash.

Only monsoons it's going to be a pain, so for monsoons what I do is, every Saturday or Sunday as time permits, wash the car. Rest 5 days, I don't even bother of cleaning her.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by 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.

I am a little confused with that timeline. I though the Skoda Lura was recently replaced by the new Skoda Octavia, at least in India? It is definitely not 5 years old.

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

6000 kms & 6 months
[*] The petrol engine though refined is not in the leagues of Japanese refinement of petrol’s. You can still hear the humming sound and you know that there’s a monster doing a duty there.

I didn't expect to hear that about a 25L car. Could you please elaborate as one of the reasons I am selling my diesel car and looking at VAG petrols is for a quite cabin.

[rageshgr]

Hi Nilesh!

Enjoyed reading your thread. I could re-live your excitement as I read through the ownership! Congrats on the only car worth buying in the 20 lac bracket from an enthusiast perspective.

Having a GT TSI from 2015, I have already decided that nothing less than the Octy 1.8 TSI will be a worthy upgrade. I really hope they don't retire this explosive mill till I save-up

Have you got any mod plans?

---

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I didn't expect to hear that about a 25L car. Could you please elaborate as one of the reasons I am selling my diesel car and looking at VAG petrols is for a quite cabin.

Sorry to jump the gun and will let Nilesh answer in particular to the 1.8 TSI. But from my experience with the 1.2 TSI, VAG engines are more vocal and mechanical sounding than the Japanese and Korean engines which sound very subtle. Fret not, the sound insulation is superb and the cabin is really quiet. But the engine communicates to you and it is not an annoying sound. And the engine is really quiet below 2000 rpm. But once you give a little bit of throttle, it comes alive and sings to you.