[mrpitt]

Likes:

- Engine has got explosive power
- Gearbox is super smooth and quick
- Exterior looks and interior feel
- Ride quality is great
- Great brake feel, especially at high speeds

Dislikes:

- Almost zero feedback from the steering wheel
- Quality of some plastics is not up to par on a car costing this much
- Buggy Bluetooth connectivity
- Reverse camera could be better

Buying Decision:

I decided to replace my 2011 Honda Accord as its size had started becoming a problem. I wanted a car that was smaller and more efficient while at the same time maintaining the performance and interior quality of the Accord if not bettering it. Keeping my budget in mind, the only car seemed to be the Honda City 1.5 i-Vtec. However, neither my wife nor I were very happy with the interiors. I decided that since this was going to be a long term ‘investment’ I should probably look at a segment above. This was around the time when Skoda was clearing their Octavia stock pan India before the launch of the facelift. I decided to go look at the available options at Mahavir Skoda however they only had diesels available, and I was looking for the 1.8 petrol as I was blown away by it during my test drive. I decided to wait a little bit till GST came in to force to decide. With GST benefit the new facelifted Octavia 1.8 TSI Style Plus came up to slightly cheaper than the older Diesels that Mahavir was selling. The Jeep Compass was considered briefly, however after a test drive the quality of the interiors just did not cut it for me at that price point. Plus the wait times were simply too long. I did not consider the Elantra or the Corolla as the Octavia seemed to be superior for me in almost every way except for Service costs, and this was a chance I was willing to take.

Style Plus vs L&K:

The day after I booked the Style Plus model, I received a call stating that Skoda have stopped production of this model as they were launching L&K with deliveries starting only in October. I was adamant on getting a Silver car, and they said they had no stock of a petrol Octavia in Style Plus in Silver pan India. Therefore, my only option was to wait for the L&K variant to be launched. The booking amount cheque had thankfully not been encashed and was returned to me. This was around the last week of July. Around the 8th of August, once again I received a call confirming that the L&K would be replacing the Style Plus (it still completely perplexes me as to why Skoda would do this not even a month into the Octavia’s launch) with the differences being Canton music system, perforated leather seats and various L&K badges. It was also around this time that the GST council had proposed a 10% increase in the Excise duty (from 15%-25% for luxury cars) which meant that the Octavia’s price would go up by approximately 1.5-2 lakhs when it was implemented. I contacted Mahavir Skoda once again to see if they have any vehicles in stock of the Style Plus petrol, this time regardless of colour. I was given two choices, a White one in Hyderabad itself or a Quartz Grey one in Vizag. Since I really dislike the colour white when it comes to cars, I decided to go ahead with the Quartz Grey one in Vishakapatnam and drive it down myself from there to Hyderabad. This trip gave me a great opportunity to test out the vehicle as it was a 675 kms drive on mostly good roads.

Engine and Transmission:

There is no other way to say this, the car’s engine is simply explosive when it comes to performance. With a 0-100 time of 8 secs (Autocar sourced) it feels absolutely fabulous to drive. Of course, being turbo charged, there is a little lag below 2000 rpm, but the gearbox does such a good job of masking it that you barely notice. Post that it really shoves you to the back of your seat till about 6000 rpm where the torque seems to taper off. And by then you are obviously doing silly speeds. What really took me by surprise was how well the car masks its speed. I didn’t realise I was doing 80 kph during my TD on a fairly busy stretch and had to slow down quite suddenly (great breaking is also part of the package). It’s a combination of both the amount of torque and the silky smoothness of the gearbox that makes the car achieve this. In sports mode, the gearbox hits the redline for every shift, and downshifts, while rev-matching, equally vigorously. Left in regular drive mode, of course it upshifts as quickly as possible to get the best mileage, but this isn’t really a bad thing as it makes for very smooth sailing at low speeds and in the city. In these first 1500 odd Kms that I have driven, I've used the paddle shifts on only 3 or 4 occasions. It upshifts and downshifts fairly quickly, however if in sports mode, one really doesn't need to use these paddles as the transmission automatically keeps you within the engines power band at all times. On the highway overtaking anything was just a matter of pressing the accelerator a little more. I mostly stuck to keeping the revs below 4000 rpm, mostly being the keyword there ��. I did do a couple of short bursts in sports mode which was a lot of fun. When you have an engine gearbox combination this good, it’s very very difficult to keep a check on yourself. The reliability of this ‘box is yet to be seen, however touch wood in our many years of owning Skoda’s we have not had any problems.

No hydraulic struts to hold up the bonnet that hides the bombshell underneath.



Ride Comfort, Handling and Dynamics:

One of the first things I did on taking delivery of the car in Vizag itself, was to switch the stock Good Year Eagle NCT5s to Michelin Primacy 3STs in the same size. I did not have a very good experience with the Good Years on my Superb where we faced various issues of uneven wear and excessive road noise. A new Michelin was Rs. 8600 and I was given Rs. 7000 per Good Year so I was quite happy paying the difference of Rs. 1600 per tyre. I cannot compare any ride comfort, road noise or handling differences between the two as I hardly drove on the stock tyres. The recommended psi for each tyre is surprisingly high at 33psi. At low speeds, the ride is ever so slightly harsh, however I know Skoda has softened up the suspension set up purely for this reason alone. As you build up speed the ride comfort only gets better, and thankfully even at high speeds there is minimal vertical movement. Another good thing is that the suspension works quietly. When it comes to handling, the Octavia does roll and pitch a bit in the bends, however I’m coming from a car that had boat like handling so for me it’s a huge reduction. It definitely could be flatter though, and I’m guessing it was before Skoda softened up the suspension, but this is compromise I’m willing to take (for now ��). I definitely feel that the car has been undertyred and it loses grip at higher speeds a bit too easily for my liking. Maybe a 215 section tyre wouldn’t have been a bad idea from Skoda. Of course, the steering being an EPS unit provides almost zero feedback and doesn’t weigh up enough even at high speeds.

Stellar ride comfort on the Michelins. Just wish they were a little wider.


Exterior and Interior:

The split headlight design of this facelifted Octavia has polarized opinions right from the start. I was one of those that didn’t care too much for the design on seeing the first photographs. However, in the flesh the car really looks much better. As mentioned in the TBHP official review, the high beam portion gels well with the new grill, and in my opinion, it gives this car some much needed character. It’s actually the center slot in the grill that I find to be a sore spot. I understand in international variants it houses the radar equipment, but I just wish they had redesigned it somehow for India. The bulges in the bonnet, creases on the sides, and the lip spoiler all help give the car a nice bit of aggression which was missing in the pre-facelift Octavia.

Super clean side profile without any modern cuts etc


Ugly centre slat on the grill


Smart rear with lip spoiler


Faux diffuser (I assume it doesn't actually do anything)


Full LED bulds treatment


Standard Skoda sized boot


Stepping inside, the look and feel is pure Skoda. I’ve loved the Skoda dash designs right from the original Octavia (which I also owned) and I’m happy to say its remained just as neat, organized and simple. I love the straight lines on the dash and the straight AC vents. The black, white and red instrument cluster is really great. The materials for the most part of good quality, however there are three areas where I feel Skoda really cut corners. The first is the headlight knob which is made of terrible hard plastic that isn’t even finished very well. A Vento (which costs half as much) has a better-quality switch. The second place is the AC controls. Skoda really shouldn’t have made all of these essential controls out of glossy black plastic. In my opinion, a matte finish would have looked and felt much classier, not to mention it would have made reading these controls in bright sunlight easier. The third place where I fell they have cut corners is the plastic surrounding the window switches. It simply does not belong on a car that costs this much.

Love the colours of these dials


Clean straight lines on the centre console with good graphics on the HU


Extremely comfortable front seats. They seem like they will get dirty quite quickly though.


Haven't experienced the backseat while in motion so no comments.


Cooled glove compartment that is felt lined


Storage space behind the gearlever is perfect for a smartphone


Very helpful info from the HU. Mileage calculation by the computer is pretty accurate.


Switchgear of this quality just doesn't belong on a car of this price.


HU is a dust and fingerprint magnet


The AC controls should have had a matte finish. Would look so much more premium.


Again quality of this plastic surrounding the switches is just not up to par.



Small yet Significant things:

• The sunroof is huge. It’s also very heavily tinted to prevent heat from coming in to the cabin.


• The sunroof cover is made of fairly thin and flimsy material as such it is not completely opaque when closed.


• I wish the driver’s side rubber mat was a little longer like the passenger side.




• Only the front two door pockets can hold a 1l water bottle each.



• The Bluetooth connectivity acts a little weird sometimes. This is invariably when there is an incoming call. The sound is not pushed to the speakers hence one is forced to use the speaker phone of the device itself. Post this only when you switch on and off the car does it resume to be normal. I use an OP3 and this might just be restricted to Android phones.

• The in-car dustbin is surprisingly useful ��



Sunroof controls aren't the most intuitive to use (especially to tilt up and down)


Full size spare tyre is welcome. Unfortunately no fifth alloy though.




Please note I have not included a detailed write up on the HU and all of its features as it has been extensively covered in the Official Review linked below.

Mods Planned (in no particular order):
• Remap (220-240 hp has been done safely)
• De-chrome by wrap
• Get alloys painted

[GTO]

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

[yogesh.8984]

Congratulations on your new machine!!

Originally Posted by mrpitt

• I wish the driver’s side rubber mat was a little longer like the passenger side.

Maybe this is to avoid rubber mat intruding the ABC pedals (if it’s not fixed to the floor by some means). Recently saw one clip on Whatsapp where accident happened due to floor mat getting stuck in a way that accelerator pedal stay pressed when driver actually wanted to stop.

[Waspune]

Congrats on getting the 1.8 TSI beast. The most enthusiastic engine in that price range for sure, save for the GTI which after the price revision should cost you around the same price. Would you be getting your Octavia remapped during the warranty period, given the reliability issues prevalent with the gearbox? I would suggest you go for a good tuning box maybe from Steinbauer that has proved to be one of the most reliable tuning boxes in the world, though it would cost a fair bit.

[Nikhilb2008]

Congrats on the purchase! I just started reading it out of casual interest and then when I saw you had gone to Vizag to buy the car, it rang a bell! Even the Accord didnt ring the bell that it should have!

It's a great car and the only "worry" you might have is the DSG if you use it a lot in slow moving city traffic. Apart from that, it's an explosive rocket as you mentioned!

Wish you many many thousands of kms of safe and happy driving!

[Varun_HexaGuy]

Congratulations sir on buying this monster. The 1.8 TSi is a delight to own and it remains an unfulfilled dream of mine to buy a 1.8 TSi or a vRS. I instead boight an Hexa over the Octavia. Secondly, why didn't you consider the vRS?

It's truly an all-rounded successor to your Accord. Thanks a lot for putting up a good review and your review sums up on all the main things required in a decision-making of a car purchase and you've kept it short and detailed but I personally like it the other way (read as long and elaborative).

Once again many congratulations on buying this torque monster. Hope you munch many miles and put happy smiles on your face.

P.S : We coincidentally live in the same city. Hope to meet you and the monster sometime in person.

Thanks for a great review,
Varun_HexaGuy

[Col Mehta]

One of my all time favorites. With that explosive engine, with all those creature comforts and with that timeless style and looks! Congratulations!! Wish you and your family many happy and safe miles with your new beautiful car.

[HKap]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

It's a great car and the only "worry" you might have is the DSG if you use it a lot in slow moving city traffic.

I think the problem with the 7 speed dry clutch is the amount of torque that it can handle. I haven't heard about the DSG failing on the Polo GT and the Vento TSI. However, I have seen it fail on a friend's Octavia TSI. It failed within 3 years of ownership. My Vento TSI has done fine for the first 3 years. I would suggest you do the basics of shifting to neutral when sitting at a traffic signal or when stuck in traffic. Avoid "crawling" in traffic and be gentle on the throttle in slow moving traffic. I guess this might just help in keeping the gearbox "alive" for as long as possible. Needless to say please ensure you have the extended warranty.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by mrpitt

Full size spare tyre is welcome. Unfortunately no fifth alloy though.

Indeed, nothing beats the peace of mind offered by a full size spare wheel in our country.

Now that's a faithful Skoda customer, not seen a lot. I have heard pretty good things about Mahavir Skoda and can now see that they are on the right track.

Congratulations on buying the most practical performance sedan in India and wish you a million miles of happy motoring...!!!

[murcie]

Congratulations on the 1.8, that's one amazing car.


It was around GST rollout when I was looking for a car and the dealer in my city had two units of Onyx edition with him, one in my favourite red colour.
The impending launch of this model coupled with GST effect, he was offering me a mouthwatering deal of 24 lakh on road with 4 years maintenance and warranty. I had to let that offer go with a very heavy heart as wifey ruled out any sedan coming home this time.

Well, I ended up with another beautiful machine, the Hexa but this car still wins my heart

Wish you many happy miles ahead!

[mrpitt]

Originally Posted by yogesh.8984

Congratulations on your new machine!!
Maybe this is to avoid rubber mat intruding the ABC pedals (if it’s not fixed to the floor by some means). Recently saw one clip on Whatsapp where accident happened due to floor mat getting stuck in a way that accelerator pedal stay pressed when driver actually wanted to stop.

Thank you! The surprising thing is the mats are clipped on to the floor on the edge where the seat begins. So I don't think slipping under the pedals would have been an issue. But I do know what you mean as I have experienced this in other cars and it can be dangerous in certain situations.

Originally Posted by Waspune

Congrats on getting the 1.8 TSI beast. The most enthusiastic engine in that price range for sure, save for the GTI which after the price revision should cost you around the same price. Would you be getting your Octavia remapped during the warranty period, given the reliability issues prevalent with the gearbox? I would suggest you go for a good tuning box maybe from Steinbauer that has proved to be one of the most reliable tuning boxes in the world, though it would cost a fair bit.

Thank you! I haven't done too much research on the options available for a remap and how they compare to a tuning box. Honestly, at this point, I'm very satisfied with the vehicle as it is in its current state of tune. Lets see when the itch starts to make some changes. But to answer your question, from the little I've read, the stage one remaps from most reputed companies are quite safe to use conservatively with the gearbox.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Congrats on the purchase! I just started reading it out of casual interest and then when I saw you had gone to Vizag to buy the car, it rang a bell! Even the Accord didnt ring the bell that it should have!
It's a great car and the only "worry" you might have is the DSG if you use it a lot in slow moving city traffic. Apart from that, it's an explosive rocket as you mentioned!
Wish you many many thousands of kms of safe and happy driving!

Thanks a lot man! You got there eventually that's all that matters :P. Thankfully Hyderabad traffic isn't as bad as Bangalore's but still. Also I can only imagine how much more explosive your car is! It must wheelspin quite a bit no on hard starts? I haven't driven the new VRS.

Originally Posted by Varun_HexaGuy

Congratulations sir on buying this monster. The 1.8 TSi is a delight to own and it remains an unfulfilled dream of mine to buy a 1.8 TSi or a vRS. I instead boight an Hexa over the Octavia. Secondly, why didn't you consider the vRS?
It's truly an all-rounded successor to your Accord. Thanks a lot for putting up a good review and your review sums up on all the main things required in a decision-making of a car purchase and you've kept it short and detailed but I personally like it the other way (read as long and elaborative).
Once again many congratulations on buying this torque monster. Hope you munch many miles and put happy smiles on your face.
P.S : We coincidentally live in the same city. Hope to meet you and the monster sometime in person.
Thanks for a great review,
Varun_HexaGuy

Thanks a lot Varun! We should definitely try and meet up sometime. The Hexa is also a beast! Did not consider it purely because I did not want such a big car.

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

One of my all time favorites. With that explosive engine, with all those creature comforts and with that timeless style and looks! Congratulations!! Wish you and your family many happy and safe miles with your new beautiful car.

Thank you so much!

Originally Posted by HKap

I think the problem with the 7 speed dry clutch is the amount of torque that it can handle. I haven't heard about the DSG failing on the Polo GT and the Vento TSI. However, I have seen it fail on a friend's Octavia TSI. It failed within 3 years of ownership. My Vento TSI has done fine for the first 3 years. I would suggest you do the basics of shifting to neutral when sitting at a traffic signal or when stuck in traffic. Avoid "crawling" in traffic and be gentle on the throttle in slow moving traffic. I guess this might just help in keeping the gearbox "alive" for as long as possible. Needless to say please ensure you have the extended warranty.

We have owned a Vento TSI for a couple of years and it has given no issues so far. Thankfully the car did come with 2+2 years extended warranty. Also have been following the DSG 'rules' for sometime now as my Dad has a Superb so quite used to it. Hoping that keeps it going without any trouble.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Indeed, nothing beats the peace of mind offered by a full size spare wheel in our country.
Now that's a faithful Skoda customer, not seen a lot. I have heard pretty good things about Mahavir Skoda and can now see that they are on the right track.
Congratulations on buying the most practical performance sedan in India and wish you a million miles of happy motoring...!!!

Than You! The number of cars on sale that do not come with full size spares is really surprising. Seems like most if not all cars above this price point do not.

Also, my family owns pretty much all of Skoda's models currently on sale (Super and Yeti older models), so yes very faithful Skoda customer.

Originally Posted by murcie

Congratulations on the 1.8, that's one amazing car.
It was around GST rollout when I was looking for a car and the dealer in my city had two units of Onyx edition with him, one in my favourite red colour.
The impending launch of this model coupled with GST effect, he was offering me a mouthwatering deal of 24 lakh on road with 4 years maintenance and warranty. I had to let that offer go with a very heavy heart as wifey ruled out any sedan coming home this time.
Well, I ended up with another beautiful machine, the Hexa but this car still wins my heart
Wish you many happy miles ahead!

Thanks a lot! As I said earlier as well, the Hexa is a beast of a car! Did you end up getting the AT or MT?

Originally Posted by Varun_HexaGuy

. Secondly, why didn't you consider the vRS?

I definitely did consider going in for the vRS. However didn't end up going ahead with it for three main reasons. Firstly, there seemed to be a lot of uncertainty as to what engines and what equipment levels it would come with before the launch. Secondly, there was also a lot of uncertainty as to when delivery would be possible and I needed a car soon as I had already sold my Accord. And finally and probably most importantly, it would have stretched my budget way too far with the price it was launched at.

[i74js]

It seems that the last 100 years of progress in IC engines is now in its last leg (if one has to believe in successful execution of the EV policy for India).

I always wanted to have a turbo petrol but was shying away from Skoda. Things are improving now and you would always be smiling at this lovely machine on open roads.

Congratulations on this lovely possession and enjoy the sinful performance of 1.8 TSi mill !

[sawnilrules]

Congratulations on your acquisition mate and welcome to the 1.8 Tsi club. You need to be gentle with her, as she ends up getting mental otherwise most of the times on the highway. Even before you blink your eye, you end up touching sinful speeds.

At all times, remember to idle her for 30-40 seconds minimum before killing the engine. Also, though owners manual says the first service in 15,000 kms/12 months, do take her to the service station to top up oil when you are touching around 7000-8000 km on the ODO as she guzzles oil like crazy during the initial running period.

Rest, she is absolutely hoot to drive and will plaster a wide grin on your face, everytime you crank her up.

Drive Safe and wish you happy miles ahead.

[behaln]

Congratulations on your new car. Indeed it's a hoot to driveve this car. It will look even meaner after the mods you have planned would be carried out. Awaiting your updates on the mods.

[murcie]

Originally Posted by mrpitt

Thanks a lot! As I said earlier as well, the Hexa is a beast of a car! Did you end up getting the AT or MT?

I bought the AT, despite having the MT 4x4 and loaded with features, I was not able to find myself at ease with the gearbox, I found it very notchy and hard to drive in the city.