[imidnightmare]

This is long. I have been on Team-BHP for ages and benefited massively from all the reviews (official and user) and specially from reviews posted by those users that are kind enough to write in great detail. Despite buying 2 cars since joining though, I've never written a review - blame my laziness and inertia. Third time's the charm I reckon. This time, I'm writing and making up for all the times I didn't. Special reason: When I started the hunt, I was dead certain I would decide against the Octavia, but after a brutal and detailed evaluation, ended up not only buying it, but convinced that it offers value like no other in this segment. I feel it's important to share why, just in case there are others combating similar doubts. If I help anyone in making the right choice within this segment (whichever way they end up moving), I'll consider this to have been time well-spent. Also, I can add more details if anyone needs them - whether on PM or on the thread. Images etc. can also be managed - if you give me enough time to get over my natural lethargy and inertia of course.

Background, alternatives and decision-making:

Background:
Our family of 4 adults, a 3-year-old and 2 dogs, had 4 cars;

Tata Hexa XTA (2017) - primary car for moving my father / me around on business. Dogs not allowed inside this. Self-driven by either of us - and by a really good driver only in emergencies / when the City was at the Service Center. Also used for family outings given the space and comfort.
Toyota Corolla (2006) - my parents' beater car and also used when ferrying the dogs up and down or for transporting rescues (dogs / cats etc.). Chauffeur-driven almost always and showing clear signs of age and "beatings";
Honda City (2010) - used to ferry my kid to school and back, ferry the wife here and there - and as a backup car for me / my father if the Hexa is out with the other. Driven by a very good chauffeur, so feels very nice even now - 7 years in.
Honda Brio (2013) - used as the "emergency" car for my wife and for me to make the short trips - gym, grocery etc.

Now, the Corolla clearly needed replacing - so the plan was made that the City would replace the Corolla and the Hexa would replace the City in terms of roles played. The new car would be the primary car - and therefore needed to be a good one. Therefore, the constraints came down to:

1. Had to be a sedan - my mother has massive swelling in both legs after radiation + chemo so has issues getting into and out of high cars as well as very low cars
2. Had to be a proper executive sedan - customer-impact etc.; therefore C-segment was definitely out; leg-room is also something we all enjoy, so the A3 (glorified Vento, in my humble opinion) was also out.
3. Budget of ~30L; flexible on this and 10-20% here or there would not be a deal-breaker - but the vehicles on offer were few!

Alternatives considered:
1. Skoda Octavia
2. Toytota Corolla Altis - never liked it, but hey, growing from a Corolla and everyone around seemed to think it'd be silly not to evaluate
3. Hyundai Elantra - after the suggestion from @Lamborghini
(As mentioned, had to be a proper sedan and we like a boot as well; this knocked off a number of vehicles - A3, CLA, GLA etc. above - and also meant that waiting for the Civic / Yaris was not considered.

Assessment:
At each step, I assessed the secondary data (published on Team-BHP and various Indian and international sites) as well as primary data through surveying friends and users of Team-BHP and other forums (Been a management consultant for 10 years, so this kind of research and reliance on data is just basic nature). At the outset, I'll also state my going-in biases. I've long contended that the sedans barring the Octavia and Jetta in the 15-40L space offer no value at all, when you compare with SUVs in particular. They're not much of a step-up from the C-segment in anything barring space and rear-seat comfort; and the minimal power increase, specially compared to weight increase makes the drive quality poor. Japanese cars typically also have this awful faux-wood finish which I absolutely abhor. It looks tacky and cheap in my opinion (feel free to differ, of course). Safety features too are not much of a step-up in the Japanese and Korean brands which often have horrific shortages in this area, so for someone wanting to drive and not compromise on safety, most of the products in this space just don't offer value. With the Jetta gone and the Octavia upgraded, to me it seemed like a horrid choice between an Octavia potentially riddled with reliability and service issues and the Altis which I felt would make me cry every time I drove it and spied a better sedan on the road, which would likely be every few seconds in Mumbai. The litany of Skoda complaints though, ensured that I needed to consider the Altis - even if it would then be a car I'd have to leave to the chauffeur - consoling myself with the rear-seat comfort. This really changed. Massively. On to the evaluation then.

Altis:
The Altis as I have said, just seemed like being very poor value. The engine statistics are poor and the car aesthetically has never appealed to me. A diesel was not even thinkable (same engine as the Etios!) and even the petrol is heavily under-powered at just 138 bhp. Inside it as well, I've always marveled at how cheap it looks in comparison to what you pay for - and Japanese dashboards are just very Spartan. I like driving and one of the first things that I measure a car on is the quality of the dash, the equipment and the aesthetics around me (which explains why I love Jaguars so much). Still - the Altis had solid recommendations from "normal" folks. Wasn't excited, but was told by one and all to consider it regardless of all else, so took a reluctant TD. I was almost afraid that the TD would be good - a very strange feeling and possibly one that not many will understand or appreciate - but citing this so you can assess bias for yourself. The TD was easy to do. So many friends have it and the current dealer was interested obviously. TD went as I expected though, and I don't think this had anything to do with my "going-in hypothesis":

Pros: Height is perfect for my mother. Space and rear-seat comfort are great. Rear seats are also slightly adjustable - nice, but not much frankly and definitely not enough to sway me. If I need a ride where one can lie back and sleep, I take the Hexa (6-seater) which offers far better comfort. The Altis, to be honest, didn't even meet the Hexa's standards for me - since neither did I have driver pleasure nor was there the exceptional back-seat comfort that could tempt me! Ride quality is good of course, if you're in the rear seats. Must admit that for those that want to sit at the back and need a sedan, I can see their rationale to buy this. Just that it's not the car for me!
Cons: I drove it and as expected I just felt very underwhelmed. The power was just nowhere near what I would want and somehow the feel was lacking. It's clearly not made to be a "driver's car" - designed to "be driven in" and this shows in every aspect - specially in the dashboard but also in the drive quality (not ride quality), aesthetics etc. All in all, it just didn't seem like I should pay 20+L for it, given that I would spend most of my time inside it, in the driver's seat! Made the decision that this would be the "if all else fails" option - something that still seemed very likely, but was making me feel quite sad and disillusioned about the state of the D-Segment.

After this evaluation, there was also a reflection I did on whether to just skip buying for now and wait for upgrades / new launches. Unfortunately, there were no exciting new launches I could see and the ones that were lined up (Civic, Yaris) just didn't fit the bill. Civic just seems like a direct Corolla competitor with similar stats and the Yaris doesn't meet segment demand for me. If the Altis isn't good enough, how could a lower-variant be? Price was not an issue, so this was out. Therefore, a purchase remained imminent, but again, I was now getting torn and tempted to just buy another SUV. Better value - and we could think of how to solve the issues for my mother by perhaps buying a smaller sedan for that role.

Elantra:
Underwhelming yet again. Better than the Altis in some respects (for the driver), but worse in several as well. Also, just never liked Hyundai as a brand - it's always had that "something" that puts me off and this car was no exception. Rear-seat comfort was not at par with the Altis and the drive improvement (it is indeed better) didn't seem enough to offset the negatives. Just not what I wanted - the "feel" was lacking, though maybe this was also because I'd already tested the Octavia... Overall:

Pros: Decent enough ride, much better dash, black interior. Drive quality better than the Altis too - and by far the cheapest in the segment!
Cons: Gearbox just wasn't up to scratch and the car doesn't give me the sense of "life" when driving it. Performance driving would be out of the question in this vehicle. Ingress / egress was decent - but my mother preferred the Altis on this count. Also, my experience in the showroom was poor - as has been the case with every single visit I've made to a Hyundai showroom (thrice to three different ones). Also, like I've said, I'd already TDed the Octavia - and this just wasn't a patch on it.

I'll be honest though - I saw the Elantra simply to "make up the numbers" and tick the box. This was never a serious option in my mind.

Octavia:
This was the car that data showed to be the only one that really made sense as I've outlined earlier. Just a tad higher-priced than the Altis and Elantra, but my word, the specs are several notches better. The downside of course is the service reputation. Friends had suffered greatly and a neighbour (Superb owner) had nothing good to say about the service (that's an understatement) though he and his wife raved about the car itself! Confusion was extreme - as everyone had the same feedback of "Wonderful car when it works - but the issues are frequent and take ages and a ton of money to resolve". You can see the details on the "What Car" thread on the D-Segment battle. @Lamborghini and @androdev are the ones I credit for swinging me towards the Octavia again (must admit the heart was all for it given the stats already of course) so a TD was taken.

Test-drive and the following detailed evaluation experience of Octavia - the car itself:
I was in Prabhadevi at the Concorde Motors showroom for some points on the Hexa and then just walked across to Autobahn. The sole aim was a full-on TD of the Octavia. Features were all known very well, so this was not something I was interested in. Key issues for me were ingress/egress, ride quality of a fully-loaded car and of course, a detailed view of the dealer's people so I'd know what to expect moving on.

The experience with the dealer is an interesting one, so I'll detail that later. For now, the TD and basics. A word from the not-so-wise-but-now-experienced:
If you need a car in this segment, but have absolutely no intention to really buy the Octavia, don't take a test drive. Once you do, you just won't be happy with the choice you make unless you buy a car from a higher segment (which negates the initial caveat). Really, unless you're just interested in rear seat comfort alone (in which case you should opt for the Altis) and don't care two hoots for anything else, the Octavia will blow away any and all competitors. I was worried about the GC being mentioned as just 155 mm (lower than my Honda City 2010). The City scrapes every pebble, it seems to me, so the Octavia sounded like it'd be ruined in no time. The sales guy went into the details of this. I don't know how true it is, but I tested what he said on the TD. His inputs:
1. The GC mentioned for Japanese cars is basically the height of the mid-point of the chassis from the road.
2. The GC for a European car is the height of the lowest part of the chassis from the road - and this will always therefore be a lower value than the Japanese cite

This was a revelation to me to be honest. The TD vehicle was a 1.8 TSI L&K. It was available and we decided to TD it immediately. So, I loaded 5 adults including the sales representative (and my 3 year old) into the car. Then we drove on roads which the City regularly scrapes the bottom on. To be doubly certain, took those bumps at fairly high speed too - double of what you'd normally do! The car handled it like a dream. Didn't touch even once and rode those bumps brilliantly too - ride comfort was fine over them even in the back seat (which is where I was sat at this time as my dad drove). For a TD vehicle which (as per the sales guy) had been through 2 major accidents already, this was quite something! My father and I took turns driving and also in the rear seat. No complaints from any of the occupants (mum, wife and kid).

The DSG was the other revelation. It is brilliant. The gear changes are near-imperceptible and acceleration is fantastic. Other major upsides were NVH (fantastic) and the ride comfort. Nobody suffered and the handling was exceptional. I also tested Sports Mode and, well, in a word, "wow"! I just wanted to test acceleration under Sports Mode, to be honest - as top speeds is meaningless when the limit is 80. So, we hit the sea link, middle of Sunday afternoon and with hardly anyone around for miles. Starting from Worli, in normal mode, I accelerated from around 10 kmph at the point the road widens. The car almost seems to take a moment as if to realize that you really mean to squirt the power, but then it accelerates well. Even with the full load, I had to lift off soon to stay within the limit. The real fun came at the other end. At the exit on the Bandra side, I was virtually at a standstill at the booth; I tapped the lever back to engage Sports Mode and bang! This time, there's hardly any confusion. The car knows what to expect and I had to lift off way sooner; I even had to dab the brakes a bit. I'm hooked now! A quick look at his expression tells me that so is dad... Worse still, the smug smile shows that the sales guy knows it too...

I as sold on this. This was the car I now had my heart set on. The questions remained of course in terms of service. How could I really be sure that what I was buying was more "Moments of misery to compensate for oodles of joy" and less "Moments of joy that make you all the more miserable at their source being in the workshop"? One thing was clear - I would not buy the Corolla Altis unless I was sure that the Octavia was a disaster-waiting-to-happen.

How I covered all doubts:
The key issues that any person should have when evaluating an Octavia are obvious. So I'm listing down how I went about addressing them. Feel free to take as you will (Either you'll think I'm a foolish git or you'll think I'm a methodical rationalist. It's cool with me either way as I reckon I'm a jack of all!):

1. The infamous DQ200 gearbox:
This was the initial doubt which was the "deal-breaker" for me when I started out. Reports on failures varied from those whose DQ200s failed in the middle of the road to the car rolling downhill as the software was programmed to stop at specific instances without considering this setup and of course to the fact that failures could continue even after replacement. Terrifying reading, no two ways about it - and therefore deserving of a lot of checking. First thing I did was a bunch of desk research during which I checked forums and user inputs all over the world on feedback of new units. I also mailed Team-BHP users about their experiences and collated a lot of info. The upshot seemed to be that issues had fallen dramatically over time - particularly in the last 2-3 years (couldn't find failure reports). This was combined with the fact that most reported issues did indeed seem to be around the older models (Laura and specially Superb). The dealer was then grilled about this - and his feedback tied in with the research. I spoke also to the Service Managers of two dealers (one in Mumbai and another from another city) and got identical feedback. Checked records as well at one (in Mumbai) and was left feeling a lot less concerned after seeing all the inputs. The Octavia now seemed much more viable! The DQ200 isn't ideal - and I'd be happier with a DQ250, but this no longer felt like hara-kiri and more like the uneasiness about wanting to avoid a decent upgraded product with a terrible past. You know there's lower risk now, but there will always be a "but".

Personal note: We make analytical instruments that are fairly expensive - 10-70L a pop. We faced issues once with a specific assembly that just didn't perform in one particular market the way it was supposed to. We'd tested loads but there are some things that just prove that "nothing is 100%" and this assembly just failed - with a rate of 20% (standard should be <0.001%). The issue was traced within days to a particular sensor - which needed to be upgraded to a different grade. We incurred mammoth costs on replacements in that period. Never once though did we increase warranty; also, since we knew the issue, we just corrected and the issue was gone - no change of model. Today, the same product and sub-assembly draws praise for being absolutely unshakeable on reliability! So maybe I'm biased towards giving benefit of doubt to a company that claims to have identified and corrected a flaw...or of course, maybe I'm just foolish? Time will tell.

2. The service costs:
Consistent feedback was that service and spares costs are high. Well, this was resolved very easily indeed. The car now comes with a 4-year warranty (barring the suspension) - so this covered spares. On service and consumables, I found two interesting options:
a. 4-year service pack for 40K: This basically covered all scheduled servicing and labor for the first four years. However, this leaves out unscheduled service - and also leaves out the cost of consumables - which was something I was still looking at and trying to estimate. Depending on how you drive, how much you drive etc. this cost is something that could vary massively - and I wanted to cover all my bases.
b. 4-year comprehensive service pack (90-110K): This was something that came up when I pushed the dealers about how I could cover all bases on service. So, this pack (not read about this on any other thread) offers 4 years of service coverage including all scheduled as well as unscheduled maintenance as well as any and all consumables and labour that may be needed for fixing anything other than user-caused damage. Not too bad, I thought... so this was another box ticked!

3. Service experience: It seemed like almost everyone had a horror story to narrate when it came to Skoda. Nobody seemed to be writing to say "Hey, I've always had great experiences". @androdev of course, provided some good context, but then, I also looked critically at the experiences I've had with Toyota and Honda. The upshot is that I realized we tended to overlook their flaws - Honda routinely sends my car back without fixing niggles saying "the part is not in stock; we've ordered it though and we'll call you when it's in". The plastic cover on the underside of the City for example, has now been broken for months; the car has been to the SC twice for routine service and the feedback has been the same. They've also damaged the City while it was there! I wrote to them to complain - and got no reply! The Hexa had a cap stolen off one wheel - TML has been in "part is being sourced" mode for 3 months and counting now. Toyota too has posed similar issues - and I know that I'm not the only one to face these things. Honda is the most frequently guilty of course but they're all similar.

We normally tend to overlook these things though, specially when the issues are "minor" as service is low-cost and the car is always back the same day. Once @androdev pointed out that this may well not be a deal-breaker, I realized it wasn't. After all, I've had occasion to curse at times about why the SC didn't just take an extra day to check before returning the car. Key examples include - found the City to have very low air pressure in the wheels the day after it was sent back after "wheel balancing". The Brio came back after a full "pre-monsoon check" and the battery died the next day (at about 1 AM at a gas station and in an AT, so no rolling start. Talk about a complete horror-show). I also then studied the typical Skoda complaints in detail and found:
a. Most complaints were about some (key) spares not being available in <1-2 weeks
b. Appointments being difficult to set up
c. Cars not always being returned same day
d. Inflated consumables demands - which may not really be needed
Against this:

a. Most companies seem to have a very similar situation on spares (as shown above)
b. Appointment scheduling in advance is something I do even now; prefer doing it as per a proper schedule so I can plan usage. Again, not a major issue in my opinion. As regards unscheduled needs, see the point below
c. The car will be due for routine service only once a year (given my mileage) and I have multiple other cars. This really doesn't seem like a big deal - and I say this despite the Service Manager telling me that "in almost all cases, for a scheduled appointment on routine service, we can return the car on the same day, provided it reaches us on time in the morning"
d. Ummm. Absolutely no issue for the first 4 years of course; and to be honest, I have no idea how much the others gyp me for anyway. Moreover, from what I could see, the issue was more about "they insist you change as per manual and not as per assessed need", which is something I can live with.

I also checked on service experience with owners who have multiple (and also bigger / better) cars - and most seemed fairly happy with Skoda (this was done after @androdev pointed out something). What he said - and everyone else corroborated - was that the experience with Skoda was similar to or better than with any of the German manufacturers (Merc drew a lot of ire, somehow). Once this was known, well, I felt a lot more reassured. Again, this was an informed choice - to go with eyes open. After all, if you're not going to opt for a Corolla / Elantra, the only choice once you rule out Skoda is a German (or Jaguar); so the basis for comparison has to be "How good / bad is Skoda vis-à-vis these?"; anything else would be a poor comparison.

Another really important pointer came from a family friend - who bashed Skoda service at length. However, he's bought two Octavias and a Superb over the last 8 years - hardly the sign of someone who felt that the service was poor enough to merit a change of manufacturer! (He owns Germans too - and has a basis for comparison)

The decision therefore was finally clear: Go for the Octavia. Expect some less-than-smooth experiences in service, but nothing that you can't live with. Specially with other cars in the garage, this seemed well worth the joy of the car!

Major Likes (which influenced choice):
1. External looks - specially at the front: I really like the headlamps shape; no boring Altis, this one.
2. Moonroof is adequate and appeals to my son (gurgled with joy the first time he had his head out!)
3. Gearbox, shifting and acceleration are excellent and several cuts above the Corolla Altis and Elantra (this is a driver's car!)
4. Acceleration is rapid - and gives a nice sense of power
5. Touchscreen and infotainment system is nice - screen is adequately large and having Apple CarPlay helps too
6. Safety features are very nice - and afford peace of mind; parking sensors are nifty and accurate from what I've seen. Moreover, things like anti-glare mirrors are a blessing too!
7. NVH is excellent
8. Ride quality is excellent - and even the low reported GC (155 mm) is not an issue - doesn't scrape any breakers where my City would be making me wince
9. Warranty for 4 years - with 4 years of service as well! Peace of mind, financially at least...
10. Interiors feel plush and dashboard looks premium - a major factor for me
11. Most importantly, the drive quality is brilliant. You always want to drive this, even if you're feeling jaded (gets you out of a funk!)

Dislikes (which I had to get over when choosing):
1. Controls (wipers, lights, indicators) are on the opposite side to what I'm used to - hence create confusion
2. Storage space is minimal when it comes to bottles in particular - issue given the copious amounts of water my son and I consume, specially in summer
3. DQ200 still causes some worries - not a nice feeling to know that while cost is covered, you may miss out on the car for a while if it breaks down (apart from the "I told you so"s that I'd get from all the Altis-backers)
4. Quality of buttons and scroll wheels on the steering is poor - not in line with the rest of the car
5. Having seen how good black looks, the dual-tone interiors seem inferior; I'm not a great fan of beige and would have liked a choice of going with all-black even if it meant a little more money; guess they rely on that love to take you up to the RS
6. Initial feeling was that the dealer personnel didn't know anything at all about the technical parts; the gearbox model in the car was something no salesperson answered correctly - which makes you wonder about their knowledge when it's so far below your own.
7. Moonroof controls are not easily accessible unless you're very used to them
8. Moonroof cover is not only flimsy, but also has no electronic control - meaning you need to move it manually
9. If you're an iPhone user, you can't actually get the most out of the Infotainment system - and the absence of voice control for iOS is irksome.

[imidnightmare]

So, choice made then and decided that if we buy, it'll be the Octavia and no other sedan. Now the important questions:

1. Which model to buy
2. What add-ons to take with the package
3. Which dealer to buy from

I'll take these in order:

1. What model to buy
We considered three models - the Style Plus, the L&K and of course, the awesome RS. The Style Plus got knocked out by my kid who fell in love with the moon-roof during the TD itself. The other upsides of the L&K were marginal, to be honest, but the moon-roof added something almost everyone liked. Must also add that after a regretted decision once in the 1990s, we've always just plumped for the top-end models. It just always makes sense to do so in my opinion. So, it was down to two - the L&K and the RS. The RS was extremely tempting. No TD at the dealer that day, so friends were called upon and some more research was undertaken.

Upshot:
1. The drive is brilliant - and the DQ250 makes it more reassuring than the DQ200 on the L&K; regardless of all inputs, there's still an unease caused by the DQ200, after all
2. There's no debating the power; the car is like an L&K on steroids. It also has a surprisingly nice feel at low speeds in traffic - something that shocked me as I was expecting the L&K to be better on this aspect. Nothing doing - the RS won this aspect as well. There is no situation I encountered in which I'd say that the L&K is the better one to drive; hands-down to the RS!
3. Interiors on the RS are truly spectacular; black interiors >>> beige / two-tone any day, in my book, so this was another point for the RS - though the cabin may "seem smaller" given the dark colour. Looks drool-worthy though - specially the steering!
4. The lower GC and ride height however are an issue - the L&K was just about scraping the bottom for mum; she has this "optimal" height she prefers and the L&K was just about squeezing in (low cars mean more effort when getting out. It's not the ingress, but egress that is the issue). The RS, coming a fraction lower as it does was not going to meet requirements. Ho-hum; -3 points here, making it a null-score and the final point would be a tie-breaker (Actually, that's a lie; this was the "deal-breaker" with a -100, but I still have another point to make, so have to create the right build!)
5. Got multiple inputs that RS not being the most common variant, service is a bigger issue when needed; all Skoda mechanics know the standard variants very well, but few are too comfortable with the RS; one more to the L&K and we're done here. The L&K comes out ahead.
Note: On this point, given the increasing number of RSes on the road, I'm quite sure that this is not going to be an issue much longer (if indeed it still is one). As such, unless budget is a constraint or you have this truly unique issue that I do, the RS is just the by far superior variant. If you can afford it, go for it.

2. What add-ons:
The basics were clear - there's the standard accessories package which adds up to around 14K. This includes the mats, cover, side garnish on the door instep, pillows and the dustbin. Nothing else really seemed essential (and in fact, nothing was even proposed) so it was all skipped.

4-year warranty is now a default, so nothing extra needed here. However, the service packs are intriguing. The Company offers a 4-year standard service deal for INR 40K, which covers scheduled maintenance, but no consumables. Upon pushing however, the dealer mentioned the 4-year comprehensive "B2B agreement" - which covers:
- Scheduled maintenance
- Unscheduled maintenance
- All consumables

This package suddenly seemed a lot more alluring. My neighbour was complaining about how he spent a bomb replacing brake elements etc. on his Superb. With this package, those would be covered. Same for clutch etc. So, all of a sudden, I had the option of covering all bases - and the price quoted was 1.2L (by Autobahn). The compromise was clear though. The standard 40K package covers up to a mileage of 100K km while this package only covers up to 60K Km. Now, given my mileage, I don't expect to hit 60K in 4 years - so for me, this makes sense. Do the trade-offs yourself for your cases of course. Another pointer was something a lot of folks said - if you opt for these packages, you're far likelier to get the "goodwill warranty" for issues that may crop up immediately after warranty expiry. All said and done, this seemed like a good deal - specially for me, a person that just doesn't have the time (Read: Is too lazy) to go after all items on an estimate etc.

So, the list of add-ons now had the standard accessories and the extended service package. Nothing else was taken - as this pretty much covered all we needed (insurance etc. are default and not options, after all).

3. Which dealer to buy from
This was a critical one for me. Normally, I'd just go for the guy who is closest to home / office - but in this case (read: Given it's Skoda), dealer choice became a really tough one. Having read threads of dealers trying to pull fast ones, including fraud in the case of a dealer in Bengaluru, I was very concerned. Add to this the fact that the closest dealer earlier was a guy in Chandivali (Senator Motors), who shut down with a major cloud over the circumstances (no notice given to customers, booking amounts taken without an update on anything etc. etc.). So, Mumbai has just two dealers - JMD and Autobahn. Again, a bunch of research threw up the initial views.

JMD:
In his favour came the reviews from guys who'd bought from JMD recently, stating that his service was good enough so far. Two people also cited that the people there seemed more knowledgeable about the product than the people they met from Autobahn. This was a bit of an upside, I felt, so despite my having interacted with Autobahn so far, I called JMD and spoke to the salesperson. As is my wont, I spoke as if I knew pretty much nothing about the car, to assess honesty, transparency and also knowledge. His pitch was very banal and sounded almost bored - as if he felt that "if you really want it, I know you'll buy it, so I'm not going to be bothered pushing this". I therefore got down to asking some "innocent" questions.

a. I asked if the car had a DQ200 or a DQ250 in the L&K; the salesperson said he had no clue but that he felt it was a DQ250 in the new L&K (it's not, obviously). He then said he would check and get back to me. He never did.
b. I asked about the common issue with the moon-roof rattling. He said once again that there wasn't and had never been any such issue in the car, ever. I was a bit ticked off by this, because this is a widely known issue and Skoda has fixed it - after numerous complaints globally. He didn't acknowledge that this had ever been an issue and this was a strike against "honesty and transparency". Also against his basic intelligence. Frankly, if someone asks you a question as specific as this, you should realize immediately that he's done a bunch of research and is just asking you to test your knowledge - and not because he's hit a moon-roof rattle just by some bizarre coincidence. He didn't even say he'd check - just spoke with an air of almost-arrogant authority that I couldn't let pass
c. I asked about the various service package options - and he mentioned the comprehensive service package only after I asked about it directly; he priced it at 90K (lower than Autobahn at 1.2L), but only mentioned this after I asked a second time whether he offered a service package covering consumables. The first time had got a negative response. I now asked about coverage under this package and he said he didn't know, but would mail me the details. He mailed me the write-up which was pretty much identical to what Autobahn had sent.
d. He contended that "there are no issues" with the new Skoda Octavia and offered to connect his Service person to me to reassure me. Again, he didn't act on this at all. Not good and so far, Autobahn looked a better option.

I then asked JMD for a quote; it was about 22 March at this time. He sent a quotation and it was identical down to the last rupee to Autobahn's. Despite my having asked for it, he didn't price the service package - so I was a bit annoyed. I was also annoyed that he didn't get back to me at all on the DQ200 v DQ250 question. I asked again about the DQ200 v DQ250 and again was told he'd "get back". He called me after another 5 days though (27th or maybe even 28th) to ask whether I would like to order (Note: I'd not even TD'd with him, so he was just chasing leads here). I then asked him about the price and delivery situation and he finally said that the prices he'd quoted would be revised from April. Said they would rise by 5% and also that he had no cars in stock so yeah, what he'd quoted didn't actually mean anything and he could make no assurances about what price I'd really be billed at. Through all this, still no update on the gearbox model.

This was extremely annoying for me. He was rushing me to book - but wasn't warning me about anything at all. Further, I'd done more checking on price hikes and had it from a (very) senior Skoda India employee that:
a. Prices would most probably go up - but the quantum was not confirmed
b. The price hike even if it took place would most probably be by 2-3% only
(Note: I don't think the price hike has been announced yet, but given stock position, even a hike announced by month-end would hit me as he said it would take "6-8 weeks or more" to deliver!)

Not looking good for JMD here, and back to Autobahn I went.

Autobahn:

My TD was taken at Autobahn and the guys were very helpful and nice. Here too though, I went through the same questioning post the TD and came up with the following:

a. They said they knew nothing about the DQ200 v DQ250, but said they'd get back. At one point they said they "thought" it was variable and probably the DQ250; one went as far as to say "We find that out only when the car comes in for a PDI". At this point, I was inclined to ditch these guys. However, this changed a day later when they specifically called (and also mailed) me to tell me that they'd erred and been informed by the technical team that the car had a DQ200, but that this was modified now and would not pose the issues that were common with the previous generation - specially on the Superb. I was suitably mollified by their approach if nothing else.

b. On the moon-roof, the main sales guy (Paresh) admitted immediately that this had been an issue, but that there'd been hardware changes (which he explained correctly) and that the issue now stood resolved

c. They were up-front about the price rise and mentioned a 2-3% expected increase from April. Lead time for delivery would be "6-8 weeks" (similar to what JMD told me later) - unless I ordered a white L&K, which they had in stock as the person who had booked it had now backed out on account of financing issues.

The whole deal seemed very skewed towards Autobahn, but there was a pesky issue - the fraud former-Skoda dealer (Senator) from Chandivali I mentioned earlier (now a Ford dealer) is apparently a relative of the guys that own Autobahn - not a nice thought! So, more research. Nobody was overly complimentary about Autobahn, but feedback seemed broadly similar to that for JMD (based on % of people with positive / negative views on them). Also, @Lamborghini pointed out some details (making me feel I could always ping him for assistance if facing an issue on whom to reach etc.) and finally the Skoda contact too said that Autobahn was a good choice (actual words were, "they're both equally good; go for the one that is closer").

Commercials and the final choice:

I sought proposals from both dealers and the numbers were virtually identical. The only difference was the service package which came in at 90K from JMD and 1.2L from Autobahn. Upon being told about the difference, Autobahn reduced this to 1L flat, but refused any further discounts. At this level though, 10K was hardly going to impact my choice. That said, I was still not comfortable with a white car - just didn't seem right, so was pondering whether to wait for the price hike announcement as this looked destined to go into April.

3 days later though, Autobahn called me again and said that if we could book and assure full payment credit by 31 March, they could divert a silver L&K to me - as the person with that booking was unable to arrange funds within March. Hmmm. Silver. My favourite and preferred colour. My wife, for the record, preferred the dark grey, so this was another upside. Order now and I would get my choice by default! Hold on, and I'd end up with a grey - regardless of how much I fought. So, the deal was on. It would be Autobahn and we rushed to finalize the commercials.

The commercials were simple enough really and there's nothing much to report.

Initial quote:


Over this, there was the additional part of financing and the service package and the numbers then started stacking up as below, as quoted by Autobahn:


We had some discussions on pricing obviously and also financials. These went as below (by head):

1. Car and accessories price - No dealer offered any discount. Not a single rupee. So, nothing to be done about this. Again, I consulted the Skoda contact and got told quite clearly that on the Octavia there was basically no discount offered at all. The offtake from production is 100% and there is a waiting period, so Skoda doesn't discount. Further, they're all too aware that nobody could compete with the Octavia on features at this price - so it's all about convincing the buyer to opt for the Skoda over an A3 and it's done. The incoming hypothesis is that the Altis just can't trump the Octavia with just a minor price differential. Also, with the 4-year warranty and very reasonably-priced service package, they see no benefit in discounting. All well and good, but surely the Skoda guy would say that? Checked with a senior guy at Audi too and got told the same things. Ditto. Said he didn't understand how, but the Octavia was the one car in the portfolio that just didn't need the discounting push. Oh well. Playing me or not, this was not something I would waste more time on. Price was accepted.

2. The insurance was an easy win and we got straight discounts on this. While I know some people who have had it waived at specific times of the year, a waiver was not offered to us - we did however source competing offers for lower prices and got a lower price than initially quoted. From 61.5K initially quoted, we got down by ~10K. Thumb rule - source competing offers and the dealer will match or better them immediately. They don't like losing this part.

Upshot:
Insurance dropped to 52K - not much in money terms, but % drop (as a % of insurance alone) is pretty significant.

3. Company registration - no-brainer that there was nothing on this.

4. Service package was dropped to INR 1L after the initial price of INR 1.2L. First discount was 1.1L (seen on the price posted above). Drive Assure was also thrown in - and the amounts therefore reduced to a total as below:


4. Loan and interest rates - again, Skoda offers financing, but our bankers gave us a substantially lower rate. While I'm unaware of the exact numbers, given that we're corporate clients, I think the differential was in the range of 0.75% (which is substantial). This is doubly so, given that the bank was the same! So, Skoda told the bankers and got a rate, but when we called and played hard-ball, the rate dropped significantly.

Another note here is on the loan amount. Skoda's finance offered a loan with far lower bank financing than we finally got. While they factored the loan only on the car price (ex-showroom without add-ons), we finally got the loan sanctioned factoring in the final OTR price after all add-ons. As such, our loan amount was close to 24+L, whereas the Skoda proposal had financing of closer to 19L! If you're making a company booking in particular, this is a significant benefit. I'm (blissfully) unaware of how this works for personal bookings - as most of my personal bookings have not involved the bank.

In summary, if you're buying a car (specially this one), focus on the insurance and financing in particular. These are where dealers make money - and where it's easy to save as they'll drop rates the moment you mention competing prices you're being offered (I also know this from my background in consulting). Get 2 banks into a battle and you benefit massively! On car price, while I didn't get a discount, there is a 50K corporate discount for select corporates - and there are, I am sure, various offers that will be unveiled from time to time. I just didn't have the inclination or time to spare!

In total, the car cost us about 29L on-road post company-registration, 4-year service and the accessories, fast-tag etc. Not too bad - as this was not much higher than a Corolla Altis would come in at - and the add-ons on the service and warranty genuinely give me a lot more comfort than not having them.

[imidnightmare]

So, all done then with the decision-making and we completed the booking; payment processing was also done in time for the 31 March deadline. Didn't want it stretching to April for the reason stated above, namely the prospect of a price-hike. The process was smooth and Autobahn provided excellent support. The Service team as well as the Finance team was available for inputs and assistance. Not surprising to be fair, given that this was all to do with the revenue side, but I've seen companies being arrogant and bureaucratic before. These guys weren't, so fair dos from my side. Paresh (the sales guy) was available on call at all times - he was also available after-hours (which is essential given the hours I work) so I was not troubled at any time. The next thing to be asked for by us was the PDI. This was scheduled at their Kurla workshop and Autobahn arranged for the car to be there for an inspection even before full payment was credited. Felt this was a nice gesture (token or otherwise) and duly went for the inspection.

The car was inspected all over, externally, and I also got the service guy to test the infotainment screen to see it was working. In the past, dealers have refused to do this, but these guys were very cooperative. The car was opened, screen tested etc. as you'll see in the images below. All was smooth on this aspect. The focus then shifted to the service aspect and we met with the Service Manager for Kurla. Details had been shared by Paresh and the team was expecting us (my father and I). The Service Manager was remarkably patient, polite and also quite candid. He spoke at length about the car, what could go wrong, routine issues, how to prevent them and also about the history of all the issues Skoda has faced and the steps taken to mitigate them. This was actually a crucial meeting. Note that we were still in a position to cancel this order (funds were not transferred) and an adverse impression would definitely have led to us cancelling the booking. However, after about an hour's conversation (and fairly decent tea), we were convinced we were in decent hands or at least, that we could do no more to assess whether we were in decent hands or not. We had no reasons to suspect otherwise. The car looked beautiful (albeit a tad small, since it was parked just behind a Superb with another Superb right next to it) and there were no blemishes we spotted anywhere. The car had just 64 km on the odo which seemed in line with what Paresh had said - when he'd indicated that it would have 65-75 km on the odo from the WH to the workshop. This was up by some 15km or so when we took delivery of course - since that was at Prabhadevi.

Another interesting point was how ordered things seemed here. The Linkway Honda Service Center looks like an accident waiting to happen. Cars everywhere, crammed B2B with mechanics and tools all over. This, by contrast seemed far better ordered. Also, the mechanic who walked us through the PDI was also pleasingly well-spoken and helpful. Also, seemed respectful of the vehicle itself. This is an intangible, but I like to see people respect equipment - this is also true of musicians and technicians respecting amps etc. for example when we do stage shows. This doesn't have anything to do with price, but just about the whole "work is worship" aspect. So, PDI done and we were happy with the outcome. Got back and asked for the payment to be processed rapidly.

Images:








1. I really like the new headlamps. The look is awesome in my opinion. While a lot of people think this is a polarizing design, I prefer this by far to the earlier design. Genuinely looks better (in my opinion). Also, the DRLs look nicer than in the earlier (pre-facelift) model!

2. The car had foam guards on the sides. These were on all sides and the front too. The care taken was good to see - and again, added to the feeling that they were taking good precautions inside the workshop

3. The surface was pretty spotless. The car was being cleaned and there were no signs of dust or even water droplet marks on any part of the body that had been wiped already.

Delivery Process

Next up, the delivery. Now, I'd been told that there was no way in Hell that a delivery with Skoda could be "smooth going" so was prepared for all manner of issues - from delays to in-process hold-ups. Nothing doing though and Skoda seemed intent on disproving all this. We received a heads-up the moment registration was complete - over SMS and then mail. We booked the pick-up time with Autobahn and showed up - all prepared for issues. Surprise, surprise, the car was ready - complete with a red cover - for the "unveiling". The paperwork was done very smoothly and the process for delivery started. The unveiling etc. seemed needlessly formal, but one goes along with it. The next step was the demo and that too went well. Major features were demonstrated and it all went smoothly. The automated parking feature was not demonstrated - largely because the main Octavia sales guy (Paresh, once again) was not present (he'd requested another day, but I was tied up the entirety of the next ten days, so this was the only slot I had!) but we were told we could come at any time if we needed a demo. Given my skepticism around the automated parking feature and the report of how it failed during the demo given to Team-BHP by the Skoda team themselves, I'm not too keen on this right now. Maybe later. So, I wasn't too bothered by this.

We completed the demo session (almost 45 minutes!) and were ready to rock and roll! Took off, fueled up and headed onwards to test the vehicle. Damn! This really looked like Skoda was giving us that unique feeling of a seamless and smooth delivery. Hmmm. Too good to be true? Yes! After all, how would it be memorable otherwise? There had to be something amiss! So, two days later, I noticed what the issue was. I must admit, I was appalled that I'd missed it. The number plate said MH ** ** 9*** on the front and MH ** ** 6*** at the rear. Ouch! Of all the things to miss, I'd missed something that, quite literally, was staring me in the face! My wife had noticed during the delivery that while we'd been messaged that the registration number was 6***, the front said 9***. I wasn't quite attentive (cue standard joke about women, cars and men not listening etc.) enough and just sort of chalked it down to Paresh having made an error in the message. Just didn't bother to check! Should have. Anyway, messaged Paresh at about 545 AM about the issue. By 9 AM he'd replied and by the afternoon, he himself had visited our office (where the car was at the time) and replaced the front number plate. No hassles and was pleased that this was done without any further inconvenience. All in all, quite a gaffe by them, but I too had played my role (through not playing my role as a diligent buyer) and there had been no damage done (Would have been tragicomic of course, if we'd had a hit-and-run leading to witnesses giving conflicting reports)

Some images - helps tick boxes and also helps understand some of the stuff I'll get to later:

1. Front of the car:


Adds a uniqueness and that's something nice, to my mind. Once on, you can see that there's no telling, but it's when the lights are out that the look is brilliant. I have enjoyed this since day 1 (bar that bit of bird poop that the car picked up in the daytime...)

2. Rear leg-room:

Rear space is more than adequate; passengers will be comfortable regardless of driver and co-passenger comfort. The seats are comfortable too. You can't tell in images of course, but the rear seats make for a nice place to sit back and relax as long as there's no 3 year old dancing over you. It's a place where you can enjoy the long rides! Took this with the lights on so that the space is more visible. One thing you can also see on this though is the hump in the middle that I dwell on later. From a comfort standpoint, the vents at the back help with cooling and the USB points are very useful indeed.

3. Front passenger seat well

The nice part about this is the room to really stretch your legs unimpeded. I come from a family of short people, so this is not really relevant for us, but if you're tall too, there's no issue. Another good point is that the well does not narrow - if you've been in a Hexa, you'll know what I mean. The well is wide and stays wide, so the legs don't need adjustment regardless of your preferred style of seating.

4. Inner part of the (front) door

This is pretty much the only part of the car where you can fit in a full bottle of water. as the cup holders are tiny - and won't hold a can or a 1L bottle of water.

5. Proximity sensors in action while I park.


Very helpful. The same sensors help in the same manner even when in traffic. This can be annoying too if you're very comfortable and don't want to have your music interrupted by beeping noises. That said, I've not disabled this feature mainly because I would rather know about how close I am to the guys around me - at least for now.

[imidnightmare]

This is the last bit - what the car is like while driving, what I like, what I dislike and of course the infamous point about "kitna deti hai?". I'll try to be meticulous in this - while still skipping minor details / minor things I like / dislike as that would mean about 15 more pages of meandering nothingness or redundant details that have been covered at length across various reports and reviews. The focus is on things that I have noticed and that I have found to stand out (for better or for worse) - so if I've not touched upon something you'd like to know about, do drop a note. Oh and if you own one and have an input that could help me, do let me know. I'm a newbie when it comes to owning an Octavia obviously, so every little tit-bit helps!

For the record, I've not driven the car all that much - so this is not a 10K KM review (I do hope to update once I hit such markers) but a modest 1.5K or so. The drives have been largely of 3 types (more details follow below):

1. Short drives to and from office. Distance of just about 10K round. Average on these is 4-7 kmpl with a high of 8.
2. Drives to South Mumbai to meet lawyers / clients (largely down the Eastern Freeway). Average of around 8-10 on these.
3. Drives down WEH and JVLR at night with my kid. Average of 10 or so.

In-trip high reaches about 15 or so when cruising for a multiple kms at ~80 kpmh.

What I've really liked once driving regularly
Driving regularly gives you a massive sense of joy. The car is undeniably awesome to drive and a massive step-up from any I've owned previously (not having owned a Bimmer / Merc etc.).

Biggest upsides:

1. The DSG gearbox is surprisingly nice and smooth. Despite having read so many praising it, the shifts surprise you. The shifting is almost imperceptible and acceleration is spectacular if you're stepping up from a smaller / less refined vehicle. You barely feel the shift on the accelerator when it moves up gears even if you concentrate. This is a big change to the conventional slush boxes I've been used to. I pride myself on "feeling" the car through the pedals. Everything including a feather brushing the car (OK, that's an exaggeration) can be felt by a good driver, I believe, so this refinement really pleases me. Can't stress it enough. Regardless of that big question mark over the DQ200 still hovering overhead, there is no doubt that the gearbox makes me smile!

Note that I'm not saying you can't perceive it (for those that like to pick nits). You can obviously, but it's not like in the slush boxes in the Hondas and the Hexa. If I'm accelerating hard, I can't feel how many gears I shift up - which is unlike the slush boxes where I feel every shift clearly.

2. Acceleration; the first time I accelerated (without sports mode, note), I was almost disappointed at the lack of grunt. Then I looked at the speedometer and realized how rapidly I was speeding up! I didn't even have the "pedal to the metal" but was in danger of exceeding the speed limit on the Sealink - all while feeling "disappointed"! Put the pedal to the metal and the car takes and instant before wham! You feel the car surge forward - but it still seems effortless. It's no match for the vRS of course, but hey, I'm driving in Mumbai - and it's more than sufficient for the rapid overtakes. This is specially useful in cases like I just had about an hour ago. Very slow driving school vehicle ahead of me that'd been holding me up and a train of cars behind me on a narrow road. A small window appeared in the traffic on the other side, allowing a chance to get past. In the Brio, City etc., I'd not have chanced it, but I did this time and made it with ease. Dab hard on the pedal and you just surge past with ease.

Also, once you are around other cars, you realize just how fast you're moving relative to them. Not for the racing enthusiast, but power-on-tap is a great feeling for most normal drives.

3. Sports mode. Now, this is for those moments when you're on an open road and in the mood for some fun. I'm glad I didn't have this car in my younger (and significantly wilder) days, as I'd probably have become a complete menace for everyone else. Two fractured legs, a marriage and kid and several sobering "read about the accident" incidents later, there's not much I can do now in terms of "testing the limits". I drive within speed limits (or try to) specially now with the radars all over - and so have used this just to test how fast I reach the limit. Feels absolutely great and this is the mode that gives you the true experience of the grunt. The initial hesitation from the car is minimal and the surge is immediately felt in the cabin. The only sorrow you feel in Sports mode is knowing the damned limit is close at hand and having to ease off as you approach it, since you approach it very, very quickly! This is the sort of thing that makes me wish I could just head to some test / race track and let go! Instincts remain and my love of speed is undimmed. I'm just cautious on the roads - so if any of you can help guide me to a track where I can "let my hair down" and "roll back the years", please message me. I'd love to. Sports Mode does however make me wonder what is missing. Somehow - compared to the vRS for example - the car doesn't feel as grounded as I'd like when accelerating hard. I have not tested this much at all, so am not sure exactly what it is I'm missing. My initial feeling though is that it's the rubber and the higher GC (possibly a better spoiler too). The rubber is possibly the most important one. That said, like I've said, I've become a very sedate driver over the years, so am disinclined to seriously consider a change of rubber. The setup is fine as it is!

4. NVH and cabin comfort. The cabin is really well-insulated and the TSI is really silent! There was this occasion at a gas station (windows down at the time) when my father didn't realize that the engine had come on! No kidding. This car is extremely silent, even when accelerating and that's a real joy. Even if you have a call on the system, you don't wish that noise was lower.
Note: You can still hear the ambient honking of cars beside / behind, but it's not annoying and the cabin is definitely a very pleasant place to be in! Cooling is great (dual zone etc. as you'll see on the images later) and rapid, seat comfort is fantastic and you can genuinely relax inside the car.

5. The MID has a bunch of info. Info covers pretty much everything you'd want to see and phone control is also an option. This is a nice-to-have, specially as you don't need to look at the main console to see who is calling (looking at you, Hexa). There are a couple of elements on this that I feel are missing (have detailed this later in this post under what I dislike) but no deal-breakers.

I have not posted images on the MID as I found these everywhere when looking at reviews. Should they be needed, do flag me and I'll post the ones I took a couple of weeks ago (bunch of them showing various screens). The main settings I stick to though are:

1. Phone - so I can use the scroll button to accept / cut calls easily
2. Fuel Efficiency (Car Info) - to see trip details and averages on a real-time basis

Others like TPMS don't add much value for me.

6. The audio is awesome, specially with CarPlay connected. On Bluetooth as well though, there's nothing to complain about. Not compared closely with the Harman on the Hexa, but very happy with the sound.

7. The touchscreen is very smooth and responsive. Feels like a phone - such is the speed of response. While this should really be standard given the technology, this is not a given from what I've seen on many vehicles. The screen on this works brilliantly and on CarPlay as well, you don't have to wait for the system to respond to a touch! Another big, big upside is the speed with which the system picks up the phonebook. The Hexa (Harman system) also picks up the phonebook, but that process takes ages and is very annoying if you're getting onto a call as soon as you get into the car. The Skoda's system starts much, much faster and phonebook access is also very rapid. Nice!

8. May seem petty, but I just love the way the headlamps swivel down and up when you start the engine. Just one of those things. Nobody else I know even commented, but I like seeing it when I switch on the car!

9. Safety
I'm big on safety features and here, the Octavia really doesn't let me down. The standard 8 airbags are a default requirement for me, as are ABS, BA, ESP and EBD. These are basics in my opinion and no car should be sold without them. Frankly, Indian regulations here could do with tightening, specially given the nature of our roads and traffic. Anyway, there are also other things on the car that are nice.

a. The seatbelt indication for the passenger; I've always wondered why the seat-belt warning only chimes for drivers on the cars I have. This time, for the first time, I have a vehicle in which the passenger (front only, however) also needs to fasten the seat-belt or the car sounds the alarm. Nice as I don't even need to highlight this specifically.

b. The proximity sensors; this can be annoying when you're in very dense traffic, but to be frank, I've found it very helpful in the initial period. Has helped me also stay more alert in the snarls that are common the in the Marol area where bikers, autos, cars and even buses and trucks are all trying to squeeze you. Most of them (specially the bikers and autos) know that a sedan driver will be cautious and they're extra-aggressive (unpleasant contrast compared to how they react when a Hexa threatens to flatten them) and get really close. The sensor may seem annoying, but keeps you aware of which sides to be most cautious about.

c. The music gets muted to being almost inaudible when the proximity sensor kicks in. This is a good touch, but I'd have preferred that the music were paused! This is annoying if you like a song. Getting to the music controls requires you to dismiss the proximity alarm, so there's a trade-off here that could easily have been avoided. The music is also dimmed when you reverse of course.

d. Front sensor and locking on proximity; the front sensors just jam your brakes if you're too close to something and the car feels you'll hit it. This happened at Fountain. A random dude simply waltzed in front of the car at the signal just as we were moving forward. I'd not have hit him, but he was within range, I presume and suddenly, I was stuck and not moving. I had to dab the brakes to disengage the jamming, after which I moved forward. This is a feature I am sure will be invaluable when you're approaching a footpath for parking or when there's some pesky hydrant that the BMC has covered in tar allowing only it's head to peek out of the ground.

There's of course, a bunch of other stuff I like, but these are the highlights. Of course, there's also stuff that is annoying or that could be improved- and I'll cover that next.

Stuff I don't particularly like

1. The controls are opposite to how they are on standard Japanese / Indian cars. I'm referring to the fact that the signal indicators are on the left of the steering and the wipers are on the right. This causes not-too-infrequent incidents where I try to signal that I'm turning only to see the wipers begin to move.




Now, this is something I at least, find to be an issue. Over time I've become accustomed to having the right hand on the wheel all the time and having the left towards the gear quite often, since I've spent close to 2 decades driving MT cars. As such, specially when turning, my hand has become accustomed to the right hand moving the indicators and even the way I hold the steering is geared to this (elbow supported at the right point on the door / sill etc.). This is normally not an issue as I'm very conscious of the indicators now, but if I'm not fully focused on the task of making the indication, I move the wiper's stem. Not a deal-breaker, but clearly this is designed for the European setup. Will get used to it over time, but hey, I like to crib!

Today for example, two weeks in, for the first time, I managed to have furious wiper movement on the Brio when I wanted to signal a turn while returning from the gym. Then, an hour later when moving out for work in the Octy, I had the headlamps and windshield of the Octavia being sprayed when trying to flash my headlamps at the guy who had parked his car blocking the gate. Total mess - which I reckon will take time to sort out, unless I just shift entirely to using just one car all the time or replace the Brio with a Rapid (which is currently being offered at an INR 3L discount by Autobahn for a 2017 model Diesel AT top-end variant - this is as on 17th April 2018).

2. The moon-roof cover. Now, the moon-roof itself is very nice, but the cover is a bit of an opinion-divider. Firstly, it's fabric-like and therefore not opaque.

This is something my wife likes, but I don't. I'd like the cover to be more opaque. That said, it's not as if it's too bright even with a blazing sun overhead. The moon-roof itself is fairly well-tinted as you'll see below. As a result, the light isn't intrusive and the heat is not an issue. No heating was observed inside even under the peak Mumbai sun.

The other moan I have about this is that the cover has to be manually moved. The moon-roof itself is electronically operated, but the cover has to be moved manually - so you could have the moon-roof open, but the flap still in place. Another minor point is that the controls are on the roof of the car, so if you want to adjust it, you should really do it when stationary. I dislike taking my eyes off the road, so until I develop the muscle memory to do this automatically while driving, I shall stick to not doing it until I'm at a red light!

3. The cup-holders.

The cup-holders as you'll see are absolutely tiny. I can fit my phone in there (laterally), but there is no way you can fit in a bottle - unless it's one of those really tiny ones. This is not normally an issue (I don't like to have liquids inside the car) but becomes a problem when I'm traveling with my son. His water bottle is shaped like a can (the thick old-fashioned ones and not the new-fangled tall and slim ones). It just doesn't fit here - or in the similar holders on the rear arm-rest. The only place it sort of fits is in the front door - which is obviously not close to his car seat. End-result is a lot of back and forth.

4. The hump in the middle

The hump in the middle of the back-row is quite substantial. Not sure you can see how high it is in this image (colours hardly contrast) but it's enough to ensure that the car is best suited for 4 people. 5 can manage quite well (provided none is too "massive") for shorter trips, but my view is that on a long drive, the person in the middle will struggle to be too comfortable.

5. The absence of voice for iOS (not sure about Android)
The Hexa works on Bluetooth with voice control - I can just press the button and speak and the call is made (no CarPlay, so this is restricted to calls and music, but how much more does one need?). On the Octavia though, there doesn't seem to be voice support for iOS at all - not even for making calls (or at least that's what the car tells me). So I need to press the phone's Home button to activate Siri for any task (or use Hey Siri). This is a major gripe for me, as I really thought that on a car like this, they could easily have added Voice Control too. It's exacerbated when I see the voice control image on a button (works with Android? No idea, as nobody in my family has an Android device). With CarPlay or with Bluetooth, the need to have a fully hands-free experience really demands that you have Voice Control! Hopefully this is just a software upgrade away, but given my experience with TML's 14-month long (and still continuing) "Apple support is coming soon for ConnectNext" story, I'm not going to hold my breath.

6. The quality of the buttons and scroll wheel on the steering. If you look at the images above, you'll see that the buttons look fairly decent. Press them though, and I feel slightly alarmed. The scroll wheels in particular, are used very frequently and feel quite flimsy. I hope I'm wrong, but those don't feel like the best parts and are the only parts of the car that stick out like sore thumbs in terms of quality of component. Nothing to be done about it, and not a deal-breaker clearly, but definitely a gripe - and I wonder about whether and when they will fail.

7. No dedicated call disconnection button
The MID has this annoying miss which is that you if you're on another display setting (say the average consumption etc.) and get onto a call, then cutting the call needs you to first press the phone button and then disconnect using the scroll button - as there's no dedicated button I have found for disconnecting (the scroll button works only when the MID is set on "Phone"). It's something you can get used to and since it pertains to disconnection (which the other party is fully capable of), is not a major issue. I do wonder though why they just didn't add a call / cut button! Am I missing something?

I've not covered everything of course. I don't want to dwell on boot space, shade on the rear windshield, absence of shades for rear windows, hooks in the boot, auto headlamps etc. etc. which have been covered massively in other reviews. Would add no value and those are extremely minor (in my opinion). This done, shall move on to the final bits. So, now to the numbers while driving the car thus far.

Driving details and review:
The parts about drive quality etc. have been done to death in various official reviews as well as user-reviews etc. I will therefore touch only lightly on these besides saying "wow!". This section therefore focuses on the averages I've got thus far and some little nuggets that may be of use. Most of my driving has been in very heavy traffic - no outstation drives so far, so all of my data is restricted to largely B2B traffic in the Andheri-Powai area and some runs to Fountain/Fort/Nariman Point and late night runs to basically feel good about life!

1. Average in B2B traffic varies from 4-7 kmpl.
The run from my home to office (and back) can be a horrid one. The stretch can take up to 1 hour at times (each way) - though on an empty road, at very relaxed speeds, I make the run in 10 minutes from door to door! So, on this run, I'm averaging about 6.5 kmpl thus far. Mind though that this includes a massive amount of time just standing still, with the engine idling and the AC running (I do like comfort and assume this is how people will use the vehicle). A low of 4 kmpl was hit on a particular run where we took 75 minutes for a 3 km stretch (thanks so much Metro-BMC combine!). I really don't blame the car for this.

2. Average on a mixed run is about 9-10 kmpl.
I have made a few runs to South Mumbai in the daytime - this is a mixed run with heavy traffic on the stretch between Powai and the Freeway and of course between the freeway exit and the destination in Fort / Nariman Point. Works both ways as traffic has been similarly heavy (rush hour). The freeway runs were fully clear. On this, I found that if you adhere to the ridiculous 60 km/h level, you hit an average of about 8-12 or so (sometimes as high as 14) depending on the incline etc. This is inferior to the 14+ you get when you're coasting on roads with a limit of 80 km/h (sealink, Highways etc.). Given the mix of traffic, I got a full-trip average of about 10.4 from Powai-Fort and 9.9 on the return. Numbers are averaged over multiple trips with marginal differences. Not too bad.

3. Tip: Don't get the car "washed"
When speaking to the service advisor, one thing he stressed was that "washing" the way typical car washers do it is highly avoidable. Dirt from the water enters the discs and can cause squeaking and also damage in the longer term. Now, I forgot to inform the washer who was tending to the Corolla to not wash the Octavia. A few days later, "squeak"! This was resolved easily of course by making up for the gap in communication. It would alarm me more if it were not for the fact that I endured 4 months of much hand-wringing and 3 futile visits to the TML service center with my Hexa for the exact same issue. The SM there had a similar input the very first time ("the car washing is causing this") but I didn't buy it since the City, Brio and Corolla were not exhibiting this behavior. TML pretty much took the entire assembly apart and checked everything - only to find absolutely no issue. So the washing stopped and the squeaking followed suit a day or two later. This time therefore, specially since the SM at Autobahn had (unprompted) offered the input that washing poses this issue, there was no doubt in my mind! I've not read about this elsewhere, so am making it a point to mention this. Inputs welcome if you have any.

I'm now following the cleaning tips given on the Team-BHP thread on the topic. Massively helpful and I'm really appreciative of people who take the time to make such threads!

(Note: Apparently the squeaking issue is more pronounced if your washer tosses a bucket / super-wet cloth over the tyres to "clean" them)

4. Buy Gummi Pflege
Got told about this through at least 3 different users over PM. Thanks to all of you for this. Fact is that almost all cars will start squeaking a little with the door rubber linings. I've seen this in every car I've had. The Gummi Pflege gets rid of this in no time and is virtually no hassle!

5. Leave any hands-free at home
The quality of sound on calls is great - as is the audio for music of course. No issues whatsoever. Compares well with the Hexa - and that has a great sound system too. Not that I understand the hype over the Canton. Must admit I have not, thus far, found reason to proclaim it the best I've ever heard etc., but there is nothing to complain about! No C-segment system can match it, that is certain.

[imidnightmare]

Now to the minor bits:

1. Build of the car and the finish:
This has two parts really. For the most part, the car is built very well. You'd expect that from a European manufacturer. The car feels sturdy and well-grounded for the most part and the fittings are very good. The paint finish is nice and the piano black pieces are well done too. The sunroof in particular is fitted well and shows no signs of the old rattling issue that plagued the initial lots of the Octavia. That said, there are bits that are irksome. The buttons and scroll wheels on the steering are definitely out of place in this car. It deserved a lot better and a few thousands more for better-quality ones would not be cribbed about by anyone. I have no clue why this (the most visible and clear) of all places was where Skoda decided to stint! Not done.

Again, I'm not certain I will hold on to this view after a few more, but the feel of the car under hard acceleration in Sports Mode was not as good as I felt it ought to be. Is it because of the rubber? Quite likely. I've read multiple people talking about swapping to Continental or Michelin for their Octavias, so if you're after pure performance, that may be something to think about. Depending on how things go and how I feel in a bit, I too may consider that - but it's definitely not on my radar for now.

2. Visibility:
As with any sedan of this nature, visibility of the corners is not there at all. That said, the proximity sensors really help massively in parking and in bad traffic. The front sensor jamming the brakes is another upside if you're a careless driver (I'm not, thankfully) as well, so that's another upside.

The biggest upside on visibility though is the anti-glare mirrors. I'd upload images if I could, but frankly, it's a bit beyond my capabilities (or has been so far) to click images to show how well they do their job. People behind me with high beams are the bane of my night-driving existence, but in this, the glare doesn't affect you. Both ORVMs and the IRVM have anti-glare and do their job very well indeed!

The ORVMs are fabulous with the anti-glare and you don't need to adjust them much. The other thing (you can't see it from this image of course) is that they automatically lower the view when you start reversing. This solves an eternal issue for me as I prefer different settings while driving and when reversing!

The IRVM may be a tad small for some, but is adequate.

Some have mentioned the headlights are not the best with respect to performance in heavy rain. I have no view on this - too early as I've not encountered rain and from what I could see, the reports were on the pre-facelift model. The lights seem very bright as of now, but rain is a completely different ballgame and I shall reserve judgment (Living in Mumbai means that it's just a couple of months before I know with absolute certainty either way!).

3. AC, insulation and the cooling
Again, an upside for the car. A few days ago, I was in the Godrej compound in the middle of the afternoon. The car was parked in the open in the blazing sun for hours on end (about 4 hours from 11 to 3 or so). Once, we stepped out and had to get into a colleague's car to move across units. His car (Polo) was parked in the shade, but even after 5 minutes, it was really hot and sultry inside. By contrast, once we hopped into the Octavia, it took barely a couple of minutes to cool down, despite having sat in the sun that long. This belies the fear about the moonroof having only a flimsy covering beneath and speaks volumes for the nature of the glass in it.

4. Boot
Boot is large and has a couple of nice little things about it. It does - as I have mentioned - have access from the rear seat (small hatch though). Also, apart from hooks for your bags, there's also a handle to pull down the boot once open.


The handle is a boon for short people in particular (like me) and makes it easy to pull the boot-lid down. Have had occasion to thank the designer for this. It's really not much and would not make headlines or even the body of most reviews, but I liked this touch.

5. Storage


This is adjustable - and that's nice to have. Not a unique feature, so not mentioning this as a separate like or a decision-variable. Moved forward, the lid offers a nice spot to rest the elbow, if you are so inclined. I do this when cruising along - though of course, this is hardly of any use when you're in heavy traffic.


There's no storage notch in the armrest on the doors - this is something I find helpful when driving the Hexa which has an abundance of space here. I often keep my phone / some change for tolls (open and accessible) etc. in that spot, but here, I can't. The notch at the bottom of the door is decent and will fit a bottle easily - but won't fit the really large ones I've seen some drivers carry around. There's also a tiny "dustbin" here which helps for temporarily storing toll receipts / wrappers etc. till you reach a dustbin. Not much to add to this.


The box is cooled and you can also control the cooling level (see the control on the top right). With the lighting as well, this is a nice box - though a tad small. Remember that I'm used to the dual boxes in the Hexa which afford a lot more space! Again, the overall space inside the car isn't all that much. Storing things therefore means you need to put them inside the boot in a place which could be accessible from the rear seat. This could potentially be a bit of an issue if you're going to have 3 at the back and head on a long drive.

A bunch of this space is taken up with the control system above. There is the SD card slot for media - and a separate SD card slot for Maps. The space taken up whether you go for the Style Plus (without Navigation) or the L&K (with) is the same from what I could see. Navigation though just should not be a deal maker / breaker for you given how infrequently you'll use the in-built system.

6. Rear seats - seatbelts, boot access and more

Seatbelts provided for all 3 passengers and even if two large people occupy the back, there is no discomfort caused by the extra belt. The middle flap on the seat pops up for an arm rest with the cup (small cups) holders as in all cars. There's also direct access to the boot through this - which may be nice considering the lack of storage inside the car; I've not had occasion to use this, but again, it's a "nice-to-have" and would not have been a deal-breaker (or maker) for me. The seats are not ventilated - and this would certainly have helped. That said, it's not a deal-breaker as the cooling is very efficient and the seat material ensures you don't get out of the car trying awkwardly to hide a sopping back and butt from the people you've gone to meet.

7. Navigation system



The in-built navigation system is aesthetically nice and a check-box in reviews, I reckon, but nothing more than that. There's no real-time traffic monitoring and route optimization and work is not accounted for. For example, the route shown on this fails to account for the fact that on account of road construction, a right turn here has been inaccessible for 3 months. As such, following this would have resulted in a 2 km detour - and avoiding a far shorter route that's been opened to negate this. The other issue on navigation (for me) is that there's no support for Google Maps mirroring on iPhone CarPlay. I've touched upon this earlier too. This is a downer. This is not an issue with Android Auto I am told (probably as Google Maps is a native app for that platform). As Apple and Google are hardly best mates, I don't expect to see this resolved. In the meantime though, maybe it's time for auto makers to consider better Maps software? MapMyIndia doesn't have any fans among the people I know.

8. Infotainment - over Bluetooth
The music streamed over Bluetooth is seamless - but there's one issue I have. If I'm watching a video on some other app (Facebook, YouTube etc.), the Hexa's ConnectNext continues to play the audio over the system when I'm connected. Somehow, the Octavia doesn't. It only seems to connect to my iPhone's library - and doesn't connect to third-party apps. This is bizarre to my mind, since (as an engineer), I don't see how sound output would be any different. If the system can switch on calls and music, why not third-party media apps? Not a deal-breaker, but an annoyance nonetheless. This only came up this morning when I wanted to listen to a Bill Maher piece Dr. Jordan Peterson. Was a really funny bit I started as I left from home - and I thought I'd listen while in the car, but just couldn't! Tried FB and YouTube, but neither worked!

9. Wheels
The alloys look nice but as I've mentioned before, I'm not convinced that these are the best set available when it comes to the rubber itself.

The wheels are not the smallest (the car next to it is the Verna) - but not the largest either and you wonder if 17" alloys may have been better. The RS fills out the wheel well better than the L&K.

I've also mentioned how I feel when I accelerate hard in Sports Mode. Grip is something I feel is critical when you're talking of high-performance vehicles and you can never have too much rubber on the road (unless it's raining of course). In road cars, I can understand the need for balance but the fact is that I am not quite sure yet if the grip is enough for taking the L&K on "performance" drives. I reckon they bank on the fact that nobody will - or will upgrade if they want to.

Well, I think that's really all there is to report. My family loves the car. My kid can't get enough of the moon-roof - and typically insists on a late evening drive (he doesn't get to stick his head out in the day of course!). The wife loves the comfort and silence. For her, one major upside against the Hexa also is the wider well on the passenger side. In the Hexa, the well is constrained slightly on the right side for the passenger. Not something most complain about, but she doesn't like it. The Octy has no such issues. My dad loves driving it (and therefore is driving a lot more than he used to!) while Mum is "fine" with it (She doesn't really care about cars as long as they're working and getting her from point to point without too much inconvenience).

So, in summary, then, the Octavia has indeed been my silver (quite literally, too) bullet.
1. Executive sedan? Check
2. Powerful and nice to drive? Check
3. ~30L and within budget? Check
4. Plasters a smile over my face when driving? Triple check
5. A package that leaves me assured I'm covered for most eventualities? Check!
6. Keeps every family member happy? Absolute check!

I've probably been a lot more critical on the review than I would be if you asked me for "feedback" in a conversation. Reason really is that I'm one of those that tries to focus on the gap areas more than the "done well" taking the latter to be "done things" while the former deserve focus so you can improve them. Also, I didn't want this to seem like a gushing post-purchase justification of my purchase. If you're evaluating the car, you should know that it's not perfect and has clear gap areas. For me, these gaps are largely "minor" and definitely not deal-breakers. The way I intend to use the car demands a different set of key parameters - on all of which the car aces things, pretty much.

In summary, for me, the car covers every base. When I look at everything I'm getting for a price that's just a smidgen higher than the Altis, I'm blown away. No car is perfect, and the Octavia isn't by a long way; there are some points which make me wonder why they're even shortfalls (cheap buttons on the steering and the absence of voice control, primarily). That said, they pale in comparison with the upsides the car brings. Every time I get in, I savour the moment before I start - and wish the drives were longer and on more open roads. I also find that this vehicle makes me want to undertake outstation drives - something that are tedious for me as they normally mean I miss my workout! So for me, this car fits like a glove and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who has a similar set of circumstances / preferences etc.

I'll do my best to stay on the thread and answer any questions - time and work permitting. I apologize in advance for any delays!

[GTO]

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

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

I don't see how sound output would be any different. If the system can switch on calls and music, why not third-party media apps? Not a deal-breaker, but an annoyance nonetheless. This only came up this morning when

Try playing music from Apple Music, once any song is played, you can play music from any 3rd party app. Should work out this way.

And a big Congratulations

[imidnightmare]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Try playing music from Apple Music, once any song is played, you can play music from any 3rd party app. Should work out this way.

And a big Congratulations

Thanks. Listed out the issue as I like BT streaming to cover as much as possible. Carrying cables / keeping extra ones in the car can be annoying. Also, given that this is a feature I see on standard systems, it's a surprising miss. That said, haven't tried with CarPlay on (used standard apps only on that) and will check that out later today. Cheers!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

So, in summary, then, the Octavia has indeed been my silver (quite literally, too) bullet.
1. Executive sedan? Check
2. Powerful and nice to drive? Check
3. ~30L and within budget? Check
4. Plasters a smile over my face when driving? Triple check
5. A package that leaves me assured I'm covered for most eventualities? Check!
6. Keeps every family member happy? Absolute check!

That's what Skodas do to their owners, check all the boxes which matter.

In fact, I could add a few more: -

7. Safety? Check.
8. Online spare availability for post warranty repairs? Check.
9. Mod-ability? Double check.
10. Ever improving brand and consequently resale value? Check.

Hearty congratulations on buying the bullet and wish you a million miles of happy motoring.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

That said, haven't tried with CarPlay on (used standard apps only on that) and will check that out later today. Cheers!

Nothing to do with car play as such. Car play will work, either with lightning cable or without, streaming music over bluetooth is different. Please try to select bluetooth in source and play the music from Apple music (song downloaded via iTunes). Once that is done, music with any third party app should play, but the first song has to be played from Apple music.

[NTO]

Congratulations on your new ride and I must say, this ownership review is as beautifully crafted as the car itself. I felt as if I was present in every moment of yours buying the car. Wishing you a many more happy miles on this understated beast!

Regarding washing the wheels, if you are pressure washing the car, you can advise the person washing to spray water on the wheel from the top, in a top down fashion rather than directly hitting the wheel with water perpendicular to it. I too had initial squeaking from the brakes and then discovered this technique of washing, rather figured it out from 3M car care. I wash my car myself once a week very thoroughly and for rest of the days, Jopaso does the job.

[itwasntme]

imidnightmare,

Superb review - many years of pleasurable and trouble-free motoring. I am the happy owner of a MY2016 Octavia Style+ TSI with 32k on the clock and looking for any excuse to drive anywhere anytime :-)

Try out the Skoda Oneapp and see if it works for you to display all vital stats of your car on your mobile. I think my MY2016 Bolero is not compatible but yours should be. The MySkoda app is also quite useful allowing service booking and tracking.

Can you also share what the all-inclusive service package covers? Is it a Skoda-level offer or a dealership-level one? As an example, my TSI has costed me INR 10k and INR 16k for scheduled services at 1yr/14k km & 2yr/28k km respectively. Service for the TSI is reasonably cheap especially considering the long interval!

Do consider swapping your tires to Michelin P3ST or Continental MC5. I did not, and am living with the OEM NCT5s which turned noisy and hard at 20k and getting worse day by day. Further I feel mileage has dropped as well.
Comparatively, I understand P3STs age much much better, remain supple AND aid mileage. You should still get a reasonable amount for your tyres so explore the idea. This is what my tyres look like today - TCS is a constant friend on anything but billiard smooth tarmac.

[imidnightmare]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

imidnightmare,

Superb review - many years of pleasurable and trouble-free motoring. I am the happy owner of a MY2016 Octavia Style+ TSI with 32k on the clock and looking for any excuse to drive anywhere anytime :-)

Try out the Skoda Oneapp and see if it works for you to display all vital stats of your car on your mobile. I think my MY2016 Bolero is not compatible but yours should be. The MySkoda app is also quite useful allowing service booking and tracking.

Can you also share what the all-inclusive service package covers? Is it a Skoda-level offer or a dealership-level one? As an example, my TSI has costed me INR 10k and INR 16k for scheduled services at 1yr/14k km & 2yr/28k km respectively. Service for the TSI is reasonably cheap especially considering the long interval!

Do consider swapping your tires to Michelin P3ST or Continental MC5. I did not, and am living with the OEM NCT5s which turned noisy and hard at 20k and getting worse day by day. Further I feel mileage has dropped as well.
Comparatively, I understand P3STs age much much better, remain supple AND aid mileage. You should still get a reasonable amount for your tyres so explore the idea. This is what my tyres look like today - TCS is a constant friend on anything but billiard smooth tarmac.

I have downloaded the apps - and just not got around to setting them up (blame work pressure and the thread!). Shall do so soon though. On the rubber, am torn between changing and not; very tempting, but then I also wonder if I'll ever really utilize what they offer. As of now, am willing to "live with them" for a while.

On the service, it's at dealer-level. Major points covered are:
1. Scheduled Servicing
2. Non-scheduled maintenance including Mechanical, Electrical, Failure Repairs for the Vehicle.

Quoting from the agreement:

"Some examples include but are not limited to replacement of brake pads, shoe, brake disc, suspension, lower arm, shock absorbers, belts, wiper, rubber, etc.
If the vehicle suffers a mechanical / electrical failure, we will have the failure rectified either by repair/ replacement through the Authorized Skoda Dealer without any cost to the customer.
Damaged caused to glass lights , indicators, paints, internal or external trim, panel body, wheel tyres and tyre tubes are not covered under non-scheduled maintenance."

The big thing there is on the suspension; this is not covered under the extended warranty, so this was something I did have worries about; also, the fact that people spoke about how a dealer (JMD in this case) asked for replacement of brake discs and pads and charged a fair packet at the start of the 4th year. Knowing that this is covered is a relief in my book.

Note: While this is at dealer-level, have a feeling that Skoda drafts all this. Both dealers had virtually identical wording! And the title as well as wording sounds like as if out of an official Skoda offering - "Authorized Skoda Dealer" instead of "Autobahn" or "JMD" and the package is called "Skoda Secure Service" and not "Autobahn Secure Service". No idea if this was originally a Skoda offering that dealers are offering themselves, but it's odd that all offer it and have very similar T&C and also wording!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by imidnightmare

IOn the rubber, am torn between changing and not; very tempting, but then I also wonder if I'll ever really utilize what they offer. As of now, am willing to "live with them" for a while.

Quoting from the agreement:

[i]"Some examples include but are not limited to replacement of brake pads, shoe, brake disc, suspension, lower arm, shock absorbers, belts, wiper, rubber, etc.

The big thing there is on the suspension; this is not covered under the extended warranty, so this was something I did have worries about; also, the fact that people spoke about how a dealer (JMD in this case) asked for replacement of brake discs and pads and charged a fair packet at the start of the 4th year. Knowing that this is covered is a relief in my book.

No idea if this was originally a Skoda offering that dealers are offering themselves, but it's odd that all offer it and have very similar T&C and also wording!

Tyres: Would still advise - most ownership reports have glowing testimonials to Michelins and Continentals.

Suspension: Good point - I am at 32k km and the link rods (6k each) on the front are already moaning and groaning on wide tall speedbreakers (the ones which really exercise the full travel of the suspension). The moaning gets worse in the cold or when wet. This is a known maintenance cost with the Octavia and I will need to change them soon I am thinking.

Wording: you are very right, Skoda India had this full service offer with the Laura (I believe). But discontinued for whatever reason before the Octavia 5E/A7 was launched.

[Flyer]

Congratulations on your new car. Thank you for the awesome and detailed review. Octavia in my opinion is undoubtedly the best and the most beautiful car in its segment. A great package given its powerful engine, ride comfort, nvh and rear space, the tank like build quality and top safety features and alluring extras like moon roof, auto park etc. Glad to hear that the problems of DQ200 are mostly sorted out. Wishing you a lot of miles in this beauty.