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-   -   Yet another Octavia owner struggling to upgrade! What Car? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/258901-yet-another-octavia-owner-struggling-upgrade-what-car.html)

I am currently driving an Octavia (2017, Petrol 1.8 TSI with 65000 on the ODO), and I have been looking for an upgrade for the last few months. My primary usage is road trips; I have done some remote parts of Kashmir & good part of Kerala in my Octavia quite comfortably, but now that I am looking for a possible upgrade option for 35-40L, I am in a rut with only one sedan under my budget which is a 2022 Octavia and with the news of Octavia & Superb's discontinuation in 2023 there won't*be any option left for the 30-40L bracket. Moreover, now that DSG has started showing its actual colour and throwing me some random errors every now & then, I am apprehensive about the reliability and considering my primary usage, which is long-distance*touring, I am not convinced to keep this car for another year or two.

I test-drove Tiguan, Meridian, A4 (out of my budget) & Tucson (Petrol); I did not connect with any; there are some significant compromises that I have to make if I go with either of them. Tiguan seems like a #1 contender with its Punchy Petrol engine but lacks many features a 40 Lakh car should have. On the other hand, Tucson has tons of features, but the petrol variant is super dull; it screams for life the moment you floor the pedal (I need to test drive the Diesel variant, but I don't think it will be a day-night difference between both). Meridian, just a compass with two additional seats, the performance seems boring & the gearbox is dull. Finally, Audi A4 seems like a great car but frankly found it to be precisely the same as Octavia in terms of ride & handling, "an Octavia with a premium interior & four rings". What a sad time to buy a car; everything feels overpriced by 5 to 10 lakh.

So, if you have to walk in my shoes, what would you do?

Stretch a little, buy Kodiaq.

Test drive the Tucson diesel. :)

And before I get an infraction for a one-liner, check out the Citroen C5 too.

Probably check out the X1 or the Kodiaq. The 330i hands down, if I could stretch my budget.

Honestly nothing else than 330i would be a right replacement. Anything else would feel like a compromise, mainly on performance, ride and handling, high speed stability etc. Plus the added practicality of Octavia is something unbeatable.
Tiguan, though might not be as fast or fun to drive as Octavia 1.8 TSI, would still be something that you can look for. Wouldnt suggest replacing Octavia (1.8) with another Octavia (2.0)
So all the best with your search.

C5 with no AWD and 44L on-road, Nah!


7 Seater + 49L on-road.


330i is only available in the long wheelbase version; no standard variant is available with any dealer and the longer wheelbase variant cost over 60+. Anyway, way out of my budget.

What is wrong with your Octavia that you don’t want to keep it? A midlife refresh - detailing job, updated stereo from a newer generation Octavia and similar might help?

What is your reason to upgrade? It makes no sense to buy a new car with that budget if your objective is to find a better car than Octavia. Your only realistic option, if you must replace Octavia, is to look for a preowned cars. Except for those with abundant resources, most car enthusiasts will have to consider pre-owned cars at some point in their life. Mumbai is a great place for buying pre-owned cars due to excellent supply and service support.

Pre-owned space can be overwhelming because you can buy all sorts of cars for 40L budget. For a first time buyer, it's best to limit it to clean cars under 3yrs+40K km from direct owners or from official preowned channels of car manufactures such as https://www.bmwusedcars.in/. There is a good chance of these cars offering you a trouble free ownership till 6yrs + 80K km after which you may start needing some odd repairs.

Park 2L for the DSG upgrade and some 50k for additional wear & tear - put this in mutual funds for now and let it grow. And enjoy your Octavia. It's only in it's 6th year and 65k kms is nothing. You'll be unnecessarily spending a lot more for something that won't probably give you the bang for your buck, given where you are upgrading from.

​DSG woes, current FnG estimation is around 2L (no warranty), whereas Skoda says 3.5L+ labour with ​two years warranty. With the news of Octavia & Superb's discontinuation, I am assuming that the resale value will go down starting next year, so even if I spend 3/4L on its repair and keep it for another two-three years, it won't be a viable option, If only if, Skoda provides at least four years of warranty on the repair I will be willing to spend another 3/4 Lakh to keep the car for another five years, but lots of "IFs" here.

​I did explore a few pre-owned cars but buying a BMW/ Mercedes means stretching the total cost of ownership.

If the car is serviced with Skoda throughout, write to them for goodwill warranty or partial (50:50) cost sharing. Its a universally knowing issue with the DSG so chances are they will oblige. A very firm yet non-escalating tone should help. Doubt they will provide more warranty than standard 2 years though.

Doubt anything lower than than the 5, E, A6 will feel like an upgrade. OR if you need an interim car while you move to next level in the next 3-4 years, buy a 1 - 2 year old Octavia for 8 - 10 lakhs shaved than current OTR but which has extended warranty.

You drive one of the hardest car to upgrade from. I too have a 2015 TSI and even with the maintenance owes, I just can’t bid goodbye to my car. My mechatronics unit was changed in 2019 @ 40k kilometres and it hasn’t acted up since then. Car is at 50k now.

Personally, I don’t think resale values should be on the top of your mind at the moment. Use the car. There’s nothing you can buy new that will be an upgrade to your Octavia. If you can stretch your budget, the Kodiaq/Superb are viable options in the new car market. We used to have a 3gt which I found was the closest in formula to our Octy. That will be a very good option if you’re open to used cars. Get the 30i facelift and you’re sorted for all the touring your heart desires.

Skoda has stopped giving goodwill warranties for DSG woes since March this year. As per Skoda, this is no longer a reliability*issue, and the customer should opt for an extended warranty to cover the DSG expenses.



I am torn between an option to upgrade and go for an SUV or keep this for three more years before going bonkers on something big. It's a unfortunate time, automobile cost has increased exponentially in the last two years. Tiguan seems like a great car, but I doubt anyone agrees that it's a car worth 40Lakh same goes for Tucson. Looking back, Octavia in 2017 for 26Lakh was a stealer deal. This does not seem like a good time to buy a car, I am not so optimistic about things changing in the next two quarters.

At the current ROI of 8% for a car loan, a 40L Rs car should cost you 3.2L for an year as interest paid or oppurtunity lost alone. So delay your purchase for one year and you have the cash for DSG repair if at all it shows up. Stretch it to 2years you can have 7 lakhs and buy a beater car to use for down time. Think over:)

Because you are already driving a really nice car that is tough to upgrade from, here are some recommended reads for you:

- Selling car due to repairs

- Your 5-year old car, what to do?

A lot of us are happily holding onto our cars for up to 10 years of ownership (some BHPians go beyond). Main condition = you should be driving a great car (which the Octavia is) & one that punches above its weight (which the Octavia does).