2022 Skoda Octavia L&K ownership: What it's like after 1 year & 12k km

BHPian aashiqb recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Long-term ownership review of the Octavia 2.0 L&K

It’s been a year and I am back in this thread to share my long-term experience with my 2022 Octavia L&K.

What has one year been like?

Nothing short of amazing. I’ve done 12,600 km on the ODO and most of them if not all are highway mile munching between Bangalore - Chennai and Bangalore - Goa. I have had a couple of snags with the infotainment system’s electronics but otherwise, the car has been brilliant every single day.

The good:

• Absolutely reliable engine
• Power, available and ready to go - always
• Comfortable ride
• Spacious cabin and boot (oh and how!)
• Stunning looks - will take years to look out of date
• Park assist is a Godsend at tight spots
• Interior & exterior build quality
• Powerful headlights to light up the whole horizon

The bad:

• Electronics - the infotainment system needs a 24/7 customer helpline
• Tires - poor stock tires
• Non-lockable glove compartment
• The MyConnect app - basic, nothing more

Let me try highlighting some of the above in a detailed manner with a short ownership review.

Maintenance in a year?

None. I have not had to step into the service station a single time in the whole year and directly took her to the 1st service last week. I had no complaints and the service took a day to complete and I got the car back by end of the day. Kudos to the Skoda service team for the swift turnaround time.

After 1st service:

Note: I did not have any complaints about the car and this was just a regular service with engine oil change etc. Hence, the cost was just around INR 10K. Sounds cheap but that is because the car had absolutely no other work to be done/rectified.

The time we had to change tires

The one time that the OEM’s cost-cutting came into the picture was when we had a flat on the way from Goa to Bangalore. There was just one pothole, and the car was not even in triple-digit speeds, but the front right took the hit and the tire ripped off. Had to swap on the spare (that was practically a joke) and head 50Kms off my route to get the tire changed. As expected, the stock tires of 205/55/17 were nowhere to be found - even when I checked with a few dealerships in Bangalore who said it will take a week to get that size arranged.

Eventually, I had to upsize all 4 tires to 215/55/17 and this time went with Bridgestone Turanza tires (the ones I had on my Jeep Compass earlier), and that was instantly felt in the change in the car’s performance and comfort.

Weird electronics

If I had to complain, it would definitely be the weird electronics issues in the car and its the infotainment system. I noticed it a few months after purchase and here’s what happens - start the car directly by pressing down the brake and press the start/stop switch to turn on the engines, you hear a minor pop sound of wires short-circuiting, and voila, none of the speakers works anymore. Not even the beep that should work when you slot the car in reverse gear. The workaround after checking in many threads online, and finally a TeamBHPian helped with a solution - turn on the battery first, give it a couple of seconds before you turn on the engine - this is the only way I see this being fixed. Checked with the Škoda service and they were unable to debug the issue as well.

Apart from that, the wireless Apple CarPlay is also wonky at times. Even within city traffic commutes, the AirPlay suddenly conks off and stops working for no reason. There is no way to get it back to working again unless I turn off the Bluetooth on the iPhone and reconnect again all over. This is a weird issue and something I would not expect to happen in an Rs 2.6 million worth car.

Discovering the car even after 8 months

This was pleasantly surprising, as I was discovering features on the car even after months of ownership. I did not know that the memory seat setting also includes the side mirrors, and the Canton sound system has a “surround” sound feature that has to be turned on to get the maximum output from the speaker system.

I also did not know that the car will auto-unlock when you walk towards the car with the keys on you - keyless entry, yes, but I was unaware until recently. I guess it has to do with the direction you walk towards the car, where if it is in a straight line from the front or the back, it works like a charm.

A true mile muncher

In all my highway runs with the Octavia, I have not once had fatigue even after 11 hours of non-stop driving, albeit with a few stops for refreshments. I’ve done Bangalore - Goa - Bangalore for two weekends back to back, and a trip from Bangalore to Cochin is a breeze on the Octavia. The stability at high speeds and the effortless drive at cruising speeds of 120-140 km/h feel like nothing, even fully laden.

Some pictures on the road:

And how can I not mention - the boot space - this one truly is something I can never understand. I’ve been managing to get the boot fully loaded to the brim with luggage for 5 people and 2 dogs, and even then the boot seems to want more. Better yet, the car does not bottom out when fully loaded as well, and does highway cruises like it’s a normal day at the office.

You would barely need to use the “S” mode in the gearbox and the paddle shifters. I at least never needed them and had to consciously choose to use them because “they are there”. The Drive mode on the gearbox is as enthusiastic as it could get where all you need to do is floor the pedal and the car does the rest for you.

One of the most underrated features of this car is the headlights. It literally manages to light up the entire horizon when you are out on the highways at night, and it makes you spoilt beyond choice after that. Stepping into another car which does not have anything like this is a step down after you’ve experienced this.

Mileage? What?

For everyone who says this car is not meant for mileage, you get 16 km/l on the highways with a constant 9km/l in city traffic - in Bangalore that too. For a 2.0L turbo-charged 190 bhp engine that does 0-100 km/h in under 8.0s, this mileage is all we can hope for and should be happy with this. I’ve grown the habit of simply topping up the fuel tank each time, and always be ready for a long drive with this one.

She gives a whopping 16kmpl when pushed the right way:

Maintaining the paint

I’d done ceramic coating on the car the day I took it out of the showroom, and all I have needed since then is one water wash per month and a regular dusting exercise with the Jopasu each time we go out for a spin. That’s all we need and like we always say, the paint is made to withstand dust and dirt for a while and performs better instead of repeated water/chemical washes.

Other random shots when I was gawking at the sheer beauty of German engineering:

This has been my experience with the Škoda Octavia, and I must say - “This car makes me smile even today as she did on day 1 when I took her home. She’s a keeper for sure”.

I hope other owners also share similar experiences, good and bad. Would love to hear about those here.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.