Skoda Octavia 2.0 TSI ownership review: 7 pros & 3 cons

While city mileage is around the 10 km/l mark, long drives can get you to the 14 km/l mark if you are gentle on the throttle.

BHPian Jo2 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My user experience has been long overdue. While I have enjoyed reading every post here and learned immensely from all of you, it's only time I post here without delay to benefit some of the users on this forum who are possibly still sitting on the fence while this beauty is gone forever from our shores!

So here goes.

Our car (Black Style variant) is predominantly driven by my Dad who is 70+ and I get to drive it only when I am back home for my annual vacation. So my experience below is a combination of our drive to Wayanad from Kochi, drive in the mad traffic haze that my home Kochi has become as well as through some village and kaccha roads that we ended up in - thanks to google maps

Pros

1. We were a full load on our trip to Wayanad- 4 adults and luggage and the car never scraped the bottom even once during our trip which also had some uneven patches and speed breakers but never off the tarmac. We even went through some bad kaccha patches on another drive with 3 adults and surprisingly never scraped the bottom. All of this points to what a well-engineered product can achieve without trying to pose as an SUV!
2. At one point we reached a dead end and had to do a tight U-turn at a place a wagon R also had to turn tight and the tight turning radius of a car of this size is surprisingly good- no I am not exaggerating.
3. The ride comfort is excellent and the way it soaks up bumps is amazing. I am not sure any car on this side of 50 lakhs can do it with such finesse.
4. Driving dynamics: is great and gives a planted feel at high speeds. Zero body roll and the ease with which the Octy picks up speed, the first 80 km/h warning is here before you even know it!
5. The DSG as expected is a hoot to drive - No other automatic can match this experience- period!
6. While city mileage is around the 10 km/l mark, long drives can get you to 14 km/l marks if you are gentle on the throttle- I'll take that any day for a 2L petrol engine
7. The fit and finish of the car after 1 year of use are still top-notch and have held up well.

Cons

1. The car is wide! So in city traffic, if you are upgrading from a smaller car, it's going to be a steep learning curve.
2. Elderly folks do struggle with entry and exit so is something to watch out for if you have older folks at home. My Dad initially complained but I think he is slowly falling in love with Octy and has started enjoying the drive more
3. The infotainment is a sore point- we have a style variant and the infotainment is laggy on most occasions, especially when starting up. Kochi with its humidity, one needs to wait for the infotainment to start even for the air-cons to kick in. Why do all cars go to the screens? A traditional knob like in the superb would have made a world of difference. We are learning to live with it now.

Something interesting to note is if you /there is someone in the family who is not comfortable with a cushy ride (compare this to a Volvo bus journey vs a regular bus journey) you can get motion sickness. I love the cushy ride as it keeps the ride plush. But we had someone who was sensitive and couldn't handle the cushiness of the ride. (I wouldn't call it Hyundai floaty yet)

Lastly, for anyone concerned with service centres, the EVM SKODA service in Cochin is fantastic. Agreed if you need certain parts there is a min 2-week delay (we were told during our 1st full service we might have to replace the selector knob as an error popped up and waited 2 weeks for the part to arrive, only to find out it never needed a replacement and the car to date runs without any glitches). But the overall care, attention to detail and the way they treat customers are as good as any service centre can in today's world. Gone are the days of servicing horrors with Skoda at least for now.

Do I miss a sunroof - I won't lie- would have been great in a car of this price but is not a necessity at all. I'd take a well-engineered product any day over a sunroof.

My Verdict

Overall, if you are a keen driver who is looking to balance it with a comfortable ride for a family and do long drives occasionally go for the Octy!

If your drives are only in the city or do not have a 2nd beater car - give it a 2nd thought as the width of the car with the mad traffic can get to you at some point!

Hope this is helpful for anyone still looking to make a purchase decision. I am in love with the car and can't wait to drive this again during my next vacation!

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