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1 year with M'lore's last delivered Octavia: Pros & cons of ownership

3rd May 2024, 10:33 by Rahul Nagaraj

Brand Octavia has been the default choice for enthusiasts who are on a budget, unfortunately for many of them the car is discontinued as of today.

BHPian abaliga recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Having completed 1 year since we welcomed our 2023 Octavia L&K 2.0 TSI, I would like to share my ownership experience of this very special car with the esteemed forum members and viewers

Highlights:

This was the last Octavia delivered in Mangalore! We purchased this car only because it was being discontinued and were not in a rush as our Ecosport was running trouble-free with only 25k on the odometer, Skoda was selling this without any discounts despite the rumours about the discontinuation! I was hardly able to bargain as I was not ready to walk away from buying the car (I knew it was unlikely to be launched again, even if relaunched getting it as a CKD with 2.0 TSI is a fat chance).
Car has run only 6K in its first year! too less for my liking, but I have enjoyed every kilometre I have driven it.
Extremely well built and worth every rupee we paid for (despite being priced slightly higher than desired, it is hard to find a car that is as good for a budget of 35-40 lakh on-road today).
Though looks are subjective, Octavia has a timeless design with a nice 3 box silhouette, something that cannot be beaten by any of the SUVs/Crossovers.
Absolutely no issues to report, has proven to be a reliable companion to date(knock on wood), and hopefully, it remains that way throughout my ownership (I do not plan on selling the car for the next 10-12 years)!
Extremely high safety standards, has received 5 Stars from Euro NCAP, L&K has 2 additional airbags for rear seat occupants in addition to the standard safety suite.

Service Experience:

The 1st-year service was uneventful, I was charged around 12k included Oil change (did not get the car washed and declined the wheel alignment), and I did not let the car out of my sight for the entire 3 hours it was at the workshop and was standing outside the workshop door to respect their rules, I had informed the SA to not go on a test drive without me being present, Tafe Access Mangalore honoured my requests without any hesitation.

Likes:

Minimalistic dashboard design with high-quality bits that should age well (Notwithstanding the piano black inserts that are impossible to keep scratch-free).
Sweet powertrain with 190PS and 320 NM of torque that can keep most enthusiasts happy. The only fly in the ointment is the wheel spin and torque steer raising its ugly head when one floors the gas pedal. RS tune for the engine with an AWD would have given a 330i/li a run for its money.
Cushy ride quality at higher speeds, Low-speed ride is a bit stiff though, maybe the stock Goodyears are to be blamed.
Decent space for folks with an average build, taller folks will find it a bit cramped in the rear seat that is if a person above 5'10" is seated in the front.
Retractable sun blinds for rear windows and rear windshield (missing on 3 series).
Well-designed digital instrument console with round dials (I hate the new age angled designs!).
Powered trunk lid and an accommodating 600-litre boot.
Compact turning radius that is shorter than our previous ride (Ecosport), very manoeuvrable for a 4.7m car.
Did I mention good fit and finish inside out already? it's hard to find this level of quality for the price I pay these days.
DSG performs very well in most situations (97%), at times one can feel the jerks at speeds below 30 km/h as the box is hunting for the right gear to be in, this can be noticed only by keen observers.
Neutral handling characteristics (nowhere as fun as our Ecosport was, but that had a harsh ride), the ride and handling balance on the Octavia is appreciated more than the fun we could have on the Ecosport.
Very refined overall, NVH levels are very well controlled even at 3-digit speeds, Motor sounds sweet when revved! This is one reason we had to drop the VAG 1.5 TSI cars from contention, I hate the boomy nature of 1.5 TSIs at revs higher than 3.5k rpm and wish VAG sorted this out (their 1.2 TSIs sounded much better at higher rpm too).
Ground clearance at 137mm is more than adequate, as long as one is not rushing through speed breakers/potholes, this is easily manageable and the suspension tune does not let the car scrape its belly easily.
Full LED headlights and tail lights that look nice when lit up.
Ambient lighting for the dashboard gives the cabin a premium vibe.
The well-thought-out dash cam port behind the IRVM is a blessing, no warranty issues stemming out of aftermarket installation!
Wireless car play and Android Auto are standard.
Wireless phone charger is standard as well.

Dislikes:

Ingress/Egress is a little tricky for seniors, and not as comfortable/easy as some of the monocoque crossovers.
Stitching on the seats and the steering is not consistent, and hard to notice, but keen observers can find minor anomalies (I am nitpicking here).
Single-digit fuel economy for the most part, the bumper-to-bumper drive will yield only 7-7.5 km/l, one can get a decent 10-12 km/l if the average speed is above 30 within city limits, Highway economy is decent at 15-16 km/l if one is a saint, although we (myself and my dad) have not been able to fetch more than 10-11 km/l on a highway run where one is driving fast (within speed limits), the car gulps fuel if one is slowing down frequently and picking up speed quickly! Turbo petrols are not meant for high-mileage users.
The driving range with a relatively thirsty motor and 50 litres tank is limited to about 500 kms (Tank capacity should have been at least 60 litres).
205/55 R17 size tyres are skinny, I find the profile and the diameter to be adequate for our roads, but the width should have been 225mm at the minimum! Will need better rubber next time around.
The absence of physical HVAC controls is a trend I hate, however, there is an option to add a widget on the home screen of the infotainment for HVAC controls including the blower speed which makes it easier than navigating across menus.
Wheelspin on aggressive launches, a typical trait of a front-wheel drive, I feel this dilutes the premium car experience at times.
Low beam on the headlights was awful, and this is despite the upgraded headlights for L&K, I got the beams raised a bit during the first service, but have not been able to test whether there is any improvement as yet.
Unacceptable cost-cutting measures like not providing ambient light, and soft feel plastics on the rear door pads (although the general quality of door pad plastics is superior all around).
I do not mind the absence of a sunroof, but not providing ventilated seats on a car that costs almost 38 big ones is unacceptable.
Requirement of minimum 95 Octane fuel, finding this was tricky on our 2200 kms trip from Mangalore to Shirdi, ended up fueling regular 91 Octane fuel 2-3 times, luckily the motor performed well regardless of the octane rating! Availability of good quality high-octane fuel is always on the back of my mind during road trips as some owners have faced issues with this motor being sensitive to fuel quality. Also, the fuel cap says the car is only E10 compliant, God help us if there is no availability of E10 fuel in the country a few years down the line.
It was cheap of Skoda to delete the extremely desirable Canton music system and the child lock controls from the driver door! As if these deletions were not enough, Skoda increased the prices subsequently adding insult to injury, I am an audiophile and greatly appreciate quality music, deletion of the Canton system is something I still can't get my head around after owning the car for a year, the stock music system is alright but not great, I guess I will bite the bullet eventually and upgrade the speakers and install a sub.

All in all, I am very happy with the purchase, 4th generation Octavia is an excellent offering that can give the luxury German Marques a run for their money! Brand Octavia has been the default choice for enthusiasts who are on a budget, unfortunately for many of them, the car is discontinued as of today, I am hoping this will be re-introduced soon (has to be in the CKD form as it does not make any sense as a CBU!) as this was the car that had established Skoda in India.

I would also like to urge Skoda India to manage the lead time required for procuring parts of their CKD options better, Have heard too many stories of delays over 3 months, this is simply unacceptable in a globalized world with a super fast supply chain.

And finally, Here are some pictures I have clicked over the past year, please do not mind the quality as all of them were clicked on my phone, Thank you all.