[razram]

Originally Posted by motonomad

I was in the same boat, browsing for first car and arrived on Ambition AT. A strong preference was to not having a sunroof for a whole bunch of reasons. Also I was pretty clear that if I am gonna extend budget till 1.0 Style AT, I will get the Style 1.5 MT instead.

Hi motonomad,

Wouldn't the Style 1.0 Non Sunroof Version fit your criteria?

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[neochanger]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Based on my experience there is not a major impact on FE, but you need to go harder on the throttle compared to RON95 using which the 1.5 at least launches off with least throttle inputs.

My monthly run is about 1800-2000 km so FE is a major concern for me. Please if you could be more specific on "not a major impact". Does it mean a reduction of less than 1 kmpl on highways.

Originally Posted by audioholic

The requirement for higher octane petrol applies for any other direct injected engine like the Hyundai GDI, etc since these cars have fuel injection systems running at high pressures and inject petrol directly into the combustion chamber. However like I mentioned before it would not cause serious effects at least in the short term.

That's a good point to know. Is Honda City 5G's 1.5 iVTEC also direct injected engine? The only competitor of Slavia, for me, is City so I wish to know if this is a common issue or not.

Originally Posted by audioholic

And I dont think its something to worry about especially when you have warranty for six years. If use of regular octane petrol really has a catastrophic effect on the vehicle, then I dont expect a failure to happen after six years. It would happen much earlier.

Having a warranty cover is one thing and knowing that you have a robust and versatile all-weather engine is an altogether another kind of peace of mind. Going through the ordeal of availing warranty is never liked by anyone.
Is it true that TSI engines give problems more frequently after 5-6 years? Or is it that I am being too harsh critically analysing TSI over iVTEC?


More simply: Is choosing Slavia over City is a mistake for someone who wants a long term, self driven (maintained with love and care) car with high FE and minimum issue? I do not care about resale value, some features missing here and there, few issues in plastic quality etc, but what really concerns me is that whichever is going to be my first car, it should be robust, reliable, hassle-free and not too costly or troublesome to run and maintain.

Heart is already set on Slavia for its killer looks but mind is not so sure.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by neochanger

My monthly run is about 1800-2000 km so FE is a major concern for me. Please if you could be more specific on "not a major impact". Does it mean a reduction of less than 1 kmpl on highways.

More simply: Is choosing Slavia over City is a mistake for someone who wants a long term, self driven (maintained with love and care) car with high FE and minimum issue?

Honestly I havent tracked FE so well to comment on the difference with fuel. And of the 2500kms I have done so far with the car only one tank of RON91 was ever put and I topped it up again with RON95 after half a tank.

Second, if you are concerned about long term reliability, peace of mind then the Honda City is still going to be a better choice. German cars irrespective of brand needs some care and attention over time and will never match the peace of mind the Japs offer. The city comes with a regular NA engine without all the complications of the TSI and has lesser failure points. However, that Is a car I would expect my grandfather to drive not even my dad

[neochanger]

Originally Posted by audioholic

However, that Is a car I would expect my grandfather to drive not even my dad

That is what my wife says. She’s so fed up with the thought of buying City that it takes away all the sense and logic I try to instil in her mind

But given my position of using the car for long and intense run, I need to be wary of other-than-looks factors.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I got the vinyl for 5.5k for 30 sft. Labour was free since it was a DIY. The vinyl was on the expensive side but for the roof cheaper vinyls are a pain to install. 3M quality of gloss isnt that great but their pressure sensitive adhesive cut the deal for me

Visited 3M Anna Nagar today and was quoted 21.5k to do the same vinyl for Kushaq roof It is the same 2080 series G12 Gloss black but yes it's not glossy as it is supposed to be. Felt its quite expensive at this price even if I have to include the labour charges. Do they sell wrap films separately or is it due to your relationship with them?

3M India lists couple of other glossy black in the line up but seems unavailable at installers

https://www.3mindia.in/3M/en_IN/grap...tylers/colors/

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

: It is the same 2080 series G12 Gloss black
3M India lists couple of other glossy black in the line up but seems unavailable at

No relationship with 3M car care I didn't even go there since they would obviously not sell material letting go of the heavy margins on labour. I found one distributor for 3M and they were official guys who had the entire colour pallete available. The find was funny since they were located close by and once I was riding across the house they were put up in, I saw a truck full of Stek PPF being unloaded there. Hence I found this place and ended up checking their offering. They distribute all the major brands in this industry like 3M, Stek, Meguiars. Name of the place is Just signs.

I was actually interested in Galaxy black since I wanted a metallic finish, but once I saw the vinyl in real, I realised that galaxy black was more like black vinyl with lot of coloured dots and didn't come close to a metallic black feel.

If you don't manage to find original 3M instead of paying 21k at 3M CC you can search for Avery Dennison too which will be cheaper. I had them on my Celerio and it costed hardly 2K for the material. Just take care to remove it within 3-4 years to be on the safer side. Not sure how 3M is going to fare in this regard though since it is a cast vinyl and is supposed to last really well under harsh conditions.

[travelex]

Anyone done with the first service (15k) yet? Mine will be due next month. I did purchase the service package. Is it all-inclusive or do I need to pay for something? Any other things I need to be specific about?

[yesyeswe]

Originally Posted by travelex

Anyone done with the first service (15k) yet? Mine will be due next month. I did purchase the service package. Is it all-inclusive or do I need to pay for something? Any other things I need to be specific about?

I think it covers basics service like, labour, engine oil, oil filter, air filter, ac cabin pollen filter, wiper fluid to pup etc. You can refer to the user manual to see what the company recommends to change or replace during the 1st service.

Anything extra like interior cleaning, wheel balancing and alignment, some things which dealers suggests to increase the bill like ac vent disinfectant, underbody rust coatings, Teflon coating are all extra paid services.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by travelex

Anyone done with the first service (15k) yet? Mine will be due next month. I did purchase the service package. Is it all-inclusive or do I need to pay for something? Any other things I need to be specific about?

That's serious running. How has been your experience so far? Could you please write a summary?

[motonomad]

Originally Posted by razram

Hi motonomad,

Wouldn't the Style 1.0 Non Sunroof Version fit your criteria?

It absolutely would have ticked all the boxes for features. Sadly it isn't available with an automatic gearbox and is only available for 1.0 MT

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by audioholic

hey distribute all the major brands in this industry like 3M, Stek, Meguiars. Name of the place is Just signs.

Is it possible to provide the address of Just signs in Bangalore? I can ask my friend in Bangalore to get it and can install it locally.

[neochanger]

Originally Posted by motonomad

There are certainly a few things from the Style variant that I would have liked
- LED Headlamps - Though the halogens are good enough, might look at upgrading the high beam in future. The Style headlamps look visually nicer though
- Auto dimming IRVM - Really missed on night drives
- 6 Airbags would have brought a bit more peace of mind

There are many more things in Style apart from these that may make long term ownership a better experience such as Skoda Connect, Premium 8 speaker sound system, rain sensing wipers, ventilated seats, leather upholstery, full size spare wheels, auto headlamps among other things. I personally liked the digital cockpit, chrome on window lines and piano black B pillar. But I agree with you that potential deal breakers are headlight unit and 2 airbags only. But for 2 lakhs one gets around 15 useful and not-so-useful features.

Finally, I have decided to go with Style variant as I am planning to keep this car for long and for my first car even few great misses will be irritating. Money is precious but satisfaction is important too. Maybe Skoda played the game well by skipping few important things in mid variant making top variant look more VFM than it actually is.

Originally Posted by motonomad

Also have you considered Virtus too? I didn't check the variants in detail but maybe your requirements are fulfilled better there?

Yes. The first love was in fact Virtus but had to switch to Slavia because of other factors. In fact, now Slavia looks more classy than Virtus to me and my wife, don’t know why. The Highline of Virtus is costlier than Ambition and doesn’t bring projector headlamps or six airbags, so definitely a no for us.

The car, color and variant has finally been decided. Fewwww!! I hope the sleepless nights and binge watching of reviews and walkarounds would be over now. Worth noting that every time I struggled with choosing the variant, Honda City popped in between pulling me to its side. What a crazy car market we are living in!

[samsristi]

Originally Posted by neochanger

Like always, I am once again confused between variants of Skoda Slavia 1.0 manual..
The Style variant costs 2 lakh more on road compared to Ambition, and the list of features upgrade is a long one which seems to justify the price difference. Some reviews even recommend top Style variant as the best recommended for a great overall ownership experience. But when I look closely, it seems the six airbags is the only must-upgrade and projector headlamps with L shaped DRL is the only “major external aesthetic” upgrade. If I turn more liberal, I can add ventilated seats as another useful upgrade but everything else seems more of feel-good-use-less kind of upgrade although feel/satisfaction does matter a little if not too much.

So should I spend 2 lakh more breaching the psychological 15 lakh mark by a good margin of 1.5 lakh? Or else, I should hold my temptation and be strictly practical and save the precious money. This is going to be my first car and will be there for a long duration and will be driven intensively for first 2-3 years. Would I regret not buying the top model for just 15% more of the money I am anyway spending? Or would I regret spending too much on fancy things? Is there any algorithm to resolve such kind of dilemma?

PS: Some guys revealed here that sunroof of Slavia is not that perfectly insulated and lets some warm air inside. Is this going to be a problem, more specifically, an annoyance?

I would suggest go for Style without sunroof.. If you intend to keep this car for long.. the interiors will always please you once you are inside . Six airbags is a must since these are not build like tank anymore.. It is well built by Miles compared to other makes, however previously they used to have cross bars in the doors.. I guess that is gone now. Also do not treat the ventilated
Seats as a good to have feature.. if you are a frequent long drive traveller it completely changes your driving experience.

[amit1agrawal]

Yesterday, for the first time I used the paddle shifter to hold on to rpm till 4k and reached a not-to-mention speed in no time. If the road & traffic permitted the needle would have climbed higher & higher without any loss of power. I can only imagine what it would be like to rev up to 6k rpm on 1.5 MT! DSG is conservative till D3 after which it unleashes like a beast. The car was stable all throughout. A mix of Highway driving (80%) & City driving with few kms of fun returned 14 kmpl (as per MID). This is quite good IMO.

The only flaw is that the steering is a bit vague in curves when at high speed. With Linea, I always knew how much tilt the steering needed to follow the curve. Here, I was sometimes oversteering a bit & sometimes understeering a bit. How I wish this had a steering mechanism lifted from Linea! Probably I am spoiled by Linea's steering

[motonomad]

Originally Posted by neochanger

There are many more things in Style apart from these that may make long term ownership a better experience

Congratulations on finalising the car. I hope you don't have to wait too long now.
And of course there is a lot more on offer with the Style variant. I was just sharing the obvious things I miss in this variant. Otherwise the temptation is endless for more things
Brands obviously try to drive more people towards top variant by omitting some obvious stuff, that's how it is with everyone.

Originally Posted by amit1agrawal

The only flaw is that the steering is a bit vague in curves when at high speed. With Linea, I always knew how much tilt the steering needed to follow the curve.

I too found the steering to be on the lighter side and took a while getting used to it. I am hoping upgrading to better tyres would address the weight part of it but can't do much about feel.