[Samar117]

Much awaited review and an excellent one at that. Great job mate, 5 stars!

I simply love the design. Nice straight lines, and an all round subtlety around the car. Being an enthusiast, the 1.8TSI is all I looked at and the only thing which dampens one's spirit is the steep price.
But glad the name is back in the Indian market. The legend is back

[W.A.G.7]

Nice car and an excellent review! The price of the car is on a higher side; yet the "premium brand" image and "premium feel" will still pull in many customers. I am still not sure about that DSG gearbox though, I maintain what I said on the earlier preview thread - I ain't going anywhere near a Skoda unless they sort out the earlier problems Sales facts and figures will be out next month; I think this car will do pretty good. 5* rating for the review, comprehensively covered everything.

[Mohan Mathew A]

I am disappointed with the pricing. I believe skoda lost a golden opportunity. The fact that they have not offered longer standard warranty or even an extended warranty and also no service package is even more disappointing and raises questions about their intentions. I expected a better response from the new MD

On a different note, the table listing the features shows EDL as being present in only the Elegance trim. As i understand it is available in both Ambition and Elegance

[Jaggu]

Super review Vidyut! 5 star from my side, i like this car! A low mileage 1.8 Tsi in second hand market would be a yummy deal

The DSG shifting to higher gears when you leave the throttle is standard in these boxes? I think it does the same in Polo also. Hence many feel little uncomfortable with the braking of these cars.

Since there are two different suspension system how are they attached to the chassis? Are the chassis different based on the model? as in the rear mounting points for suspension?

[Utopian]

Awesome review. With sane pricing strategy in mind, the men at Skoda have done a stellar job. Although, I feel that the interiors of Laura seemed to be more inviting than the Octavia's. Also, any news of Laura getting discontinued. Or both will co-exist as was the case earlier.
The 1st gen Octy was still in a league of its own. Still one of my favorites.

[saket77]

Very nice review Vid. Hope Skoda starts a fresh chapter from here in terms of Indian operations.

Link to pricing:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/23454221.cms

[ambivalent_98]

Excellent review. Hope Skoda improves their infamous After Sales Service. They seem to have a winner on their hands. I wonder how they handle it and how the sales take off ?

[Santoshbhat]

Thanks for the wonderfully detailed review.

The car looks nice and classy and kind of grown up when compared to the Laura. The increase in length is very evident. Its almost a mini Superb now!

Somehow it misses a bit of sportiness and soul in the design which the Octavia Mk1 and the Laura had. Maybe its the bigger dimensions, but it does not look like a car for a young person. The VRS version should fix this.

Would love to know what kind fuel efficiency you managed to get with each of the engine variants.

Pricing is pretty much in the Laura territory and that's quite commendable given the devaluation in the Indian Rupee and inflation. Also, variant to variant the Octavia seems to offer a lot more. The features on the Ambition is what you would get in the Laura Elegance and the Elegance almost matches the Laura LnK on features.

Overall the car looks like a compelling buy for this segment and the segment above too.

[vignesh.cv]

Thanks for the detailed review Vid6639! The car looks smashing with the smoked headlamps and the new design. The rear parktronic sensors seem to be embedded in the plastic diffuser unlike the Laura - this looks similar to the Superb.

Originally Posted by PPS

I'm surprised at this cost cutting! They should have given atleast 4.

AFAIK the Ambition always came with 2 airbags, only the Elegance and the L&K version provided more.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

The DSG shifting to higher gears when you leave the throttle is standard in these boxes? I think it does the same in Polo also. Hence many feel little uncomfortable with the braking of these cars.

Jaggu, the DSG box shifts to a higher gear when you lift of the throttle in the interest of economy when in the "D" mode.

Originally Posted by shinuak

The only dampener is the huge looking floor hump. I hate the Europeans for this, atleast they could have made it similar to my optra magnum where the third occupant can be seated without much discomfort. Istill dont understand why they need such a huge transmission hump which is like a wall of separation between the 2 rear passengers. Its high time that they take a cue form Honda and make it disappear, just like in the civic or at least reduce the height of it.

I asked the question to the sales person when buying my Laura, he told me this is to keep the various lines tucked and hidden away so that when the car goes over bad patches, it does not scrape anything - he was like if you see other brand cars, they need to negotiate bad patches/speed breakers carefully to not scrape anything. Having no experience of other cars, don't know how true this is though.

[prakash_ajp]

Nice and detailed review, Vid and thanks!

Would it be possible to include Fluence in the comparison chart as well?

[SS-Traveller]

Very detailed and painstaking review, Vid. A wonderful read. 5*

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The Smaller yet Significant Things:

Omitted to post this in my unofficial review thread, but here's one more example of the attention to detail in this car. Leave the parking lights on and take out the key, and the instrument cluster illumination goes off, leaving just the needles and MID display lit up like this...

Before one locks the doors

After the car is locked

Looks beautiful!

However, I would be most disappointed if Skoda does not offer 5-year comprehensive warranty and 5-year preventive maintenance service on this car, as it has started doing for the Rapid.

[ACM]

Superb Review. The missing 4/5 years warranty is a BIG disappointment, the pricing too isn't aggressive enough. This could just go downward the Laura way after the initial sales if they do not make sufficient corrections and give a bit more confidence to the customer.

Compared to the Octavia I times the pricing is actually similar considering inflation but yet it is by no means VFM, with the Laura they came out with the L&K trim upfront, but not so here. The Laura initially in L&K trim too was priced better it would seem and even then it was considered too high when it came out. VW group pressure and parity with Jetta seems to be holding back Skoda.

[suhaas307]

Great review Vidyut! *thumbs up*

I have a few queries and observations based on what I've read:

- Skoda continues to persist with the 7-speed dry-clutch DSG on the 1.8 TSI and it baffles me.

- Both petrol engines produce 250 NM of torque which is strange given the difference in outright power and capacity. However, the 1.4 peaks a little later and the torque band is considerably narrower. Is there a noticeable flat-spot between delivery of peak torque and peak power in the 1.4 when compared to the 1.8?

- Is the difference in suspension setups noticeable even under moderately spirited driving? Does it mar the overall driving experience?

- It's disappointing that Skoda hasn't offered the Elegance trim on the 1.4. The bi-xenon lights and sunroof are features worth having IMO.

[virtualdanger]

Lovely, detailed review. Feels like you've left no stone un-turned. Thanks for sharing Vid.

The new Octavia seems quite promising. The 1.8 should satisfy all enthusiasts, and the rest of the line-up should do pretty well, as its sounds like its positioned and priced aptly, while clearly being a leading package.

Personally, the exterior looks nice, and the specs sound impressive; the dash design was un-appealing though. Felt dull, and something i'd expect to see my dad driving in comfortably.

[vivek_gaur69]

Poor pricing of 1.4TSi.

Some calculation based on ex-showroom prices

1. 1 lakh for DSG (difference based on diesel variants).
2. 1.9 difference between Ambition and elegance(based on diesel)
3. 1 lakh between Ambition and Active.

1.8Tsi Active manual gear will be approximately 14.35 (18.25-3.9), which is around 40K more than 1.4Tsi. If you consider the suspension, then they are overcharging for 1.4Tsi.

Should have been at least 80-90k less than current prices.

Cheers.