Need to upgrade from my 2017 Octavia: What are my options in 35-40 lakh

I don't want to keep my current car for long as my primary usage is long-distance touring & the DSG has now started to show signs of trouble.

BHPian shahbaz63 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am currently driving an Octavia (2017, Petrol 1.8 TSI with 65000 on the ODO), and I have been looking for an upgrade for the last few months.

My primary usage is road trips. I have done some remote parts of Kashmir & good part of Kerala in my Octavia quite comfortably, but now that I am looking for a possible upgrade option for 35-40L. I am in a rut with only one sedan under my budget which is a 2022 Octavia and with the news of Octavia & Superb's discontinuation in 2023, there won't be any option left for the 30-40L bracket.

Moreover, now that DSG has started showing its actual colour and throwing me some random errors every now & then, I am apprehensive about the reliability and considering my primary usage, which is long-distance touring, I am not convinced to keep this car for another year or two.

I test-drove Tiguan, Meridian, A4 (out of my budget) & Tucson (Petrol); I did not connect with any; there are some significant compromises that I have to make if I go with any of them.

Tiguan seems like a #1 contender with its Punchy Petrol engine but lacks many features a 40 Lakh car should have. On the other hand, Tucson has tons of features, but the petrol variant is super dull; it screams for life the moment you floor the pedal (I need to test drive the Diesel variant, but I don't think it will be a day-night difference between both).

Meridian is just a Compass with two additional seats, the performance seems boring & the gearbox is dull. Finally, Audi A4 seems like a great car but frankly found it to be precisely the same as Octavia in terms of ride & handling, "an Octavia with a premium interior & four rings". What a sad time to buy a car; everything feels overpriced by 5 to 10 lakh.

So, if you have to walk in my shoes, what would you do?

Here's what BHPian DicKy had to say about the matter:

Test drive the Tucson diesel. You can also check out the Citroen C5 too.

Here's what BHPian petrolsuvhead had to say about the matter:

Probably check out the X1 or the Kodiaq. The 330i hands down, if I could stretch my budget.

Here's what BHPian hserus had to say about the matter:

What is wrong with your Octavia that you don’t want to keep it? A midlife refresh - detailing job, updated stereo from a newer generation Octavia and similar might help.

Here's what BHPian androdev had to say about the matter:

What is your reason to upgrade? It makes no sense to buy a new car with that budget if your objective is to find a better car than Octavia. Your only realistic option, if you must replace Octavia, is to look for pre-owned cars. Except for those with abundant resources, most car enthusiasts will have to consider pre-owned cars at some point in their lives. Mumbai is a great place for buying pre-owned cars due to its excellent supply and service support.

Pre-owned space can be overwhelming because you can buy all sorts of cars for a 40L budget. For a first-time buyer, it's best to limit it to clean cars under 3yrs+40K km from direct owners or from official preowned channels of car manufacturers such as BMW Used Cars. There is a good chance of these cars offer you trouble-free ownership till 6yrs + 80K km after which you may start needing some odd repairs.

Here's what BHPian ninjatalli had to say about the matter:

Park 2L for the DSG upgrade and some 50k for additional wear & tear - put this in mutual funds for now and let it grow. And enjoy your Octavia. It's only in its 6th year and 65k kms is nothing. You'll be unnecessarily spending a lot more for something that won't probably give you the bang for your buck, given where you are upgrading from.

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