skoda octavia

[P6LTD351]

Originally Posted by stevz

I really, really, really can't see what the attraction to these cars is. The styling is bland and boring and looks like something out of the 1990's. The interiors are much the same. IMO the use of VW tech is a bad thing, considering all the trouble VW has had in the last couple of years.
With the way things are going in Australia, I predict Skoda will be one of the smaller brands who will pack up and leave due to poor sales. IIRC they have already done this previously in the 1970's.
The brand has virtually zero recognition here and they are really nothing more than overpriced, rehashed VW junk IMO. Their appalling resale values confirm this.
Who would buy a Skoda when there is so much better out there for the money?

But if it was made in Australia, it would be the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, your bias shines through every time and what it does is discredits what you say - even when you have a valid point.

[new2ford]

Originally Posted by f6_benito

Stevz has a point though. After warranty your on your own in a big way. Plenty of people can't afford to stump up $40k every 3 years for a new car so may keep it longer. This is where the pain can start.

Cars won't be seen as disposable items as most people just can't afford new cars so often.

For a lot of the market, the "life" of a car is about 8 years max.

The other point is that these cars are very well made and have a history of very high reliability, so the chances of something going wrong are less. So that's your choice- less chance of something going wrong, but if it does, you pay more vs more chance of something going wrong but cheaper to fix.

Personally I think VAG group generally could strengthen its position in the Australian market if it reduced the price of parts and service (and the insurance costs would go with that). Not being reliant on min 95 octane fuel would also help.

[HULK_I6T]

Out of warranty maintenance is not unique to skoda. In actually fact their quality is supposed to be very high and would greatly reduce out of maintenance repairs.

The car I drove felt very very good.

[HULK_I6T]

Tell me it don't look like an audi

[stevz]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

But if it was made in Australia, it would be the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, your bias shines through every time and what it does is discredits what you say - even when you have a valid point.

Pot meet kettle..... Sounds exactly like you with your anti Holden bias, but that's different isn't it?

[new2ford]

If it's show and tell time, here's "my" 2006 1.9 TDI Octavia near Tabor, Czech Republic. I picked it up with 200,000 on the clock, to which I added 12,000 - much of it at 120-160 km/h! Never missed a beat, total rock of a car, 6 litres/100 even at those speeds and the trim etc was still all tight and intact, not rattly and coming off like my Territorys! Heaps of luggage room in the back (wagon). So the model has got even better since then.

The European Focus is also very good though, I certainly wouldn't discount it. The Mondeo, like the Passat, is more in the Superb class, but the Octavia has grown larger and reduced the gap. It'll be interesting to see how Skoda place the next model Superb then.

[P6LTD351]

Originally Posted by stevz

Pot meet kettle..... Sounds exactly like you with your anti Holden bias, but that's different isn't it?

Yes it is different... I'm on a Ford forum. The last place I would expect to be seeing the promotion of Holden products.

[P6LTD351]

Add to the fact that you blindly follow cars that are made in OZ for that reason alone. You jumped off Ford pretty quick. My allegiance is to Ford.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by P6LTD351

Yes it is different... I'm on a Ford forum. The last place I would expect to be seeing the promotion of Holden products.

If that's the case, its the last place I would expect to be seeing the promotion of Skoda products.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by f6_benito

Tell me it don't look like an audi

It doesn't look like an Audi.

And what's with the potato camera?

[stevz]

Originally Posted by new2ford

If it's show and tell time, here's "my" 2006 1.9 TDI Octavia near Tabor, Czech Republic. I picked it up with 200,000 on the clock, to which I added 12,000 - much of it at 120-160 km/h! Never missed a beat, total rock of a car, 6 litres/100 even at those speeds and the trim etc was still all tight and intact, not rattly and coming off like my Territorys! Heaps of luggage room in the back (wagon). So the model has got even better since then.

The European Focus is also very good though, I certainly wouldn't discount it. The Mondeo, like the Passat, is more in the Superb class, but the Octavia has grown larger and reduced the gap. It'll be interesting to see how Skoda place the next model Superb then.

And therein lies the problem. If you didn't specify that it was a 2006 model, one could easily be forgiven for thinking it was a 1996 model.
If I'm going to spend top dollar on a European car then I would expect it to be at the forefront of styling and technology, not something that looks 10 years old and uses previous gen technology.

[new2ford]

That's exactly one reason it has the reliability advantage and that's what I value most.

[HULK_I6T]

Originally Posted by stevz

And therein lies the problem. If you didn't specify that it was a 2006 model, one could easily be forgiven for thinking it was a 1996 model.
If I'm going to spend top dollar on a European car then I would expect it to be at the forefront of styling and technology, not something that looks 10 years old and uses previous gen technology.

Stevz. You know i value your opinions and for the most part very accurate. But this model skoda looks fantastic and is very audi.

i have more photos..

if there is one critique of the oz made cars its their styling. The fg is an ordinary looking car (but a great car). E series and b series was nice but most of the other models was well behind the euro cars of the same vintage.

[MrXR8]

Saw a commercial for a sexy looking car. Great styling and lines, looked the bees knees. Had the shock of my life when I saw it was a bloody skoda.

Looked pretty sweet. See how they go and if they test well I'd consider 1.

[BadMax]

I drove a manual, turbo, oil burner Skoda wagon a year or so ago. They are a tourqey little mofo indeed. I was pleasantly surprised.

I think in a few years once the local produce is diminished to the Camry fridge pack. That these sort of, 'unkown' to us cars will ramp up in sales.

A number of years ago, we had a Seat Ibiza GTi. I was basically a VW polo but it had a 2lt engine. Man, that thing was a barrel of fun in the hills, small nimble and not exactly a slouch. In the number of years we had it, the only thing to go wrong was a drivers lock barrel pin. From memory a few dollars from a VDub dealer to fix it.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by f6_benito

Stevz. You know i value your opinions and for the most part very accurate. But this model skoda looks fantastic and is very audi.

The most similar looking Audi I can find is this 2007 model, which cements my views that Skoda is years behind in styling.



This is what a current model Audi looks like.... Makes the Skoda look extremely old and bland...


And if you look at some of their previous abominations, well, the less said the better....





To me they will never be anything but a little known, poor mans Euro car, not the premium product that some here are making them out to be.

[Raptor]

Stevz, you've made it very clear how you view Skoda's.

So now I'm going to ask you nicely to stop posting in this thread.

The OP was asking if anyone had experience with them. Not whether they looked like Audi's or had the latest styling cues or whether you rated them

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Stevz, you've made it very clear how you view Skoda's.

So now I'm going to ask you nicely to stop posting in this thread.

The OP was asking if anyone had experience with them. Not whether they looked like Audi's or had the latest styling cues or whether you rated them

I was responding to people's posts. If you want me to stop posting then tell people not to direct posts at me.

[HULK_I6T]

Originally Posted by stevz

The most similar looking Audi I can find is this 2007 model, which cements my views that Skoda is years behind in styling.

This is what a current model Audi looks like.... Makes the Skoda look extremely old and bland...

And if you look at some of their previous abominations, well, the less said the better....

To me they will never be anything but a little known, poor mans Euro car, not the premium product that some here are making them out to be.

Stevz

I don't rate the skoda of many years passed either but the new model, it's a very decent bit of kit.. Audi cars have not changed much from 2002 models and even the older ones look sharp.

The defining factor is that they are now owned by VW, in the past they were not.

This guarantees no abominations. Skoda sell almost a million cars a year and skoda quality standards are now regarded as equal to or above their Audi / vw counterparts. Years back I removed a front bar from a vw and it was about 30 screws. On a falcon or commodore lucky if there is 6 screws.

I too laughed off the brand when suggested to me but I scratched the surface and then had a good look at it and drove it, it quashed my doubts. The Audi and vw guys rate them very highly and for good reason.. I'd place it pretty much at the top of its car category considering price.

[new2ford]

The point is the previous models have established the credentials of the model as a reliable, spacious, well-appointed car that is also very much a driver's car. It's also proved more reliable than VW and Audi models. It just gets better and better and has become a big seller overseas.

As for styling, that's up to the taste of the individual buyer and not really relevant to this thread. That current model Audi imho looks so ugly I wouldn't buy it on those grounds alone! There are more important considerations in buying a car.

I see from a web search that in 2011, a special Octavia vRS hit the world record on the American Bonneville Speedway and became the fastest car in world with an up to 2-litre engine, when it hit 365.43 km/h. I can vouch even from the previous model that the car is a goer and a great drive. A few months ago I hired an Astra when visiting Perth and it was a real letdown after being used to the Octavia and the Territory - a sobering reminder of how mundane most cars can be.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by stevz

image

The most similar looking Audi I can find is this 2007 model, which cements my views that Skoda is years behind in styling.
image


This is what a current model Audi looks like.... Makes the Skoda look extremely old and bland...
image

And if you look at some of their previous abominations, well, the less said the better....
image
image
image
image

To me they will never be anything but a little known, poor mans Euro car, not the premium product that some here are making them out to be.

Here's a current Audi to compare.



Why use a $225,000 R6 ?

The 2014 S4 is a fair comparo, as far as styling is compared, is it really that much more advanced than the new Octavia ?

I think not

[Fordman1]

A 2014 VW Passat looks pretty similar to me ( to a 2014 Octavia ) too.

I think the new Octavia is impressive.



In fact I think the Octavia looks better than the VW with the Grille etc.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by Barraxr8

The 2014 S4 is a fair comparo, as far as styling is compared, is it really that much more advanced than the new Octavia ?

Yes, IMO it looks light years ahead of the Skoda.

Whats with the horrible AU S1 Forte style grille that Skoda insists on using on every car they make?

[Professor Farnsworth]

Stevzzz I was under the impression you were a big fan of imports?

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by stevz

Yes, IMO it looks light years ahead of the Skoda.

Whats with the horrible AU S1 Forte style grille that Skoda insists on using on every car they make?

It's not an AU style Grille, it integrates well in the Octavia with the rest of the shape.

You shouldn't deflect by using the but ugly AU in your comparisons.





Your Bias is showing through Stevie

[b2428]

I need to set the record straight. If you don't like it that's fine and I will think nothing less of you. I simple asked about them because it will most probably be my next car as I want a manual Wagon that's not an ss Wagon. I asked for experience and got some great responses and thank you to those that were sensible and didn't have a go at others.

[atmoxr6]

If your buying new? Have you looked at the new renault megane gt220 wagon. Its manual

[b2428]

Nar buying second hand plus they sound nice the Renault but look a bit on the small sidr

[AU1XLS]

I think we are done here