Hi, i would be grateful if any body could provide some comments on the new Skoda Octavia, costs of ownership, relaibility and overall satisfaction levels. Is the car durable, ie if one was to buy a PDI 130bhp version will it go on for 10 years...
Thanks
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A Skoda owning friend recently had a new Octavia as a loan car and it was very nice. The Plus Points were a very good interior, very roomy, a huge boot, it seemed to handle nicely and even being a 100bhp Tdi it went nicely. The downsides were that it was a base model with no headlamp washers so we actually had to stop and manually clean the lenses at one stage (but that's a minor point). It is also a big car, not much smaller than my Saab 9-5, and it didn't even fit on my friend's (small) driveway without over hanging the pavement significantly.
As for lasting 10yrs, the build quality seemed to be up-to VW and Audi standards, and it has the same engines as those two brands, so I reckon it has every chance of lasting the course.
There is an active Skoda community at www.briskoda.net
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The PD130 is the old shape Octavia. I have a 2000W 2.0 Petrol estate and the following things have gone wrong:
Aircon has failed - probably due to a leak. I will have it re-gassed with a dye soon to find out.
Lambda probe failed
Fuel pressure regulator failed
MAF sensor now thought to have failed (it's in the garage today - again)
Internal 12V socket failed (wiring fault behind the dash)
Rear windscreen wiper intermitantly stalls halfway across the screen (though not during a screen wash cycle).
Electric mirror switch moves both mirrors at the same time which is a real pain because my wife is a foot shorter than me.
In it's favour, the interior is nice and solid with good adjustable seats (height and lumber on both front seats). The boot is enormous (which is why I bought it), the old 8V engine has a lot of torque at low revs and still averages 34mpg. The PD130 will be great for economy and torque and will be top spec. so you will get all the toys.
The dealers are very friendly and their prices are lower than VW, but basically you can expect all the problems that you would get with a MKIV Golf.
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The Octavia, Seat Toledo, A3/4 and VW Bora are basically the same car.
If you check out the BBC TopGear website's latest Car Survey, you'll find that in the Top 10 cars that owners would buy again, the Skoda Fabia, Octavia and Seat Toledo are fifth, sixth and seventh respectively - the Fabia has a 98 per cent rating and the Octavia and Toledo 97 per cent.
In the overall Top 10 cars, the Octavia is fifth (the Toyota Yaris is sixth) and the Fabia ninth.
To further emphasise the Octavia's standing, it's the outright winner of the medium sector category...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Sorry. Ignored the word 'new' and only looked at the HP. Typical engineer........hmmm actually should have said kW not HP...
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I tried one of Skoda's 24 hour test drives in the new Octavia with the 1.9tdi 105bhp engine. Interior was on a par with VW Audi products, everything felt well put together and solid. The boot was cavernous and plenty of cubby holes, cup holders etc dotted the cabin.
The only downside was that the engine sound left you in doubt it was a diesel, it did sound clattery both outside and inside when driving.
I decided to spend more money and buy the outgoing Audi A4 Avant and got a very good deal on a stock, but unregistered model. It has the "old" 1.9Tdi 130bhp lump and sounds much smoother. Under normal driving conditions you can barely hear the engine let alone recognise it as an oil burner except for the infrequent stops to fill it up. Averaged 45 mpg and the car is barely run in at 700 miles.
If money were more tight, I would have certainly tried the Octavia Estate when it comes out in the new year.
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