Test drive What were you embarrassed to ask: 5 uncomfortable questions for the Skoda Octavia
Skoda Octavia can be treated in different ways, but it is foolish to deny the obvious: this is the most practical car for your money. Or not already?
The new Octavia sports matrix optics with dynamic turn signals and 19-inch wheels, and inside - digital tidy, advanced multimedia and a bunch of different assistants. The launch of the new generation Octavia is always a big event in the mass market. In 2013, the liftback moved to a new platform, significantly adding in size and practicality, and in 2017 it received the most daring update in its history. Admit it, you also criticized split optics, right? Now Skoda has swung to a radical change in the image of the Octavia and loudly declared: it is no longer boring.
In Russia, the Skoda Octavia of the fourth generation has been on sale for several months and it seems that it has been studied almost under a microscope. But we have a different task - to answer the most uncomfortable questions about the most comfortable car in Russia.
The dynamics of the previous Skoda Octavia have long been legendary, especially about cars with 1,8 TSI. And if you were expecting something similar from the new liftback, then it is better to pay attention to the two-liter version (190 hp), which will appear in the second quarter of 2020. In the meantime, the Octavia is available only with a 1,4 TSI engine (150 hp) and an eight-speed automatic Aisin. It was because of the new transmission that the Octavia lost almost a second in acceleration to 100 km / h. Do not expect a tangible pickup from the very start - the behavior of the liftback, even in the "pedal to the floor" mode, has become measured and blurred. Skoda claims 9 seconds to 100 km / h, but the Octavia feels just barely out of ten.
But did the 1,4 Octavia take part in traffic light races so often? In the urban range of 40-80 km / h, there is still a decent reserve of traction, and overtaking on the highway, of course, has to be calculated, but hardly more carefully than before. But the "automatic" provided the best smoothness in traffic jams - there are no more kicks, pokes and vibrations.
The owners have not had any questions about the reliability of the later DSG versions for a long time, although you almost certainly have a familiar "expert" who still calls the preselective "brittle" and "free-flowing", with whom it is "better not to mess with". The replacement DSG Aisin AWF8F45 is one of the most popular and reliable boxes in the automotive industry. It is installed on a huge number of front- and all-wheel drive sedans and crossovers, including Lexus RX, Volvo XC60 / XC90, Toyota Camry 3,5, BMW X1 / X2 and others.
Let's be honest: Skoda Octavia in no generation could be called super attractive. Only a few cars in the drive2 diaries were graceful - with a black roof, dull tinting in a circle, 19-inch wheels and lowered suspension. Also desirable with revo stickers and a feisty exhaust.
The new Octavia is good in stock as well, but don't expect any revelations from the basic options: there are 16-inch stampings, "raised" suspension and boring matte moldings on the doors. In richer trim levels, the Skoda Octavia is transformed: chrome in moderation, matrix optics and already 18-inch wheels (even R19 will be delivered for a surcharge).
Most likely, it is the basic Octavias that will be the most on the roads - such cars go in taxis and are bought in packs in corporate parks (Skoda sells almost a third of liftbacks to legal entities). In general, the Octavia is precisely that rare case when, when choosing, you need not go up from the cheaper version to the more expensive one, but go down. Just look at the top version live at least once and I'm sure you won't have any more questions. The Octavia is so good that it is easy to confuse it even with the Audi A4.
The previous generation liftback was scolded only by those who compared the Octavia with the Kia Optima and Toyota Camry. Of course, a car of a lower class cannot be as comfortable as "Koreans" or "Japanese". The new Skoda Octavia remained within the C-segment, but is perceived differently. At the very least, it seems more expensive and more stately.
Here is the same MQB platform, which, by the way, will soon be 10 years old. MacPherson strut front, rear beam - it seems that the revolution did not happen, but the engineers have precisely reconfigured the suspension with an emphasis on comfort. Now on the go, the liftback feels more expensive and more than it actually is. Even the suspension, which is too energy-intensive for its class, conscientiously fulfills all the flaws of the canvas two thousand kilometers from the Moscow Ring Road, and the sound insulation here is so good that it left no chance for haters.
On the "speed bumps" Octavia, however, still has problems: a little went over with speed - and she is ready to shake all the little things out of their trousers. Exactly the same on larger bumps - here it will no longer be comfortable for the rear passengers, under which there is a semi-independent beam.
The new Skoda Octavia enters the market at the worst moment imaginable. After the next devaluation, prices have not yet caught up with the exchange rate difference, and dealers still have a shortage of cars and all kinds of markups with dopas. Right now, Octavia in the most affordable configuration, that is, as in these photos, will cost $ 29 072-30 393. And this is a liftback with a 1,4 liter engine. Exactly the same version, but with a two-liter TSI and DSG, according to the most conservative forecast, can easily pass for $ 33.
The Octavia used to have the largest trunk in its class, but now it has become just obscene - 578 liters.
Expensive? Very much, but only if you consider this price tag in a vacuum. Toyota Camry with a 2,5 liter engine and approximately the same set of equipment will cost $ 33, and for the top-end with a 036 V3,5 they will ask for almost $ 6. You will be surprised, but with the exception of the head-up display, the Skoda Octavia is packed much richer. Another thing is that the Kia K39 in the top version costs $ 643 - that is, even cheaper than the most packed version of the Octavia with a two-liter engine will cost.
Dealers estimate more mundane variants of Octavia at $ 22-464, and this price tag is already at the level of Hyundai Elantra, Kia Ceed and other very few representatives of the golf class. And it seems that it is these Skoda Octavia that will become the most popular.
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