Octavia, what's it like?

[VW GTI]

Hey

My brother is looking at buying a new car, he wants a sedan. He's currently looking at the Jetta and Civic. I thought the Octavia would be an OK car to throw in the mix.

I doubt he'd want to pay the extra for an RS, so what's the normal one like? Which engine would be the go, I think he'd want auto.

I thought the Octavia might be a decent car to go for. It seems to be the same price as the Jetta. What would be an advantage over the Jetta?

Thanks

[rym]

My personal 2 cents on Octavia vs Jetta.

Brief facts:

Octavia is Roomier
Has same or similar instruments
Same Golf V platform as is the Jetta
A wee bit cheaper, better equipment level (hence cheaper)
Octavia sedan is actually a hatch, deeper boot as well. Has wogon option.
Similar drive train options except for the Skoda has a 1.8 TFSI that is a sweet and willing performer, smooth, silky and has great torgue that arrives early at 1500rpm and goes for atleast 3000 rpm. It is also economical. This engine option isn't available on the Jetta and at $31k for the hatch, it's a reasonable buy with reasonably good equipement levels.
Octavia comes in a 6 speed manual for now, the DSG is arriving some time this year? Which is fine with me as I'm a happier stirrer than auto driver. The manual shift seems ok.

My Personal Opinion & Preference:

Octavia rides much better than the Jetta.
The Bling and high gloss chrome on the Jetta front bumper is dazzles and blinds me, reminds me of the thick swads of gold and silver that hip hop brigades dig. Not for me.
Jetta doesn't come in a waogn, my choice and pref.
Jetta looks like a golf (front) with a Passat (rear), the Octavia runs to the beat of its own drum


Simple if you want to find out. Test drive one. This would be better than all of our collective keystrokes put together.

I know you'd mentioned that he prefers Auto, the manual shift is fine and notchy at all.

Good luck with your decision.

[VW GTI]

Obviously test driving would be the plan before buying, but just getting opinions from owners as to pros and cons.

Thanks for your input :)

[gregozedobe]

Obviously test driving would be the plan before buying, but just getting opinions from owners as to pros and cons.

Skodas tend to be a bit cheaper than similarly equipped Golfs and Jettas, but they aren't usually available with exactly the same engine/gearbox and equipment level combinations.

You should include the Octavia 1.8 TFSI motor in your test drives, it's very impressive.

Some factors to consider (before deciding what to test drive) are engine, gearbox and body style preferences; budget and standard equipment/options. That way you can narrow the driving options down to less confusing numbers of cars. But after saying that, has he considered other makes ? eg new model Mazda 6, Forester, Honda Euro etc.

Another useful tip is to test drive over the same roads if possible, otherwise you can't compare as accurately. If you include the sort of roads as you will be doing the majority of your driving you will get a good idea of what it will be like for the style of driving you do most of (eg city traffic or busy freeways or narrow, windy country roads - whatever is appropriate).

[anthony]

I looked at everything,Mazda 6 ,Honda Accord Euro,etc,and bought the Jetta,as it had the 6 speed auto/tiptronic gearbox,had the best safety and luxuty equipment,with great image,and best in class resale.
Skodas are not seen on the roads at all yet,and resale values worry me.
There is only 1 dealership in Melbourne,and I think Volkswagen is a much safer bet.
Octavia looks like the previous generation Bora.
I can highly reccomend the Jetta to your Brother.
He must have a close look at one.
I also looked at the Honda Civic Sport,but the FEEL of the Jetta was better.

[anthony]

Another problem with Skoda vs.VW is what happens when you have an accident in a Skoda...
Read the WARNING letter.
Noebody seems to know how to repair them,and parts are a problem.
Everyone knows how to fix the Jetta,or Civic,with parts not being an issue.
Skoda needs to pull up its socks for Australia,clearly.

[gregozedobe]

Another problem with Skoda vs.VW is what happens when you have an accident in a Skoda...

Noebody seems to know how to repair them,and parts are a problem.

Anthony,

So far on this site we have precisely ONE report about ONE repairer having problems knowing how to repair ONE Skoda. While causing distress for one Skoda owner (and I agree it is an unsatisfactory situation, but hopefully that will be resolved before too long), that is a long, long way from justifying your statement that NOBODY seems to know how to repair them.

Have you personally talked to every car repairer in Australia ? (coz thats what you need to do before you can truthfully make a statement like that).

Do you have any facts to support your inference that Skoda parts are hard to get ? In the above instance it is my understanding that the difficulty lies in the repairer not knowing what parts are needed, not that the parts are unavailable.

Do you have any personal experience that ALL Jetta parts are ALWAYS readily available and ALL repairers know how to fix them correctly ?

I get it that you prefer Jettas over Skodas (and that is perfectly fine for you), but you seem to be ignoring the fact that this is a site for people who actually own and/or like Skodas. At the moment you are coming across as an ardent Jetta supporter who is a bit of a Keyboard Warrior with a crusade against Skodas for some mysterious reason, I'm not sure if that is what you intended ? :?

Remember Jettas and Octavias are both Golf Mk5s under the skin, and in the UK Skodas are very popular and get much better results for reliability than VWs (check the latest J D Power reliability survey for some info you may wish to ignore).

Disclaimer: The above is based on my personal opinions and prejudices, any resemblence to facts are purely coincidental ;)