Skoda Octavia I test drive - 2010 -

I want to be an adult

Skoda-Octavia attracts with solid appearance and blood kinship with the Volkswagen concern.
Who is who
The favor of our compatriots to the Skoda brand was won by Felicia, which for many became the first foreign car in life. First of all, the fact that Felicia was created and produced under the patronage of the Volkswagen concern was bribed in it. But being just brought to the Western European level, she remained a relic of the socialist past.
The first real Volkswagen at the Czech price promised to become Octavia, and when the car appeared in Russia, they accepted it with a bang. Still, the car looks so solid that many see in it the sister of a prestigious passat, who is incomparably cheaper.
If such a comparison is amusing your pride - please. In fact, Octavia is golf, only with a large trunk. Or, if you want, Bora, that in general, the same thing. After all, a Czech car was built on a common platform with a golf and a bora.
So, we have not yet grown up to the Passat. And if you compare the octavia with the representatives of the golf class, is it possible to say that it is
 
  Individual tailoring is not always welcome
The German order system offers for Octavia a huge list of custom -made equipment - from the eye to the built -in TV and cell phone. With all options, the price of a machine with an engine can reach $ 25,000. No one forces you to buy up everything that is offered, but you can make a car as convenient as possible for yourself. If, for example, you need a rim for a trailer, why not install it at the factory?
But some dealers leave only a few of the most running positions in the list of options. This is due to the fact that the Czechs are often mistaken in orders and break off the terms of their execution. In order for the car to come from the factory as it was ordered, the dealer must know well the specific Vaclav, which processes orders and sends them to production.
Therefore, if you decide to build a car for yourself, and the dealer opposes this in every way, look for another that specializes in custom cars.
Front and rear armrests are included in the standard Eleans. Leather salon for surcharge
 
cheap car?
The initial price of $ 12 100 really looks very attractive. But for this money you are offered a car with a 75-horsepower 1.6 liter engine in a completely naked classic configuration. You can only limit yourself to such an engine if you are a calm driver, drive one-unit and mainly around the city. On the highway, he is not a fighter. As for equipment, the German configuration system allows you to supplement the classic with various options. But if you want to get a car convenient to use, it is better to immediately take an ambient as a basis ($ 13 450). By adding the air conditioner and metallic color, we get $ 14,750.
 
Separately, you can order an adjustment of the lumbar roller (upper handle)
 
The optimal for octavia can be considered a 102-horsepower engine with a volume of 1.6 liters. The cars equipped with him are offered in the performance of an ambient (from $ 14,250) and eleganes (from $ 16,600). But dealers usually complement the ambition at least an air conditioner, and Eleans - heating seats, ABS and something else. Accordingly, the average price of octavia with a 102-horsepower engine and a manual gearbox is $ 15,500-17,700. The machine is another plus $ 1350. Against the background of excessively expensive golf and bora, these numbers look attractive. But, for example, Ford-Focus, Opel-Astra and Mitsubishi Carism in a similar configuration are somewhat cheaper ... Thus, if you have not yet finally leaned towards the Skoda, you will have to meticulously weigh all the pros and cons.
A truly profitable acquisition will be Octavia with a 150-horsepower 1.8 liter turbo engine, which is installed even on Audi-A6. In the execution of Eleans, such a plane costs approximately $ 20,000-21,000. It is clear that the amount of considerable and Octavia-Turbo itself does not claim to be mass. But for that kind of money you can’t find a car with an equally powerful engine and in such a rich configuration.
There is also a more chic version of Laurin and Clement, but there are few people who want to give $ 25,000-26,000 out of octavia. More often, the extra $ 2600 is overpaying for the all-wheel drive system in order to support the power of a 150-horsepower engine.
A two-liter 115-horsepower engine does not in demand. It costs almost as much as 1.8-turbo, and they cannot even be compared by dynamics. The diesel engines are also unpopular. In our conditions, they pay off for a very long time.
So, with all the wealth of a choice, there is no other alternative. For acquaintance, we took the most popular version of Octavia - with a 102 -horsepower engine and a manual gearbox performed by ambient. Of the options, only air conditioning and metallic color were present. Such a car will cost the buyer $ 15,550.
 
   
In general, the interior of Octavia is perceived by solid and visually expensive
They meet on clothes
Perhaps this is the main argument in favor of the acquisition of Octavia. Let the car is pulled by the length of four and a half meters by the ears, or rather for the bumpers, in the outside, octavia can actually be mistaken for a larger and prestigious middle class model. Moreover, the Volkswagenovites managed to impose their business-strict design to the Czechs without any stylistic liberties. As a result, Octavia looks very adulthood, solid, even with a claim to respectability. The ideal option for a novice careerist or for the company, when the service car is the face of the company.
In addition, Octavia from the outside is perceived as a classic sedan-nonsense, although in fact it is a hatchback, in which the trunk lid rises with the rear window. This is a find for someone who wants to get a car convenient to use, but psychologically is not ready to abandon the usual sedan.
With a more detailed inspection of the body, quite decent quality of coloring and fitting parts is found. Open the door. An additional velvety seal was laid along the upper opening, and rubber bands that cover the gap between the threshold and the door along the lower edges. Excellent - and the wind at speed will make no less, and the thresholds should remain clean. But the overlays made of black unpainted plastic along the lower perimeter of the bumper from 2001 model year were removed in vain. If earlier it was possible not to pay attention to scratches or, in extreme cases, replace the overlay, now you have to repaint or change the entire bumper.
 
We liked

Very comfortable front seats

Sunscreen visor over the salon mirror
   


As well as:
A solid appearance
Energy -intensive and comfortable suspension
The possibility of individual equipment selection
 
 
We didn't like it

Circular digitization makes it difficult to read the readings of the devices

Testament in the back seat

Bad rear review

As well as:
Noisy motor
Light twitching at low speeds during gas discharge
 
The moment of truth
Inside Octavia, the golf is almost completely copying. Typically, Volkswagen office is a strict, cold, the entire atmosphere of which is exclusively subordinated to functionality.
In general, the interior of Octavia is perceived by solid and visually expensive, but compared to the golf, a budget approach is felt here. The finishing materials are simpler, and the handle of the gearbox lever is cast from frankly cheap plastic. Underground handles do not have a microlift. And in response to pressing the blocking button of the central castle, such a roar is heard as if you were in an empty room and a shutter was shifted behind your back ... Frost on the skin. However, there are no miracles. The outer dimensions of Octavia surpasses golf, and is cheaper. Do you have a different recipe to do more and cheaper?
By the way, about the size. For those who are still convinced that Octavia is almost a passat, the moment of truth will come when landing on the rear sofa. Alas, here Octavia is the same golf - cramped even by the standards of a golf class named after him. The situation does not save the fact that in the 2001 model year the Czechs pressed the back of the front seats and the front - the rear, thereby winning 4 cm of space. If the driver’s growth exceeds 180 cm, the back is a trap. The knees rest on the back of the front chair, and the boots when landing and eating are stuck in the doorway. Fortunately, there is enough space above your head.
The list of options includes the third rear headrest. If I understood correctly, this is a hint of the third passenger well, well, you are better to us. But the central armrest to the Ambent package for $ 50 can be ordered. On the long journey, he will at least slightly brighten up the fate of the inhabitants of the gallery.
Behind the wheel
As a well -fed hungry does not understand, the driver of Octavia will not understand the rear passengers. The hard Volkswagen chair perfectly fixes the body and is ready to take in its arms to the rider of any growth and complexion. The angle of inclination of the back changes smoothly, the range of longitudinal adjustment is simply huge, and on the left was a brilliantly convenient lever-undercratus that changes the height of the seat. Particularly picky can order an adjustment of a lumbar support and - only think! - electric drive of all adjustments of the driver's seat with memory in three positions. True, the latest option, like a leather salon, is possible only to configure Eleans. But, let's say, the skin is so -so, but for heating the seats, available even for the classic, it makes sense to pay $ 220.
Add here the steering column adjustable in two directions and get an almost standard sample of ergonomics. Some complaints can be expressed only to the uncomfortable circular digitization of devices, too long -speed adhesion pedal (characteristic of almost all Germans) and a low climate control unit. True, standard rotating ventilation and heating regulators with the air conditioner button are very convenient. But the climate control would have gone for the buttons indistinguishable to the touch.
 
Security
From the point of view of passive security, Octavia is a Volkswagen without reservations. In any case, in crash tests, she protrudes no worse than golf. True, in the presence of two front pillows, which are not standard for all modifications of Octavia. But for the surcharge, both front and side pillows can be obtained even performed by a classic.
The safety of the car is provided by a full -time immobilizer and a security alarm, which can be obtained as an option from the factory. In addition, if you do not want the button on the first turn of the key on the first turn on the keyboard of the central lock (when it is equipped with remote control) all the doors were opened immediately, in the technical center you can program the initial unlocking of one driver's door.
In the basic version of the classic, the front panel of the old -sample is proposed (photo above)
 
And what is it - has it really happened? Well done, the Slav brothers! Under the nose, the Germans were taken and finally installed on the right the same large mirror as on the left. Those still stubbornly put a flawed fragment on the right door and, it seems, will fight for it, like Berlin.
Unfortunately, a review through the rear window, through which only the sky is visible, is not able to correct any mirror. Octavia is needed, like gasoline. It costs about $ 220, but money and nerves will save much more. For another $ 50, you can order the rear wiper. True, Octavia is not inclined to spray the glass of the fifth door, so the janitor helps only during heavy rain or snowfall.
 
Governing bodies

1. Block windows. 2. The mirror settings remote control. 3. The central light switch. 4. The heating switch of the rear window. 5. The remote unlocking button of the gas tank hatch. 6. Ventilation and heating control unit
 
Children in the car
As befits a modern car, Octavia is equipped with children's locking rear door locks and electric windows. Plus, on the back sofa, mounts are regularly installed for children's seats of the ISOFIX standard. For a surcharge, you can get a couple of such seats.
If you are going to transport the child in a children's chair with a backward back in the front seat, and the car is equipped with a passenger pillow, it can be turned off in the company technical center.
 
DASHBOARD

1. Clock. 2. Tachometer. 3. The indicator of the temperature of the coolant. 4. Fuel level indicator. 5. Speedometer. 6. The counter of the traveled path. 7. Information display.
 

Trunk - a summer resident dream
Here we are all saying that there is more octavia outside than golf and even boron, and in the cabin the same cramped. Where did extra centimeters go? Everything went into the trunk of a record for a golf class volume of 530 liters. What a golf class! Not every business class sedan can boast of such a capacious chest.
At the same time, the trunk of Octavia in Folkswagenovsky is rationally planned and represents an almost correct shape of the pencil case. And a separately folding rear sofa and a fifth door with a wide opening allow you to transport long and voluminous objects. For example, a TV with a diagonal 25 in a box. The only drawback is that when the seat is folded on the floor, a step forms. But if the luggage does not require folding seats, but does not fit in height under the shelf, the latter is completely not necessary to leave at home. The shelf can be installed vertically behind the back of the sofa.
In addition to the hatchback, Octavia is offered with the wagon body. It makes sense to overpay for it $ 800 only if you need a high roof over the trunk, which is necessary for the transportation of bulky items - for example, a refrigerator. In other cases, the freight capabilities of the hatchback and station wagon are almost the same. When ordering a station wagon for a surcharge, you can get a removable vertical grid separating the luggage interior, and the double floor of the trunk.
  
Measure the experts of the magazine limousine
Weather
Temperature + 1218
Pressure, mm Hg. Art. 740
Humidity, % 8095
Coating dry asphalt concrete
Dynamic qualities
(partial load 2 people + 25 kg)
Acceleration, C:
040 km/h 2.7
060 km/h 5.5
080 km/h 8.5
0100 km/h 13.1
0120 km/h 19.3
0140 km/h 29.1
0160 km/h 47.3
0400 m (117.8 km/h)
01000 m 34.5 (147.3 km/h)
Maximum speed, km/h 175.1
Speedometer error, % 6.0
Elasticity, p
60100 km/h (IV) 12.7
80120 km/h (V) 20.5
Running, m
12050 km/h 1272
500 km/h 499
Braking with 100 km/h
Braking distance, m 43.2
Slow down, m/s2 8.9

Note: Measurements were held in the summer of 2001.
 
On road
Volkswagenovsky 102-horsepower engine is addressed to the middle driver without sports ambitions. At small and medium speeds, it burdens enough and allows you to accelerate even in the fifth gear. But upstairs, like most eight -clads, does not like to spin.
 
ENGINE
 
1. Glass washer tank. 2. Tanker of the steering wheel. 3. The expansion tank of the cooling system. 4. Oil -polling neck. 5. Battery battery. 6. Oil probe.
 
However, you are unlikely to get far to drive the tachometer arrow far away - after 3000 rpm, the sedimentary buzzer becomes too annoying. In a city where there are many distracting moments, this does not particularly bother, but on the highway you strive to quickly get to the fifth gear - good, they switch very clearly.
 
Skoda Octavia 1.6i General data
Body 5-seater hatchback
Equipped mass, kg 1190
Full mass, kg 1790
Maximum speed, km/h 190
Acceleration time 0100 km/h, from 11.8
Fuel consumption, l/100 km highway/city 5.5/9.7
Fuel reserve, l 55 (AI-95)
Engine
Front location, transversely
The design is gasoline, 4-cylinder, in order, with one upper camshaft and distributed fuel injection
Diam. Tsil. X piston stroke, mm 81.0x77.4
Working volume, SMZ 1595
The degree of compression is 10.3
Power, l. With. 102
at rpm 5600
Maximum torque, kgs.m 15.1
at rpm 3800
Chassis
Transmission front wheel drive
The gearbox is mechanical, 5-speed
Transporting numbers: I; II; III; IV; V; h. X. 3.45; 1.94; 1.37; 1.03; 0.85; 3.17
The main gear is 4.25
Suspension: In front is independent, such as McExeson, with a reptile stabilizer
a spring is from behind, on longitudinal levers associated with a transverse beam, with a reptile stabilizer
Steering rheckie with amplifier
Brakes: in front circular ventilated
a drum behind with an amplifier (ABS for surcharge)
Tire size 195/65 r15

Another feature of the engine to which you need to get used to is light twitching at low speeds when discharging gas. What is most clearly manifested when you crawl in a sluggish cork in the first and second gear. Most likely, this is the result of attempts to drive an elderly motor into the framework of modern environmental norms.
 
  
Heating seats is offered by order

Climate control standard equipment of the eleganes version

Parktronik needs octavia
 
  
To the level of a soft horizontal shelf, the volume of the trunk of the station wagon is the same as that of the hatchback

The steering and brakes were not remembered by anything - that is, they worked without complaints. It was not possible to evaluate the work of ABS - it was absent in our car. But frankly pleased the suspension. Adapted to bad roads, with an increased road clearance, it does not annoy excessive stiffness and at the same time allows you to go very confidently along a broken road. In addition, in the Russian specification, the motor compartment from below is covered with powerful steel protection, and plastic shelves are installed not only in the front but also in the rear wheel arches. Perhaps, due to the increased road clearance, aerodynamics deteriorated somewhat and Octavia did not reach the declared maximum speed. But if unnecessary km/h can only be caught on the dynamometric road of the landfill, then on bad roads you have to ride every day.
 
As you already understood, Octavia is not one of the parquet neches. When leaving for nature or to the cottage, you can safely turn off the primer, along which the Zhiguli passes. The main thing is to remember the long body overhangs.
 
Basic equipment levels
The basic performance of the classic
Roll hydraulic steering adjustable steering column
audio training (4 speakers and antenna)
immobilizer
adjustable driver's chair
Separately folding rear seat
steel wheels 14 ''
An additional ambient:
Driving pillow
Electric windows of all doors
Electric mirrors and heating
central locking
Tinted glass
on-board computer
fog lights
Side moldings
Steel wheels 15
Eleganes additionally:
Safety pillow from the passenger
Audio training (8 speakers and antenna)
Right seat adjustable in height
climate control
front and rear armrests
Central Castle with remote control
cast wheels 15
Laurin and Clement Additionally:
audio system (radio, CD changer, 8 speakers)
Leather salon
Drill inserts
xenon headlights with washer
Luke with electric drive
Heating the front seats
ABS with an electronic differential lock
Make -up mirrors with backlight
chrome decoration of the combination of instruments and handle of the fifth door
Cast wheeled wheels 16
 
 
Car dimensions, mm
 
Salon dimensions, mm
 
Operation, service
To date, Skoda dealers work in 29 cities of Russia. But it’s too early to talk about their number - the dealer network has not yet been formed. Since there is no single distributor, issues of volume and price of service services, the cost of spare parts and terms of their delivery, each dealer decides on his own. Some, for example, have their own road assistance. Only the conditions of the factory guarantee are strictly regulated - one year without a run of run - and an interval interval of 15,000 km.
 
Prices for spare parts and that, USD
TO1 15,000 km $ 140
TO2 30,000 km $ 160 + 70 (front pads)
TO3 45,000 km $ 140
Oil filter $ 7
Air filter $ 18
Fuel filter $ 10
Spark plug (1 pc.) $ 6.25
Timing belt $ 25
Brake pads, front/rear $ 59/88
Tip of steering thrust $ 25
Steering rod $ 90
Ball support $ 32
Shock absorber, front/rear $ 105/88
Front wing $ 91
Rear $ 147 wing
Hood $ 204
Front door $ 340
Rear door $ 340
Front bumper assembly $ 194
Rear bumper assembly $ 183
Windshield $ 135
Side glass $ 47
Front headlight assembly, halogen/xenon $ 115/490
Rear lamp assembly $ 55
The table shows the prices for spare parts from expensive large dealers. For smaller companies, spare parts can be bought 15-20 cheaper. The same story with the cost of the service. In Moscow, for example, a norm costs from $ 25 to $ 35.
 
 
The trunk of Octavia is very capacious and rationally planned in Volkswagen.

The standard horizontal mesh holds the luggage from movements

Here is another strong side of Skoda - the moderate cost of content. It will be especially noticeable after the guarantee period, when all work and spare parts will have to be paid from your own pocket.
 
 
We decided:
Yes, Octavia, you look not over the years of an adult, serious young lady and know how to attract attention. But do not blame you to go to the golf class.
 
 
Alexander Konov, photo of Alexander Sadovnikov
 

A source: Magazine "Limousine" [04/02]