Skoda Octavia I test drive - 2010 -

Skoda Octavia

In the USSR, Czech beer was a deficit. Today it is everywhere, but behind a used Czech car you need to run, as once behind beer.
The Actavia model debuting at the Paris in September 1996 was a kind of maturity for Skoda. After all, Octavia is the first fully new model created after the company’s transition under the control of the Volkswagen concern. It was also an application for a chair in a higher class, where Czech cars were completely absent for the past half a century. The company's management was looking forward to the reaction of customers.
The audience accepted the car very warmly. Firstly, the hopes of buyers were justified that, with the advent of the Germans, the car of the Czech company will gain real German quality. Secondly, a very attractive price was installed on the car. At the price of VW Golf (on the platform of which, in fact, the Skoda Octavia was created) the buyer received a sedan -shaped henbek, with a protruding trunk and other attributes of a real large car, albeit assembled in one of the countries of the former social camp.
Heritage of the past. Unfortunately, not all hopes were justified: the first cars suffered from a mass of children's sores. But you do not have fun among the Germans - changes were promptly made to the design of the machine, and the identified defects were corrected by the warranty with lightning speed. So the three -year -old Skoda Octavias have long been cured for a long time, only those defects remained that appeared during operation.
 
 
 
The car showed itself quite reliable when operating in Russian conditions. It is enough to say that the steel protection of the engine crankcase is included in the standard Octavia equipment, while many other foreign cars of this structure have no even in the list of additional equipment and have to support the domestic manufacturer. The engines perfectly digest our gasoline, and even the spark plugs serve all the due time. True, simple, not platinum are placed at the plant, and therefore they must be changed after 30 thousand kilometers.
TURBULENCE. Skoda Octavia is equipped with a whole gamut of engines, but when buying it is better to avoid machines with a non -turbinated gasoline engine of 1.8 liters. He, as well as a later modification with a volume of 2 liters, is not uncommon for the electronic engine control system. The reason for the refusal may be either one of the sensors or the control unit itself, the replacement of which will facilitate the owner’s pocket by $ 1.2 thousand without the cost of work.
However, machines with these engines are not so common - two -thirds of sales falls on modifications with 1.6 -liter gasoline motors with a capacity of 101 hp. and with a familiar VW Passat by a turbocharged engine with a 1.8 liter with a capacity of 150 hp. The last engine option is especially popular among tuning lovers - the benefit of the Czechs, not without the participation of the Germans, offer a lot of quite industrial options for finalizing both the engine itself and the machine as a whole. The most affordable option for tuning the motor from Skoda costs the owner of $ 800 and consists in replacing the brains of the engine control system, which immediately raises the engine power to 190 hp.
About twenty percent of the total volume of world sales falls on modifications with a 1.9 -liter turbodiesel engine and a capacity of 110 hp. These cars are present with us. Oddly enough, the motor also perfectly digested domestic diesel fuel. Moreover, in case of malfunctions, the specialists of the company Bosch (whose fuel equipment was equipped with the engine) in most cases stated that factory marriage was guilty of a breakdown, and not our diesel fuel.
Fee for an error. The only thing that I immediately want to warn future owners immediately is that even for such an elementary operation as replacing oil in the engine, it is worth going to a corporate service. The fact is that in Skoda Octavia a weak spot is a thread in the hole for a plug of oil. One incorrect movement, and ... on branded services in the know this problem, and therefore locksmiths when performing this operation are neat as sappers. But an attempt to save can cost $ 90 for the Carter pallet and plus $ 40 for the work to replace it.
Skoda Octavia options with the most powerful engines - turbocharged gasoline volume of 1.8 and 1.9 liter diesel - occasionally occur with all -wheel drive transmission. The all-wheel drive scheme itself is similar to 4-Motion on VW Passat, where torque is distributed between bridges using a Haldex coupling with an electronic control unit. In operation, the system is quite reliable, the only source of malfunctions can only be the same control unit, but possible defects crawl out in the first 2 thousand kilometers of mileage. But if such a nuisance does happen, the owner of the Octavia will have to part with $ 400 for the control unit itself and another $ 60 for work on its installation. In the future, the owners of all -wheel drive options need to just not forget to change the oil in the coupling according to the service book.
Monkey transmission does not cause any trouble to the owners, except that cars with a manual box for better shifts of gear should be once every 15 thousand km (which just coincides with the interval between that) adjust the tension of the cable connecting the gearbox lever and the box itself. However, this operation is quite simple and will cost the owner $ 15. And the owners of cars with a turbocharged gasoline engine and a manual box should be neat with clutch - there is so much power at the motor that you can finish the clutch quite quickly. However, much depends on the experience of the owner and the features of his driving style.
The service life of the suspension elements also depends on the same factors. If you do not ride extremely, then the shock absorbers nurse 70--80 thousand km, and the silent blocks-50 thousand each (this applies only to the rear, the front silent blocks are almost eternal). Traditionally weak in Octavia, like other modern machines with an independent suspension, are stabilizer racks, which also serve about 50 thousand km. However, this part is almost penny ($ 28 for a couple + $ 12 for replacing work), so you can safely attribute it to the category of consumables.
 
It is annoying, but okay ... The discharge of offensive and small malfunctions can be attributed to a frequent breakdown of the control unit on the driver's door, where the keys of electric glass windows and the central locking mechanism are placed. In the best case, you will have to pay about $ 23 for the repair of this block, in the worst - pay $ 35 for the block itself and another $ 6 for its installation. Also, neat circulation is required by deflectors of the ventilation and heating system located on the instrument panel. The thing is fragile, plastic. It is worth trying to get reciprocity by force, and you can already safely prepare $ 38 for each deflector (and there are three of them) plus another $ 6 for replacing each. Curious problems include the fragility of the elastic band, on which the muffler is suspended-for some reason it does not live for more than a year. It seems like a trifle, but it will cost $ 6.5 per elastic and another $ 9 for work. In addition, a wagon of the station wagon sometimes has a nasty creaking of the back and fifth door. The problem is eliminated by adjusting the lock and loops, which costs about $ 10. On the other hand, it is worth noting the excellent tightness of the seals of the fifth door. Not a single Skoda Octavia with a body has been convicted of sucking dust and exhaust gases in the salon.
However, all these are trifles. Spare parts are inexpensive, and the cost of a norm-hour even at a proprietary station is no more than $ 30. All this, as well as an almost complete guarantee of the criminal cleanliness of the car (well, does not cause Skoda interest among serious hijackers) makes Octavia very popular in the secondary market. Most of the cars diverges in their own, and in the free sale of used octavia there are very few, and they grab them like hot pies.
It will not be possible to save on maintenance of Octavia. And why? Even large details and units are so cheap that even in the emirates no one will stamp the fakes - it is unprofitable. On the contrary, many Volkswagen cars of various models can save. Since Skoda Octavia was created as part of the Total Unification program adopted inside the VW concern, in the design of the machine many components from other cars of the German concern found their place. But since all of them are done under the Skoda brand, they are cheaper than native German details. By serving some Volkswagen on the Skoda branded technical center, you can save one and a half times compared to the VW technical center.
 
Alexey Khresin, photo Alexey Ilyin, drawings Alexander Krasnov

Skoda Octavia 1.6 1.8 1.8T 1.9TDD
Working volume (cubic meter) 1595 1781 1781 1896
Power (L.S.) 101 125 150 110
Maximum speed (km/h) 187 201 217 178
Acceleration to 100 km/h (sec.) 11.7 10.6 8.9 13.7
Fuel consumption (l per 100 km):
highway 6 6.4 6.2 4.2
city \u200b\u200b10.6 11.8 10.9 6.7
The price is $ 8--9.5 thousand $ 10-12 thousand $ 12-13 thousand $ 10-11 thousand.

Spare parts for Skoda Octavia 1.8t
Spare part cost installation
Spark plug (pcs.) $ 6 $ 20 (replacement of the kit)
Filter of oil. (engine) $ 7 $ 15 (with oil change)
Air filter $ 15 $ 6
Fuel filter $ 10 $ 6
Salon filter $ 12.5 $ 9
Front pads $ 108 $ 15
Rear pads $ 44 $ 15
Front shock absorbers (pcs.) $ 106 $ 72
Rear shock absorbers (pcs.) $ 86 $ 27
Silent-blocks front (pcs.) $ 7 $ 42 (replacement of the kit)
Silent-blocks rear (pcs.) $ 10 $ 42 (replacement of the kit)

 

Source: "Autopilot"