Skoda Octavia 2013 - NV sedan test drive
Direct inclusion
Skoda Octavia The new Octavia with the body of the hatchback debuted in the spring of 2004. Created on the Golf V platform. In the fall of 2004, all-wheel drive versions of the car and station wagon appeared. In Russia, the hatchback has been sold since November 2004, the station wagon since May 2005.
Engines: gasoline 1.6 liters (102 hp),
2.0 l fsi (150 hp); diesel 1.9 l (105 hp) and 2.0 l (140 hp).
Gearboxes: 5- and 6-speed mechanical, 6-speed automatic and DSG.
Price in Russia: $ 20,70035,000.
Test car: 2.0tdi, 140 hp In the Classic configuration with a DSG box, $ 32,000.
The harmony of the universe is now and then violate the laws of the sandwich, harmfulness, Chizholm as you like. Judge for yourself: at once, the author and his colleague got into the mountains, counted on Octavia-UNIVERSAL to put ski equipment and sledges there. They dreamed of insured against mountain roads by all the leaders. By the way, even in the inhabited Europe in some areas in winter, entry is allowed only on all -wheel drive cars. And at the last moment, Skoda did not have at hand either universals or all -wheel drive cars. They offered a front -wheel drive hatchback, in addition with a diesel engine that is not the most popular in Russia.
On the way to the Alps No sensations did not bode off, It was already getting dark, it was necessary to drive nearly five hundred miles, including through unfamiliar, not the widest, winding paths of the Western Czech Republic and Southern Germany.
In the city, my colleagues are comments that we came across a very nimble and pleasant machine, listened in good order and attributed all his enthusiasm to the automatic gearbox, which in megacities has a clear advantage over mechanics. At least in terms of comfort. But when Octavia began to shoot on lifts, without the slightest twitching, moving from one gear to another, then the square handle of switching was in earnestly intrigued.
The inscription DSG appeared on a polished salon, on a polished metal salon, on a polished metal of the knob. Here you have! Nothing in the appearance of Octavia hinted at such an interesting package: a 140-horsepower two-liter 16-valve diesel and the latest box with a sequential electron-hydraulic switching. Similar before that they put only cars with a pronounced sports tint, such as Audi TT, for example, some Volkswagen. Even Schildik on the fifth door was silent for such a remarkable fact, limited to the laconic Octavia TDI.
DIRECT CONTACT Surprise came in full. The desire to try the legendary, from motorsport, a box of direct inclusion of Direktschaltgetriebe as a hand removed drowsiness. The fact that the diesel 16-valve engine 2.0 liters is very burdened and, perhaps, the best in the set proposed by Skoda was known. It is much more interesting to its combination with a non-trivial automatic machine, which came from motorsport and first tested twenty years ago at the Audi-Sport of the CVATRO S1.
The design of the DSG box is described in ZR, 2003, No. 2. This is a complex unit, which has two clutches in one block and a mechanical box itself. Two clutches allow you to simultaneously include two programs, one of which is directly involved in the transmission of torque, and the other is worth, so to speak, in line and, as soon as he receives a signal, immediately picks up the previous work. Through the liberated clutch, the subsequent transmission takes place in line. And so to the highest sixth. When the sixth passes the moment, the fifth remains in the hook and is waiting in the wings. If it happens, the road will go up or intensive acceleration will be required, the clutch will immediately turn it on.
The operation of the DSG unit is practically not distinguished from the usual automatic transmission. Before touching, you also have to put pressure on the brake and transfer the lever to one of the positions for moving forward, backward or manual operations.
What mode would you prefer at night on an unfamiliar road? That's right, I also chose D drive so as not to fool my head and fully concentrate on the road. The car is moving, barely cleaning my leg from the brake. The shift of the tachometer, falling when switching during the transition to increased gear. The transition itself, which does not show itself, and especially its smoothness left a strong impression. It seemed as if I had been picked up and dispersed to 140 km/h, quite reasonable on an empty car at night. Now my turn is delighted with the work of the box and a two -liter diesel. In fact, the alliance turned out to be outstanding. I even forgot about the all -wheel drive station wagon, which we so wanted to get.
Direct intervention
Nevertheless, the DSG work is slightly different from traditional machine guns. The connection of the engine with the wheels turns out to be more rigid, there are no excessive slippers and extensions. It is possible to completely subordinate the machine to its will. These are sport modes when, when accelerating, the engine will spin to the highest possible revolutions, and simply manual, in which the transfers are included in sequence
pressing the lever forward or backward. In comparison with the usual automaton, such a transmission wins both in the speed of switching and in saving fuel. However, the last indicator largely depends on the actions of the driver himself. Acquaintance with the quick diesel hatchback Octavia turned out to be interesting from a different point of view. It turned out for certain that he did not lose so much the station wagon in terms of the capacity of the trunk and the convenience of placing cargo. If the seats are not folded, the room in the car is most of all 20 liters. We lay skis, sticks, sleds into the trunk, throwing up part of the back, and calmly traveled four. Perhaps with a full -wheel drive transmission we would climb above the clouds.
There is no perfection in the world, but its absence is sometimes beneficial for the matter. Otherwise, when I still had a chance to experience a box of direct inclusion in the case and evaluate the amenities of the Octavia hatchback. A thousand kilometers passed in the mountains allows you to authoritatively argue that the car in such a configuration, if not perfect, then has a lot of undeniable advantages.
SUMMARY
Octavia with a two -liter diesel engine and a DSG combination combination of confidence, sports and comfort.
+ Excellent dynamic characteristics, predictability of behavior on the road, a spacious interior, voluminous trunk, rich options for configurations.
- Hard seats, not the most convenient access to the lower row of buttons on the central console.
Vladimir Solovyov
Source: The magazine "Driving"
