To this point the Octavia has spent a great deal of time with Hormazd and which means it’s been on his now customary drive to Mahabaleshwar and ushered him across the streets of South Mumbai. Anybody dwelling right here will know that whereas there’s site visitors, South Mumbai is basically tiny and so distance is shorter – at its longest north-south size, it’s barely over 15km.
TUCKED AWAY: In intermittent, wipers are seen on the windshield, and tucked out of sight when off.
Nonetheless, I reside within the suburbs, distances are far higher and site visitors heavier nonetheless, so I used to be dreading utilizing the Octavia as my every day driver. For one, it’s giant, its petrol automated isn’t a really environment friendly mixture – Hormazd solely managed 7.2kpl within the metropolis – and the throttle has a hair-trigger response at low speeds.
SCREENED: Quite a few customisations attainable, together with Android Auto information and round dials!
So how did it do? About its dimension, effectively, that wasn’t so unhealthy, the steering is gentle to twirl round in site visitors and I discovered it fairly manoeuvrable. The one situation right here had been the wing mirrors, that are small and restrict rear visibility. Coming to effectivity, I used to be decided to restrict harm to my pockets. I reside 36km away from the workplace – Dahisar to Byculla – which implies traversing the world’s most mind-numbingly jammed and monsoon-ravaged piece of tarmac – the Western Categorical Freeway. The usual D mode was all I used on the gear selector (no S mode) and a really gentle throttle, and after a tankful to tankful measure, I received 8.7kpl.
PROD AND POKE: Altering fan velocity is three touches away, not straightforward when on the transfer.
The sunshine throttle little question helped eke out a bit greater than what Hormazd received, however one other profit with feathering the throttle was that the aggressive low-end response was now contained, solely surfacing at occasions when making an attempt to shut a niche. So it was a simple drive within the metropolis; in truth, factoring within the suspension, I’d say it was tremendous!
OFF THE GROUND: USB slots take up flooring house, ought to have been positioned on the vertical floor.
With the brand new Octavia, Skoda has raised the experience top and softened the springs, which very properly smoothens all of the craters and ruts, plus the clearance was sufficient to drive over strewn rocks and free paver blocks. So in case your every day drive distance is low or your pockets deep, the Octavia will do very effectively as a metropolis driver.
Additionally learn:
2022 Skoda Octavia long run assessment, first report
2022 Skoda Octavia long run assessment, second report
