Skoda - From laughing stock to top dog
Discussion
Skoda and seat have always been viewed as the budget option, with seat being seen as the sportier brand as their top end performance models are more on a par with the equivalent vw/Audi
Seat dealer network on the whole is pretty poor and Skoda tends to be much better, and the interior of the Skoda with the last Round of cars probably has a better interior and I think they have taken some of the market because of this reason
As said above it will be interesting to see how the brands develop in the future within the VAG group
Seat dealer network on the whole is pretty poor and Skoda tends to be much better, and the interior of the Skoda with the last Round of cars probably has a better interior and I think they have taken some of the market because of this reason
As said above it will be interesting to see how the brands develop in the future within the VAG group
Sir_Dave said:
Pablo68 said:
Absolute condescending b
ks frankly.
Hardly, we all know the hierarchy within the VAG mainstream.ks frankly.Audi > VW > Seat > Skoda
They are all essentially the same cars, but (& excuse the sweeping generalisation) the higher you go up the list, the more pretentious the owners get. With pretention comes greater expection.
You buy a Skoda as you arent so bothered about impressing your neighbours, but want a very good, hard wearing, reliable car for less money than the equivalent Audi or VW. If it does that, you are happy.
If a Skoda develops a slight interior rattle its probably not the end of the world, as its not a priority in the grand scheme of things. If Mrs Tarquin-Smythe-Foxtrots A3 develops a rattle its quite possibly the worst thing to happen this side of WW2, & the supplying dealer will very much know about it.
I wasnt being condescending, i drive a Golf as i couldnt be bothered to pay the premium for the 4 rings, & they didnt do an equivalent Skoda/Seat model.
Fittster said:
As more people catch on it will be interesting to see how VAG handle the situation. I can't see them allowing the cheaper (less profitable cars) to cannibalize the sales of the premium models. There would appear to be two options open to them, increase the price of the lower brands or reduce their quality.
The new 2013 Mk3 revision of the Octavia is more expensive than the Mk2 was. I think we are seeing VAG creep the price of Skoda's up a notch which could be how they are attempting to position their brands in future: Audi > VW > Skoda > SEAT, making SEAT the new budget brand.I'm on an OAP version ( or so I thought), a 1.4TDI Fabia which says 70BHP on the outside . It's not top spec , but solid and reliable. i read recently that Skoda workers were looking for a pay rise as the Skoda quality was higher than VW,but they got paid less. From mine ,Id say they are justified . But then ,i found out that from way back ,the old Felicia ( in R reg days ) had Thatcham immobilisers. only problem I've had with Skoda ,was when I had a fuel pipe spring a leak . Main dealer quoted me for total replacement of all fuel pipes .With labour this came to approx £300, to replace a flexible 6" long pipe. I think not .
I found out about VAG TPS ,WHO SAID " FUEL PIPE ,CUT TO SIZE( and that was from VAG computer) -TO YOU ,SIR 50P".
I found out about VAG TPS ,WHO SAID " FUEL PIPE ,CUT TO SIZE( and that was from VAG computer) -TO YOU ,SIR 50P".
Pablo68 said:
The new 2013 Mk3 revision of the Octavia is more expensive than the Mk2 was. I think we are seeing VAG creep the price of Skoda's up a notch which could be how they are attempting to position their brands in future: Audi > VW > Skoda > SEAT, making SEAT the new budget brand.
I think that's been happening for a while, the last two SEATs' I've been in (one 3 weeks ago, one a couple of years back) have been noticeably 'cheaper' feeling inside than a Skoda. By way of another example, my Girlfriend's Polo has a much more solid feeling 'thunk' to the doors when they close than my Superb, and the interior also feels 'better' somehow, just in terms of solidity, nothing more tangible than that really.
I suspect VAG have this all down to a fine art.
Sir Fergie said:
But then you go on to say that its designed to fill the gap left by Octavia 2 - yet the vibes im getting is that Octavia 2 was a better car then the Rapid. Hence theres still an argument to say that the Rapid is pointless. Simple alternative solution (imo) - give the Octavia 3 a different name - keep making Octavia 2 - at very competitive prices.
Im sure there is a flaw in my argument - so would welcome all thoughts.
True and technically the Octavia 2 is the better car. However it costs Skoda a lot more to produce and it looks dated now. The Rapid looks fresh and modern, just like a shrunken Octavia 3, and given under the skin its effectively a stretched Polo they can keep the production costs minimal and pass those savings on. The type of people buying it won't mind the unsophisticated way it rides/ handles but will appreciate the practicality and price.Im sure there is a flaw in my argument - so would welcome all thoughts.
Super Slo Mo said:
I think that's been happening for a while, the last two SEATs' I've been in (one 3 weeks ago, one a couple of years back) have been noticeably 'cheaper' feeling inside than a Skoda.
By way of another example, my Girlfriend's Polo has a much more solid feeling 'thunk' to the doors when they close than my Superb, and the interior also feels 'better' somehow, just in terms of solidity, nothing more tangible than that really.
I suspect VAG have this all down to a fine art.
I've found that SEATs have marginally better interior quality than Skodas but the cheap looking styling lets them down. Skoda interiors generally manage to look expensive and high quality even if there has been a bit of cost cutting. By way of another example, my Girlfriend's Polo has a much more solid feeling 'thunk' to the doors when they close than my Superb, and the interior also feels 'better' somehow, just in terms of solidity, nothing more tangible than that really.
I suspect VAG have this all down to a fine art.
I'm pretty sure its all deliberate though and as you say they've got it down to a fine art. They use these sort of tricks to distance the cars apart from each other. The devil is in the detail, e.g. a Skoda or SEAT won't have the hydraulic bonnet lifter you get in a VW/ Audi or damped grab handles.
I think the problem that brands like Skoda have (and will have until lots of us get a bit older) is that we remember when they were laughable.
But at least then they were properly cheap. Nowadays, while the pricing will never reach that of 'premium' models like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, it's near as dammit on par with other cars that have never been a laughing stock.
Skoda Fabias start at £9,835. Peugeot 208s start at £9,995. Citroen C3s start at £8,995.
That will hopefully change over time, but it's taking an incredibly long time to do so. Some 12 years or so ago, a Direct Mail campaign that won loads of awards involved sending hot prospects a Skoda badge in a box with the line that went something along the lines of 'Live with it for a while'.
So they've known for a while that the cars themselves weren't a problem, it was purely down to badge snobbery. And I find it a shame that those awful cars from the 80s spoiled the wonderful history and heritage of Skoda. Look back through the ages and you can find some very beautiful machines.
Like this old Favorit for example.
But at least then they were properly cheap. Nowadays, while the pricing will never reach that of 'premium' models like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, it's near as dammit on par with other cars that have never been a laughing stock.
Skoda Fabias start at £9,835. Peugeot 208s start at £9,995. Citroen C3s start at £8,995.
That will hopefully change over time, but it's taking an incredibly long time to do so. Some 12 years or so ago, a Direct Mail campaign that won loads of awards involved sending hot prospects a Skoda badge in a box with the line that went something along the lines of 'Live with it for a while'.
So they've known for a while that the cars themselves weren't a problem, it was purely down to badge snobbery. And I find it a shame that those awful cars from the 80s spoiled the wonderful history and heritage of Skoda. Look back through the ages and you can find some very beautiful machines.
Like this old Favorit for example.
Ironically they have changed the badges now and not for the better IMO.
Personally as a Skoda owner I wouldnt consider a French car I'll probably be looking at Honda and Volvo come replacement time but I dont tend to buy the bargain basement models.
If all people cared about was cheap would they even buy Skoda nowadays??
Personally as a Skoda owner I wouldnt consider a French car I'll probably be looking at Honda and Volvo come replacement time but I dont tend to buy the bargain basement models.
If all people cared about was cheap would they even buy Skoda nowadays??
va1o said:
The devil is in the detail, e.g. a Skoda or SEAT won't have the hydraulic bonnet lifter you get in a VW/ Audi or damped grab handles.
That used to be the case, my mate's old Octavia indeed didn't have hydraulic bonnet lifters or damped grab handles, but my new Superb has both, although to be fair, it's aimed at a different class of competition. As I think we've all agreed though, the boundaries are getting more and more blurred.
I'm going to go slightly against the grain here; We now use Octavias as our response vehicles (unsurprisingly they do get absolutely hammered). I also owned a VRS for 18 months (prior to trading it for an A6 which provides an interesting contrast).
Decent motors though the Ocatavias are, I still don't think the build quality is quite up there. Obviously you can't expect the same high standard of build or materials for such a relatively low price but even so, I have to say I was left a bit underwhelmed by daily use & more so by ownership (the same rattles & loose trim common in both). They drive okay but the VRS (2.0 FSI) - while reasonably swift - leaves me a bit cold in driving/handling terms.
They are great value & I understand the newest generation Octavias are significantly better still - not least in build quality- so I may have to revise my opinion, but I'm not impressed enough to buy another one just yet.
Decent motors though the Ocatavias are, I still don't think the build quality is quite up there. Obviously you can't expect the same high standard of build or materials for such a relatively low price but even so, I have to say I was left a bit underwhelmed by daily use & more so by ownership (the same rattles & loose trim common in both). They drive okay but the VRS (2.0 FSI) - while reasonably swift - leaves me a bit cold in driving/handling terms.
They are great value & I understand the newest generation Octavias are significantly better still - not least in build quality- so I may have to revise my opinion, but I'm not impressed enough to buy another one just yet.
I have a new Octavia Estate Elegance DSG as top of my list as a replacement for the current Volvo V70. It looks like a great car from the pictures and brochure and if it is as good as its predecessor is should be good vfm. The personal contract hire rates are very competitive (ie cheap) so am just waiting for a demo to try out and compare the interior space with the V70. For £254 / month for an elegance 2.0 TDI DsG in metallic, with road tax, servicing and maintenance included, I think it will take a lot of beating.
I previously owned a vRS Octavia TDI in 2010, a very competent and complete car.
I previously owned a vRS Octavia TDI in 2010, a very competent and complete car.
I decided to bump this topic as we have just taken delivery of an Octavia Scout.
We tested it against the A4 allroad, Leon Xperience, Passatt alltrack, Golf Alltrack, Subaru Outback, Volvo XC60
The Octavia had a bigger boot and better leg and headroom than all the others (son is 6ft 4in and needs to fit). The interior was much more premium in feel than the Seat, subjectively nicer than the golf and equal to the A4. Practicality was better than all the others too. level of kit is high and options generally good value (apart from electric seats which I thought were pricey).
List price of the spec we bought was £31k. Had you asked me 20 years ago if I would consider spending £30k on a Skoda, I would have thought you were mental. Fact is, the Octavia Scout is properly impressive and will replace our 2007 Outback.
We tested it against the A4 allroad, Leon Xperience, Passatt alltrack, Golf Alltrack, Subaru Outback, Volvo XC60
The Octavia had a bigger boot and better leg and headroom than all the others (son is 6ft 4in and needs to fit). The interior was much more premium in feel than the Seat, subjectively nicer than the golf and equal to the A4. Practicality was better than all the others too. level of kit is high and options generally good value (apart from electric seats which I thought were pricey).
List price of the spec we bought was £31k. Had you asked me 20 years ago if I would consider spending £30k on a Skoda, I would have thought you were mental. Fact is, the Octavia Scout is properly impressive and will replace our 2007 Outback.
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