Jun 22, 2009 01:17 PM
45538 Views
Whew, that was a hell of a car and one superb drive....!!!!!
I recently had the opportunity to drive my friend's Octavia 2.0 Ambiente from Bangalore to Nagpur and back and came back thrilled.
The car is a 2002 model and has clocked 53000kms till date. In spite of this, it hardly shows its age inside or outside.
We took the NH7 to BLR-HYD-NGP-BLR and were a total of 5 passengers in the car. As many readers may be aware, the NH7 is getting repaired, widened, and double laned at a lot of places all along the route and this resulted in driving through all types of road conditions.
The Octy simply rocks. No hint of wavering at high speeds on gravel roads, precise handling on turns, confident and straight line braking and above all, no rattles from the car even after being driven at speeds exceeding 90kmph on semi asphalt and gravel littered roads for long hours.Yes, ground clearance is an issue at times but it can be managed easily with a good driver at the wheel.
This Czech beauty is no gas guzzler either. With the engine ticking away between 2000-2500 rpm in overdrive, which translates to speeds of around 90-110 kmph, we were able to travel around 15 kms to a litre of unleaded fuel ( highway mileage, city is around 10 -11 kmpl), which in my opnion is pretty decent.
The air conditioning is effective though the fan makes a racket at its max speed. The interiors just refuse to show their age and so do the other mechanicals like the doors, the suspension, the switches, the seats, everything in the car reeks of quality and longevity.
The car is a bit of a cramp for 3 people in the rear but can be easily managed. The boot, though is huge and can accomodate everything other than your kitchen sink...!!!
We had a small niggle at Bangalore the other day when the car didnt start after being parked. There was a small garage in the vicinity. I was able to diagnose the issue and it was a non working fuel pump. I guessed it was an electrical fault somewhere. I was a bit nervous as I had read many reviews about nasty Skoda service and ownership experiences. I called TAFE Access and they gave me their on road helpine number. I called that number and the person on the other end told me that the only assistance vehicle they had was on its way to some other place and that they would get back to me in some time. I waited for 20 mins and no one called. I felt that my worst fears were coming true. I called the number again but this time it was switched off..
I was completely horrified. Then some one from TAFE Access called me and told me that the battery had died on that phone and they had dispatched someone ( they gave me his number as well) and I could call and co ordinate with him. The person arrived, removed the pump from the car and I could see a small piece of sludge on the sensor. He wiped it clean and voila, our Octy was back to life. We were charged Rs: 600.00 for the service.
Apart from this, there were no issues with the car whatsoever and another small piece of good news is that, if you use Shell fully synthetic engine oil for your Skoda ( which is around 1500.00 costlier than the regular oil), the service interval increases from 7500kms or 6 months to 15000kms or one year. I do agree that the price of spares is on the higher side but their life too is greater compared to Maruti or Tata or Mahindra spares as they are of a much better quality.
So, to sum it up, it has been a great experience with the car and our local dealer so far and we look forward to many more happy motoring days....
