Evaluating the Skoda: Luxury Sedan

The Skoda Company came to India, when the Japanese car companies had already established

themselves. Thus it certainly had some competition and had to establish itself. Skoda entered into

the Indian market with a petrol and Diesel model of the Octavia. At that time as the petrol prices

were not that high I opted for the Octavia 2.0 MPFI, with a fuel efficient petrol engine.

The car has now done over 140,000 kilometers and its engine still purrs like a cat, with exceptional

pick up. The 2000 cc engine develops nearly 195 BHP and one can cruise at 150km/hour in real

comfort. The car handles very well on the road and many a time none of the other cars from Honda

to Ford or Toyota can beat it on the highway.

The car is a six speed automobile with ABS and power brakes that come as standard fittings. In

addition its AC has an electronic temperature control that makes driving a pleasure. Even at low

speeds the car handles very well in the city traffic and its road grip on the highways is exceptional. I

have been able to get 12-13 km on a liter of petrol on the highway and that is not bad for a car of

this size.

The car comfortably seats 5/6 adults and has plush upholstery. In addition its electronic trip meter

and gauge is an absolute delight as you can easily calculate the fuel efficiency of your car. However

the one weak point of the car is the clutch that may require change often But it will depend on how

you handle the automobile.

The 2.0 has now been discontinued and replaced with 1.9 engines. But, I for one will recommend a

Skoda 2.0 MPFI for the power and ease of handling. It is precision engineering and will hold you in good stead in the years to come.

The Skoda did capture the market but one thing went against it was the maintenance aspect. The car parts were too pricey and service costs high. The result was the car lost its market and sales began to slide down and that is the reason that these days you hardly see a new Skoda on the road.

But the company however did a turnaround and launched new models including an excellent SUVthe Kodaiq.,as well as upgraded version of the Skoda sedans. This looks like a game changer and one is again able to see the car coming back on Indian roads. I hope this time services issues are being looked into by the company.