Octavia progress – Do Skoda think no one is paying any attention?

 

Yes I know there has been some genuine progress, but what are VAG up to? I want to buy another Skoda but it seems they are going out of their way to put me off.

 

Mk2 All models IRS

Mk3 Only most expensive models IRS

(This is the really big one they should have been roasted for but much of the motoring press just snoozed through)

 

Mk2 Handbrake ideally positioned for driver

Mk3 Handbrake ideally positioned for passenger (RHD cars)

 

Mk2 Wide angle portion on driver’s door mirror

Mk3 No wide angle portion on driver’s door mirror

 

Mk2 Hot air routed through the door and directed right on to the side window glass beside the door mirrors

Mk3 No

 

Mk2 Two driver's footrests

Mk3 Footrest for clutch foot only (RHD)

 

Mk2 All models projector headlights (UK)

Mk3 Mostly back to reflectors

 

Mk2 Cooled storage in armrest

Mk3 No

 

Any more for the list?

 

 

Please no VRS owners with the “only enthusiastic, discerning drivers with powerful cars like me need IRS – Torsion beam is good enough for the rest of you, 99% of the time most drivers will notice no difference” – This is VAG sales patter, pure and simple.

 

 

mostly trivia things not to worry too much about but yeah, no IRS on lesser models is just penny pinching!

 

I'm sure the mk3 has improved in other areas as well though? I have a mk2 Blackline and soon to be trading it in for a 230, I wonder if I'll regret it?

Bonnet release lever is over at the passenger door so you have to get out, open the door just to pop the bonnet. Probably just laziness as its for left hand drive cars.

^^^^ or as a safety feature so you can't open bonnet with your foot by mistake, especially if you pulling you seat forward

^^^^ or as a safety feature so you can't open bonnet with your foot by mistake, especially if you pulling you seat forward

No, it's just a cheap and nasty RHD conversion. The lever is on the driver's side on LHD models. It means that if the battery dies you can't open the bonnet to recharge the battery.

Even the Golf doesn't get IRS across the range, despite supposedly being a premium brand, while the Focus has had it for nearly 20 years.

^^^^ or as a safety feature so you can't open bonnet with your foot by mistake, especially if you pulling you seat forward

No - not a safety feature The driver is the person responsible for the car, so for me the concern regarding the bonnet release being on the passenger side is not so much that it is more awkward for the driver to operate but more how easy it would be for a clueless/inebriated passenger to operate the release with the car in motion.

It's all irrelevant as the bonnet has a safety catch and won't open whoever pulls it.

The point is you can't open it with the door closed as theres a cutout in the door that prevents you which ever side it's on.

Wow - just found thread

 

2015 Octavia Bonnet Lever and Passenger Door with flat battery

 

Realise now that it's a whole lot worse than just being on the wrong side.

 

Unbelievable how they took something so simple and reliable and turned it into something so complicated and potentially troublesome. There should have been someone on the design team with the sense and confidence to say no to stupidity on this scale.

Edited 17 September, 20169 yr by Octy0GG

Wow - just found thread

2015 Octavia Bonnet Lever and Passenger Door with flat battery

Realise now that it's a whole lot worse than just being on the wrong side.

Unbelievable how they took something so simple and reliable and turned it into something so complicated and potentially troublesome. There should have been someone on the design team with the sense and confidence to say no to stupidity on this scale.

They took something reliable and contininued with it. They just forgot about you crazies who drives on the wrong side of the road

^^^^ or as a safety feature so you can't open bonnet with your foot by mistake, especially if you pulling you seat forward

Putting the lever there doesn't stop the front seat passenger from doing that.

Even by some misfortune (you're driving to a fancy dress party as Coco The Clown with size 27 shoes on) you do manage to release the bonnet catch, you'd be stationary anyway as no safety conscious Skoda owner would ever move his seat whilst his vehicle was in motion.

They took something reliable and contininued with it. They just forgot about you crazies who drives on the wrong side of the road

So are folk on the thread bellow getting a bit mixed up?  I know for sure that in the past cars did not need a functioning battery to allow you to open the bonnet.  : 

2015 Octavia Bonnet Lever and Passenger Door with flat battery.

So are folk on the thread bellow getting a bit mixed up?  I know for sure that in the past cars did not need a functioning battery to allow you to open the bonnet.  : 

2015 Octavia Bonnet Lever and Passenger Door with flat battery.

Flat battery - central door locking doesn't operate - open drivers door manually with key - passenger door still deadlocked - can't pull lever with door closed.

They took something reliable and contininued with it. They just forgot about you crazies who drives on the wrong side of the road

 

I just go back to what I said here  :p

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/350631-what-about-the-things-that-annoy-you/?p=4205009

Putting the lever there doesn't stop the front seat passenger from doing that.

Even by some misfortune (you're driving to a fancy dress party as Coco The Clown with size 27 shoes on) you do manage to release the bonnet catch, you'd be stationary anyway as no safety conscious Skoda owner would ever move his seat whilst his vehicle was in motion.

That's why you can't open with door shut as there's a cut out in door panels, so before the smart ar** comment about coco the clown, it was possible in mk2 if you got in after missus then had to adjust seat it although unlikely,its possible to catch the pull releasing it off 1st latch and not knowing until you are doing 70 along motorway , there is a reason a lot of manufactures are putting bonnet pulls behind cutouts so can't be opened with door shut

....... there is a reason a lot of manufactures are putting bonnet pulls behind cutouts so can't be opened with door shut

Perhaps ............but still no excuse for combining it with a door that can't be opened in the result of a battery/electrical malfunction.

 

Simply not clever.

there is a reason a lot of manufactures are putting bonnet pulls behind cutouts so can't be opened with door shut

Which is fine until you can't open the door.

It does seem odd that those things which were on the old car are missing from the new one, especially the mirrors. I also liked the shutters on the air vents on the mk2 as well, they were great for practicality and looked good too, whereas on the mk2 they are back to standard ones just like any car since the 80's.

 

However, all these are pretty minor things. Having owned a Mk1 Mk2 and Mk3 I can confirm that the Mk3 is a big step up in quality generally and is overall a much better car.

Its all just a case of economics.

VAG as a group sells >10m vehicles a year (including >1m Skoda).

If you can save €0.01 on a part thats a big saving for the group.

 

Its a fine balance between cost saving in the right areas & delivering quality & value for money for the customers.

With the Mk2 Skoda was trying hard to establish its "new" brand in Europe which was clearly a sucess.

With the Mk3 the goal is for sure to make some money back but I guess a lot of the engineering choices are fixed by VW. (like IRS, engine lineup etc).

 

Judging by the popularity of the Mk3 Octavia across Europe I'd guess most people are not put off by these things.

However, only time will tell if the current customers stay with the brand.

I do agree though that 99% of the customers won't notice the difference between different suspension types.

 

In fact reading the forum you don't see many standard Octy owners complaining about handling or poor suspension.

Its more the opposite that vRS owners are complaining about the setup.

Re rear suspension on lesser models - they do this to the Seat Leon range.

I do agree though that 99% of the customers won't notice the difference between different suspension types.

 

In fact reading the forum you don't see many standard Octy owners complaining about handling or poor suspension.

Its more the opposite that vRS owners are complaining about the setup.

Possibly, but because I live in a region with very rough roads and a few corners thrown in, the ability to soak up mid corner bumps without being thrown off line is something I  rate as being very important. My concern is that this is one (possibly the only) area where the torsion beam falls behind the IRS setup.

Re rear suspension on lesser models - they do this to the Seat Leon range.

Yes most of this probably applies to the Leon as well

I'm sure even the poverty spec Golfs get it.

I'm sure even the poverty spec Golfs get it.

Indeed

 

My understanding is that of the Leon/Octavia/Golf/A3 cars only the Audi A3 completely escapes the economy rear suspension.