Octavia III Facelift

[TKNicho]

After watching a few videos on the facelift Octavia i have grown to like the new front. The new led driving lights with the 'eye lashes' looks kind of cool. Not so sure how the car would look without the LEDs though. 

[Skoda Al Coda]

WooHoo. UK configurator is finally live.

 

Terrific value for those for whom the trim/engine options suit.

 

Big loss of business to Skoda to those that must have petrol engines and would, in an ideal world, also like to add 4x4 too.

 

How many will order? How many will look outside the brand (with a heavy heart)?

 

[Dr Zoidberg]

Not the VRS yet though. 

[aki78]

Shocking pictures of the standard halogen headlamps from CZ forum:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 February, 2017 by aki78

[aki78]

...and it looks like the standard rear cluster is a modified O3 LED cluster with no outer led strip.....

 

[juan27]

 

8 hours ago, Skoda Al Coda said:

WooHoo. UK configurator is finally live.

 

Terrific value for those for whom the trim/engine options suit.

 

Big loss of business to Skoda to those that must have petrol engines and would, in an ideal world, also like to add 4x4 too.

 

How many will order? How many will look outside the brand (with a heavy heart)?

 

 

Agreed on the Petrol and 4x4 points.  The UK range seems very restricted when you compare it with German configurator. Very difficult to understand why.

 

But after buying a 2010 VRS in the UK which bizarrely couldn't be ordered with bluetooth or electrically folding mirrors (ie both available as options in other RHD markets) who can fathom Skoda UK's marketing strategies.    

[Gromle]

5 hours ago, juan27 said:

 

 

Agreed on the Petrol and 4x4 points.  The UK range seems very restricted when you compare it with German configurator. Very difficult to understand why.

 

But after buying a 2010 VRS in the UK which bizarrely couldn't be ordered with bluetooth or electrically folding mirrors (ie both available as options in other RHD markets) who can fathom Skoda UK's marketing strategies.    

Luckily the 1.8tsi and the 184bhp diesel is still avaible with 4x4 with style and l&k trim levels here in Norway. 

 

Skoda UK really limits your options.

[themanwithnoaim]

Completely lost faith in there every being a L and K for me, thought this 1 was gonna be closer with Alcantara interior but still, its Fn BROWN

 

WTF is the matter with Skoda ?

[Gromle]

1 hour ago, themanwithnoaim said:

Completely lost faith in there every being a L and K for me, thought this 1 was gonna be closer with Alcantara interior but still, its Fn BROWN

 

WTF is the matter with Skoda ?

Brown should be perfect for you. It'll hide the s*** stains when you scare the passengers

[MorrisOx]

May be we haven't got the full show in the UK yet, but the nagging disappointments surely track back to the reality of what Skoda is in the UK: as much defined by what it can't be as by what it can.

 

In other words, handsome but not attractive, decent interior quality but no visual flourish, respectable on-road performance but no real finesse.

 

The perfect Skoda? You'll find it in a VW showroom, I'm afraid...

[juan27]

15 hours ago, MorrisOx said:

May be we haven't got the full show in the UK yet, but the nagging disappointments surely track back to the reality of what Skoda is in the UK: as much defined by what it can't be as by what it can.

 

 

I think we know about everything that's coming to the UK unfortunately.

 

Not sure I buy the limited range to avoid taking sales from VW/Audi angle. Surely that would be the same in Germany? 

[MorrisOx]

1 hour ago, juan27 said:

 

I think we know about everything that's coming to the UK unfortunately.

 

Not sure I buy the limited range to avoid taking sales from VW/Audi angle. Surely that would be the same in Germany? 

 

VAG sells its different brands in different ways in different countries. The UK has historically been seen as a more status-conscious market with the potential for higher margins - so Skoda exists at least in part to justify the higher prices charged for similar VWs. Hence Skoda has functional interiors, simpler spec and restricted range/options. It's not allowed to compete at the same level as VW Audi.

 

Germany is different, less status conscious but some of that basic brand differentiation still applies.

[juan27]

1 hour ago, MorrisOx said:

 

VAG sells its different brands in different ways in different countries. The UK has historically been seen as a more status-conscious market with the potential for higher margins - so Skoda exists at least in part to justify the higher prices charged for similar VWs. Hence Skoda has functional interiors, simpler spec and restricted range/options. It's not allowed to compete at the same level as VW Audi.

 

Germany is different, less status conscious but some of that basic brand differentiation still applies.

 

Perhaps but VW also has a limited range in the UK.    

[MorrisOx]

13 minutes ago, juan27 said:

 

Perhaps but VW also has a limited range in the UK.    

 

In conventional terms, yes. But VAG is about maximising the production/sales of common components, which it does by using the same ones across different models and different brands. Plus, some models just don't sell as well in some markets as they do in others.

 

So while VW might have a limited range, VAG would say that doesn't matter as the same 1.4TSi engine design, for example, appears in everything from a Fabia to an Audi A4. So the 'range' is the components, the brands are the means by which they sell into more than one market.

Edited 17 February, 2017 by MorrisOx

[U241170]

Looks somehow OK on VRS and from specific angles.

[WWorx]

1 hour ago, U241170 said:

Looks somehow OK on VRS and from specific angles.

 

I agree. Personally I think that is due to the black grille surround.

[SC03OTT]

1 hour ago, WWorx said:

I agree. Personally I think that is due to the black grille surround.

 

Agreed. The black surround seems to hide lines that otherwise don't really work. 

[Rodge]

8 hours ago, MorrisOx said:

 

VAG sells its different brands in different ways in different countries. The UK has historically been seen as a more status-conscious market with the potential for higher margins - so Skoda exists at least in part to justify the higher prices charged for similar VWs. Hence Skoda has functional interiors, simpler spec and restricted range/options. It's not allowed to compete at the same level as VW Audi.

And yet the UK Octavia is better specced in many ways than the competition in the UK or Octavias in some other countries. For example, even the S gets a DAB radio and Bolero touchscreen, which are often not included on other base models. There's a whole load of other things you could downgrade on the S if you really wanted to produce a cheap and nasty model.

[MorrisOx]

16 hours ago, Rodge said:

And yet the UK Octavia is better specced in many ways than the competition in the UK or Octavias in some other countries. For example, even the S gets a DAB radio and Bolero touchscreen, which are often not included on other base models. There's a whole load of other things you could downgrade on the S if you really wanted to produce a cheap and nasty model.

 

Entry-level models exist for two reasons: to enable prices to "start from..." etc., and to make the most common model (the SE) look better than bargain basement. If you look on Autotrader you'll find very few Octavia S models.

 

Skoda doesn't really do genuine bargain basement anymore. The maths don't stack up on the VAG platforms it uses, and bargain basement often loses out to quality secondhand.

[TheWanderer]

It's a good job that I've got 18 months to go on my PCP, because I most certainly wouldn't order a facelifted Octavia, ugly as hell.

 

It looks like I might have to consider the new Yeti when it arrives, as I can't do a Kodiaq, especially as I may have a funeral to fork out for in the not too distant future and a house to run with a mother with expensive tastes.

[flybynite]

On 2/17/2017 at 17:24, U241170 said:

Looks somehow OK on VRS and from specific angles.

 

The only angle the front looks good from.......... is the back

 

I actually think the lights look better on the base model, the LED DRLs just look stupid to me, a bit 'broken'

[toni8b]

On 2/17/2017 at 18:24, U241170 said:

Looks somehow OK on VRS and from specific angles.

 

Looks a bit confused to me..

[Paul007]

They're like the Mercedes E Class ones before it got a facelift. And maybe that's why...!

[WWorx]

On 16/02/2017 at 09:55, aki78 said:

Shocking pictures of the standard halogen headlamps from CZ forum:

 

 

 

aki78, thanks for posting all the the pictures of the new FL Halogen headlights. I don't like them! The LED headlights would be the only option for me; which would be a lot more expensive. So these pics make me content with the pre-Facelift SE Sport model with the Bi-Xenon+LED headlights that I'll be collecting next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wittie]

On the Picture of Aki78, the taillight is not the same when you order led headlights. This is caled the low Version, the high Version has two plates that cover the lightbulbs.