I reckon the designers went to the same school...

 

Reckon its the same "back end" guy that did most of BMW's stable... then went to Audi... then had a summer job in ford... and currently in skoda..

Call me biased - but I prefer the Octavia's rear.

Ford have gone more curvy for 2020.

 

Then they have the Active, just give them a term that might have some think, 'More offroad'. 

Marketing....

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 25 December, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot

10 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

the Active, just give them a term that might have some think, 'More offroad'

or "more butterfly"...

 The front of the Ford Mondeo Looks very much like an Aston Martin

Looks really naf when a Ka or Fiesta looks like the front end of how the Astons used to look.

Edited 25 December, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot

Ford have jumped on the “lettering” bandwagon, but unfortunately they left “taste” behind.

 

It just looks naff with both the Blue Oval And the Focus lettering on the tailgate (IMO)

It started happening when Ford owned Aston. They'd have never gotten away with it otherwise

On 09/01/2020 at 16:05, Squirrelz said:

It started happening when Ford owned Aston. They'd have never gotten away with it otherwise

Ford Focus                                                                                                                                                Aston Martin poseur!!

On 09/01/2020 at 14:09, BoxerBoy said:

Ford have jumped on the “lettering” bandwagon, but unfortunately they left “taste” behind.

 

It just looks naff with both the Blue Oval And the Focus lettering on the tailgate (IMO)

Like J A G U A R & the leaping cat on new Jags

Personally having seen quite a few focusses on the road now they look OK in dark colours and the back is better than the front but they still aren't as 'taut' or 'sharp' as the Octavia styling wise.  And they still have what to my eyes is a naff interior.

 

So...   They ain't gonna be on my list come replacement time...

Was wondering about the Focus Estate as a replacement, a lot of reviews are, on the whole positive. What stopped me was that Ford has ditched IRS for torsion beams on all but the 2l Diesels on most models. Pity,  was thinking of a Titanium X with packs. However will wait until the Mk4 actually arrives later this year, or next year if Skoda has run out of parts from China! Plenty of time to test drive the opposition.......

I've never understood why the Ford Fiesta and Focus stick around the UK's top five new car sales lists.

 

They may well be very competent cars but they're sooo dull.

Fleet / Hire cars / Motability / Lease Companies offered good deals, some pre-reging and offer finance and then the repeat purchasers.

It gets the numbers up into the top first registrations quarter after quarter, same with Vauxhall.

When I worked for an automotive consultancy a "few" years ago it was owned by GM (i.e. Vauxhall/Opel) so we all had Vauxhalls as our company cars.

 

We ran them for 9000 miles, which for most of us meant 3-4 months only, and they were then returned to Vauxhall who sold them to Joe Public as approved used cars - knowing how little "respect" most drivers treated them with there is no way I would think about buying one as a punter 

If you want a Focus Mk4 with IRS your options are limited, emailed response from Ford:

2020.25MY, Multi-link rear suspension (IRS) is standard on all Active/Vignale 5 Doors and Wagons.

Plus standard on 2.0 Diesel Powertrains.

Everything else is twist beam.
Oh well...........

Just reading a review of the Mk4 Octavia Estate with the 150PS (148BHP) diesel engine coupled to the 7 speed DSG box and in Germany this First Edition model will cost 34,770 Euro's which is about £32,655.

However the test model has the following options fitted.

Electrically adjustable leather comfort seats with massage and ventilation at 1,760 Euro's or £1,645.

Double loading floor at 190 Euro's or £177.

Rear-view camera at 360 Euro's or £336.

Live navigation system at 1,080 Euro's or £1,008.

Metallic paint at 590 Euro's or £551.

Comfort package which includes Tri-zone climate, heated front/rear seats and steering wheel (heated) at 470 Euro's or £438.

Without needing to get your calculator out that comes to an eye watering 39,770 Euro's or £37,200.

It’s a car where corners have been cut, but prices are up.

 

I can get a Merc for that money.

 

Skoda is no longer a value priced car and VW isn’t priced as a people’s car.

 

Historically for my family fords have been much more reliable too.

 

Not seeing them logic of paying premium pricing for a car with too many corners cut.

 

I would imagine that’ll end up over 40k here, with a few options,  which will cost in tax.

Edited 5 May, 20206 yr by cheezemonkhai

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/skoda/octavia/104231/new-2020-skoda-octavia-uk-prices-and-specs-confirmed
 

This article suggests a more sensible price...

 

be interesting to see which is accurate.

3 hours ago, cheezemonkhai said:

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/skoda/octavia/104231/new-2020-skoda-octavia-uk-prices-and-specs-confirmed
 

This article suggests a more sensible price...

 

be interesting to see which is accurate.

 

Magazines have a habit of never linking to their source of information so I always treat 3rd party 'scoops' and 'leaked reports' with sceptisism. 

 

Bottom line is it VW have a set heirarchy they work to, so simply take the price of an equivelant VW Golf 8 ( prices which are on VW website ), knock off £1000-£1500 and there you have the list of the Octavia.

 

A new Golf 8 is from £23900 according to vw.co.uk so I'll predict the Octavia will be from £22400.  I then look at cheezemonkhai's link above and surprise surprise it's from £23390 !  ( I never expected to guess that accurately ).

 

Tip - if you ever want to predict the future, take a look at the past.

 

Want an estate add £1000-£1200. Want the price of the DSG add £1200-£1400. Metallic? Well that's increased to between £550-£650 these days. Discount?  I used to say give it three months but it was only 3 weeks before they started to heavily discount the Kamiq. So a few months after launch, take anything between £4-5k off list. The big question is how long will it be before added incentives such as extra £1000 of normal PCP discount appear? That's a variable I wouldn't even try to predict, especially as nobody knows what effect the lockdown will have on sales.

 

Only ever done bought a completely new model at launch once before and I got stung both with the price and with the reliability of the car. I learned my lesson. In effect, you're just paying the manufacturer to be their guinea-pig. When a new model is launched there are usually always teething problems. Not that I am considering a mk4 but I wouldn't buy it certainly within the 1st year of launch. 

 

8 hours ago, cheezemonkhai said:

I can get a Merc for that money.

 

As per my previous post, it's unlikely there will be heavy discounting from launch, but when you consider you can by a brand new Mercedes E Class 220d AMG Line Premium Edition for £33900 ( list price is 46k !!!!) which, if anyone is familiar with that particular model, comes incredibly well equipped as std, on paper at least, it's a no brainer if considering any new 2.0tdi automatic estate. I say on paper because having experience of running a new Merc, the buying part is easy, it's the associated running costs that make your eyes water. All the same, a very well equipped E class or an Octavia?  hmm...

Edited 5 May, 20206 yr by Guest

A Skoda in the extra tax per year for 5 years bracket...

 

Yes Merc service costs are high, but then everything is an extra on Skoda service these days.