Greetings from New Zealand!

 

Our stocks of the Octavia IV have just arrived and I have seen the car in the metal in the showroom.

 

Design-wise, it's superb (no pun intended).

 

I have yet to take the test drive but have configured my ideal spec on the Skoda NZ web site.  If I do sign for one, it'll be highly optioned with the panoramic sunroof, head up display, adaptive suspension and massaging sports seats with under-thigh extensions.

 

I welcome comments from owners with experience of these options.  Are they worth the extra?

 

Also, I feel let down by some of the cabin plastics - notably the rear door trims and front door pulls in hard plastic.

 

The ongoing infotainment issues are also concerning.

 

Feedback looked forward to with great interest.

 

 

So my personal view.  I had the heads up display and within the first ten minutes it was turned off and never turned back on again.  It really doesn’t offer anything other than a distraction in your eyeline in my view. It was developed by the airline industry for pilots who have critical parameters to monitor and lots of them.  Can’t say the same for driving a car. 
 

As for the bugs, my first edition model has been rejected and swapped for a VRS.  I’m hoping the later build and different head unit will have less issues.  
 

The one VRS issue I’m seeing outside the infotainment is the slipping backrest on the drivers seat.  Seems a few reports of that on the forum for those with manual seats. 
 

Another personal view, I do have the heads up display as it was included in the stock car I bought. Honestly I wouldn't pay for it, it offers no real benefit from the virtual cockpit and if you use polarized sunglasses you will not see it...

Regarding the panoramic sunroof, I've it and I love it though it's a quite personal decision.

GPS having Android auto and apple car play I consider it useless as well, you don't get the nice map on the cockpit that's right but you still get basic indications  (I've a samsung Galaxy s8). I've both options (again included in the stock car) and normally I've ended up using Google maps or Waze due to the car internet issues.

Living in NZ perhaps you can consider the winter pack for the cold days instead.

Cheers!

I've got the HUD on my estate octavia and i like it very much. As it shows most of the relevant data (speed, speed limit, acc, lane assist, navigation, traffic signs and some warnings) so i seldom have the need to lower my gaze from the road. Only downside is the price. 

39 minutes ago, Skodamias said:

I've got the HUD on my estate octavia and i like it very much. As it shows most of the relevant data (speed, speed limit, acc, lane assist, navigation, traffic signs and some warnings) so i seldom have the need to lower my gaze from the road. Only downside is the price. 

 Same here I love it, rich information and no need to move my attention in other direction than forward.
Unfortunately the glass in front of the projektor seems to be greasy on the inside, this is showing when sun is in a specific angle. I will check with my dealer. 

I have the full ergo electric seats and I'm very happy with them. Quite an upgrade from the basic VRS seats. But also quite an expensive option. I also have DCC and I can nothing but recommend it. 

Thanks for all your views.  The dealer claims to have a high spec demo car available for test drives soon equipped with the sunroof, HUD and massaging sports seats with under thigh extensions.  They have yet to confirm if it has adaptive suspension.

 

In NZ, the vRS comes with 18" rather than 19" rims as standard so hopefully the tyre roar some reviewers have noted will be less pronounced.  The winter pack comprising heated electric adjustable front seats and steering wheel is also included in the asking price.

 

Still unsure about the hard plastic rear door trims and concerned about the touchscreen infotainment after coming from BMW's superb rotary controller and buttons on the console layout.  The Skoda HUD seems to echo the one I've got in the BMW display-wise with a similar option price to the Bimmer seven years back when I bought it.

 

Still love the BMW but it's getting on in years and I just don't like the goofy looking new 3 series.

Thanks for the update.  Being perfectly honest, I would go with the BMW or Audi over the Skoda if they are financial options. The BMW control system is a different league.  I have a 10 year old M135i and I prefer this older system than the new octavia one.  The octavia has the better practicality in terms of boot space which is why I chose it over the 3 series. 
 

That’s just my view point!  

Thanks, Ajdude.

 

A new G21 320d Touring with my desired options comes in at 10,000 GBP higher than the Octavia vRS, which is getting too rich for me.  Also, I think the way the infotainment controls are laid out in the G31 is not as good or logical as in my F30, with the buttons sited with the engine start/stop button.

 

Most of all, I still don't fancy the look of the G21 and it's instrument cluster is messy compared to the Octavia's.

hi guys I’m waiting for my car to be made and I still have time to change options

i have added bliss,winter pack,canton,rear wiper,spare wheel

my question is I’m tempted to add dcc or travel assist

i can’t afford both

so which in your opinion is the better choice? 
or are neither worth the extra premium and don’t bother with any

any opinions and personal experiences welcome

Scored a test drive of a well optioned press test car and found the drive to be sufficiently pleasing despite massive rumble from the 19" wheel and tyre combo (optional rather than standard in NZ) and the associated firmness of ride brought on by the lower profile tyres.

 

Hopefully, I can get to sample an 18" wheel equipped unit soon, which the sales person said is slightly more pliant in the ride and not as pronounced in road noise.

 

However, the thing that threw me off is the need to attack the screen at least twice to get the HVAC to function the way you want it to.  This is seriously inconvenient at best and potentially dangerous at worst.  Why did Skoda adopt this impractical way to engage the HVAC interface, which is not an on/off function, I shall never know.

 

Still undecided on whether to proceed with the purchase owing to this attribute, though I now know the options I want should I go for it.

On 22/05/2021 at 17:41, Col46 said:

hi guys I’m waiting for my car to be made and I still have time to change options

i have added bliss,winter pack,canton,rear wiper,spare wheel

my question is I’m tempted to add dcc or travel assist

i can’t afford both

so which in your opinion is the better choice? 
or are neither worth the extra premium and don’t bother with any

any opinions and personal experiences welcome

DCC is a brilliant option especially if you live in a city with speed ramps,  bus cushions and different driving conditions...I use it all the time...best of luck with new car 👍

Hi again!

Still considering whether to take the plunge and order the vRS Estate.  

The hurdles in the way are:

-   No firm delivery time (6 months or thereabouts was quoted)

-   Owing to the above, the dealer can't or won't commit to a firm trade price on my current ride, which makes my step up cost indeterminate

-   I was also gently dissuaded from ordering DCC with the opinion that it makes the car either too firm in Sport mode or wallow too much in Comfort mode.

I must admit that I had not much chance to experiment with the DCC on the highly optioned media car I test drove and would really love to hear from owners with this option why they either love or hate it.

Thanks in advance!

hi six months seems to be the default delivery time I guess to air on the side of caution.

as for your trade in 

can you trade in now order your car and go without wheels until you get your new car that way you get the higher price 

I asked the same question regarding dcc and I luckily found a dealer who had one on the pitch to test drive

so I took two hatch back vrs tsi out one with dcc and one without on very bad uneven local uk roads

my thoughts were 

dcc didn’t turn the car into a magic carpet however it did take the crash out of certain services that the car without dcc did not

i found it more noticeable towards the sport/hard setting making the car more taught on tight faster corners no wallow or roll at all

and not suitable for your grandma in the bac seat!

I decided on ordering my car with dcc as I feel I only buy it once and I may regret not adding the option it has bumped my happy place monthly payments up but as I just said you by the car car only once to your spec 

live for today 

 

5 minutes ago, Col46 said:

hi six months seems to be the default delivery time I guess to air on the side of caution.

as for your trade in 

can you trade in now order your car and go without wheels until you get your new car that way you get the higher price 

I asked the same question regarding dcc and I luckily found a dealer who had one on the pitch to test drive

so I took two hatch back vrs tsi out one with dcc and one without on very bad uneven local uk roads

my thoughts were 

dcc didn’t turn the car into a magic carpet however it did take the crash out of certain services that the car without dcc did not

i found it more noticeable towards the sport/hard setting making the car more taught on tight faster corners no wallow or roll at all

and not suitable for your grandma in the back seat!

I decided on ordering my car with dcc as I feel I only buy it once and I may regret not adding the option it has bumped my happy place monthly payments up but as I just said you by the car car only once to your spec 

live for today 

 

LIVE FOR TODAY 

Re settings for the aircon. Voice control will adjust most settings including aircon and navigation, as well as understanding plain English. Our iV Estate has 18" rims and is the most smooth and quiet car we've had, especially in e-mode. The suspension is well-matched to the low-profile tyres.

Col 46 - thanks for your advice on trading the current car in now but it will be impractical as I do not have another car to fall back on to use.  The only good thing about the ETA is that it'll be a MY22, though what changes will be made is still an unknown.

 

Jim2015 - The 18" wheel and tyre set up does calm the ride noticeably and generated lower roar than the more aggressive 19" combo.  Voice control may handle the HVAC and navigation functions but can also be accidentally triggered as I found out on my two drives.

 

Thanks again to all who have provided their opinion and input.