Hello all, 1st post...

Leaning towards the purchase of a Skoda Octavia instead of a Civic.

I'm not too keen on the silver trim in the Civic, its pretty cheap looking. I think the computer is a bit of a gimmick also.

Would be a shame to leave Honda, (currently have 2005 Civic) but the Octavia also has a bigger boot which suits my needs. Plus the Octavia looks bloody good in black.

Any thoughts?

I think you might get a biased answer here! I think the Octy has good value for money, low running costs and more practical due to its size.

The Civic may be better on depreciation (depending on the model), and I think has some finer materials employed despite the almost too funky dash etc! I also hate the central grille thingy in clear plastic/chrome. Nasty!

Civic will be better finished, more attention to the details, better engineering, better panel pressings, a sharper, crisper drive and retain it's money better at the end - but boy does it look pig ugly.

The Octy will be cheaper to buy, is bigger, looks great, and if you go VR model is no slouch either. I would personaly go Octy as I like to get out, look back at my car and get a little thrill at the sight of it - which my Octy Scout does in heaps. It is much more suitable for my outdoorsy lifestyle and family, and I chose it because it offered no pretense, no badge snobbery - it does exactly what is says on the tin and does it very well.

My Hondas (5 of them, Accords & Civics) were all superbly built and engineered, but ultimately for me lacked spirit.

Civic will be better finished, more attention to the details, better engineering, better panel pressings, a sharper, crisper drive and retain it's money better at the end - but boy does it look pig ugly.

The Octy will be cheaper to buy, is bigger, looks great, and if you go VR model is no slouch either. I would personaly go Octy as I like to get out, look back at my car and get a little thrill at the sight of it - which my Octy Scout does in heaps. It is much more suitable for my outdoorsy lifestyle and family, and I chose it because it offered no pretense, no badge snobbery - it does exactly what is says on the tin and does it very well.

My Hondas (5 of them, Accords & Civics) were all superbly built and engineered, but ultimately for me lacked spirit.

Hit the nail on the head with "Hondas lack spirit" I don't actually know what that means but I agree. Spirit can be found in British cars (crap) French cars (crap) and German cars (good).

As for a Skoda giving you a little thrill? I think you need to get out more!

Ammendment to the above post, German cars used to have spirit, now they are over expensive over engineered and over weight! Enter Skoda!

Looking forward to my crap unreliable (but hellishly fun!) Lotus!

The Civics Space 1999 looks don't do anything for me, but engineering / reliability wise it probably has the edge.

I guess it depends on whether you purchase with your heart or your head, but I doubt you'd be disappointed either way.

So how reliable would you say the Octavia is?

I have heard of quite a few issues with the new Civic.

So how reliable would you say the Octavia is?

A quick look through the Octavia II forum should give you an idea, though do remember that people are more likely to report problems here than 100% reliability.

I've had a couple of issues with my diesel vRS in the 3000 miles I've had it, but none that weren't fixed. I've also found the dealer to be generally helpful and friendly, which helps.

I'm not sure about the Civics reliability, I wasn't aware of any significant issues.

I liked the Civic until I drove it (it was only a 1.4 admittedly). It just wasn't for me, too many gimmicks. Visibility was on the crap side too and it was expensive to get the interior to a nice spec. Showroom cars with alacantara etc were ££££.

My 2005 Octavia has been as reliable as my ex's 2002 Honda Civic, both have had small issues but nothing that has inconvienced either of us.

The new Civic is a striking car, which having been a passenger in one is well screwed together, but still prefer my Octy as it feel much larger than the Civic, important when you are ferrying round 6 foot plus teenagers!

I really like the look of the new Civic and I was very tempted to get one. I was not sure if the boot was big enough for all my kit (I'm a service engineer).

However, once I drove the Octy 2.0 TDi, the Civic was VERY quickly forgotten about. I absolutely love this car and have now done 45,000 miles in 16 months, with only a coolant leak to cause any concern, which was fixed under warranty anyway. It also goes like stink. God knows how good the vRS is because if I drive one of them, I know I will want one and I can't afford it at the moment.

If you buy one, get maxi-dot as well.

Mark

I own both, a Civic 1.8 EX Vtec and my Octy Vrs.

The boot on the civic IS very big for a hatchback, the seats fold flat really easily (and latch up like cinema seats to load lots of stuff in) I like the styling personally and I like gimmicks and and stuff so I got the top of the range with sat-nav (which is very good) and reversing camera cos the view out the back IS crap. I prefer the Vrs mainly because the ride is softer (the civic is as stiff as my old westfield) and because it's faster, although the civic is no slouch.

The problems with the Civic have been sorted under warranty but they were only:

Noisy rear dampers (changed)

Fuel cap didn't always open (sorted with new linkage)

It's a matter of taste really I do prefer the Vrs over the Civic but each to their own.

By the way I paid just under 18K for each car so price isn't an issue in choosing really.

Cheers

Rick

I must admit I am really sruggling to choose between the two.

Although the Civic looks very futuristic and different I dont like all the spray on silver inside. I wish Honda gave you the option of deleting it. Having said that the Civic SE would be the model I would buy - it has loads of kit, which is good.

I like the understated interior in the Octavia, but it does need brightening up a bit.

The exterior may be plain compared to the Civic but I'm not too bothered about having a car that stands out, its just transport after all.

Shame I can't have both!

See if you can get a 24 hour test drive. I would imagine that as a disabled driver there maybe certain things that you would need to find out about a car and its suitability that would not surface on the usual 30 min test drive! Also, it would be an indicator of how much the dealership is prepared to be helpful to you.

In the past I had a Honda Accord Type R from Osbournes in Colchester and I had a number of issues (including a new gearbox, aircon compressor, brake discs) that were resolved without question and very promptly. They showed a level of service better than any other dealership I have ever used including those for Audi, BMW and VW who should all know better considering their premium rates and status.

Skoda seem good so far but they haven't really been challenged as yet! Hopefully they wont need to be!

At the end of the day it'll be about how it drives and its suitability to your needs.

Having recently switched from a mk2 petrol vRS to a 2.2 diesel (new) Civic I feel qualified to give a response.

The Civic is noisier inside than the Octavia, but it's a noise that I actually quite like; a really unique fizzy wizzy noise!

I thought I might miss the performance of the Skoda but the Honda diesel is a cracking engine with excellent performance, very free revving for a diesel too.

As the previous poster said space inside the Civic is surprisingly good (magic rear seats are a nice touch), the boot is not bad (obviously no where near the space of the Skoda's).

Economy is excellent and 50mpg is real world achievable on runs, but economy drops significaantly dutring high speed cruise (my friend from Germany tells me:) )

Really it's down to personal taste wrt looks; space age Civic (may age badly, but no updates as of now which is always a positive sign) vs the smart sombre look of the Skoda.

Take your pick.

Dan

I've recently switched from Civic (52 plate Type-R) to Octavia (vRS TDI).

I had to go to a 5 door car due to an impending baby. Initially I was going for the new Civic 2.2CDTi Sport, well specced and good internal space for a small-medium hatch. This was in spite of the rear-end which I think is awful to look at from the outside and awful to look through from the inside, particularly when reversing in the wet with no rear wiper. However, when the 'Which?' reliability report showed Honda were having a few teething problems with the new Civic (worst in class) I allowed myself to look elsewhere. Once I did I couldn't switch back to wanting the Civic due to that back end.

Only advice i would offfer anyone is Test drive both for at least a couple of hours and then make a decsion based on this and will it carry all you need in comfort.

You will have to live with what you buy, and if there is anything that niggles you then those niggles will irritate the *&!" out of you once you buy it