I have to say i am impressed! Every time i turn up to give a friend a lift they say...Ohh nice we are going in the posh car! Or, good to see we are going in style!Other friend say can we go in the Skoda today, if i am chatting to them before i go and fetch them.....So i guess what i am saying is that not one of my friends or family think of the octavia as a bad car. Does anyone have the same sort of comments made about their occy.

I had somebody call my Octy II "Lush" and ohh it's really posh/nice car.

Random comment I thought as while they are quite nice they are not that special.

Hi

We use 2 Octy, 1.9tdi,s one is 4x4 however, they are used for business, one totally, one 50/50 private. They work hard, get to the destination without hassle, are reliable, and go in all weather. Most passengers are on a business trip and so are dressed in suits, and nearly every trip is 4+ hours in the car. Posh !! who cares ?? functional ? yes ! we might say that..

My wife refused point blank to look at Skodas last time we needed a new car so I missed out on a Mk.1 and got an Avensis to keep the peace. This, time, after a company Mondeo in the meantime, we were all lined up to get a Focus Ghia Estate. Until we saw one at the local dealer and wobbled all the trim on the doors. And noticed how cheap the interior finish was. And how crampt it was in the back. And how small the boot was. And the customer service as a prospective new car buyer... don't ask! Then we went home past the Skoda dealer and dropped in just for a quick look. First glance inside an Octavia and SWMBO wouldn't let us leave until we'd put a deposit down! (Good deal from Allams, mind you). As an all-round quality family car/comuter-mobile, it cannot be beat for the price we paid. I'm not aware of any better overall package at this price level. Like the Avensis, uprated shocks will be essential though.

Just a quick remark - the "unreliability" of the Octi II versus mk I stems from a lot of "small" differences.

- DMF (dual mass flywheel)

- lots more electronics on board

- different interconnection busses (CAN versus direct-link)

- higher overall complexity

As stats would have it, the more components you integrate into a finished product, the more likely it is to fail.

New Mercs were "anal" amongst German taxi drivers for their unreliability - when asked what was the source of the problem, they responded - electronics!

Well, there you have it. Confort comes at a price.

I own an Octi I and am eagerly awaiting its mk II cousin. I thought long and hard about buying a 2nd Octi I, but after a quick test drive with mk II, there was no turning back.

FWIW, the same teething problems occured with the Volvos and other advanced cars. We are all beta-testers, and pay dearly to be the first ones that own a product. To such an extent that there is no time for the traditional endurance testing. And I wish this only applied to cars.