OD garage: 2013 Skoda Octavia diesel automatic introduction
The Octavia is known for its practicality the world over and to prove it, it is now part of the OD garage. Well it did come to us a while back but just as I began to start living with it, Skoda had to take the car back. However, it did come back and we immediately set out on a road-trip. Suresh and I drove down to the Rajah Island in Kerala and then drove back to Mumbai through Bangalore in time for the India Superbike Festival. In fact, this month I've covered more than 6000 kilometres just on the NH4 mostly between Mumbai and Bangalore.
All the trips have been on different vehicles and I must say the drive in the Octavia was effortless and most comfortable. I usually like to estimate arrival time on a long drive but in the Skoda, we always reached much earlier than expected. This is because the Octavia can easily hold higher average speeds, allow for effortless cruising at 140kmph and its 2.0 TDI motor is quiet and refined and is hardly strained. We actually drove more than 3000km in a week, this included driving through congested traffic in town and on open highways and the car still managed to return an impressive overall fuel efficiency of 16.7kmpl.
The Octavia has always been a hatchback that looks like a sedan, offering the best of both worlds. The tailgate opening is much more than any sedan out there, so loading luggage is effortless. And if a 590-litre boot isn't enough, the seats fold down unlike most sedans, increasing volume to a good 1580 litres! A lot of luggage and equipment was carried to ISF in two different cars and the Octavia managed to gulp most of it on the way back. The all-rounder qualities of the Octavia are starting to grow on me and I hope to discover more in the coming months.