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Post by Alex on Nov 8, 2021 21:41:22 GMT
My Ioniq reaches 3 years old next July, which is a long way off it seems but with most new cars taking between 9-12 months to arrive and a number of delays on colleagues cars that are well overdue I've just been asked to choose a new one ASAP. The budget has been upped to 34k (subject to lease cost) this time round so it made sense to look at a PHEV for tax purposes if nothing else.
I've reasonably quickly opted to look at the Skoda Octavia. It was just a case of getting the spec I wanted and whether to go hatch or estate. Things I particularly wanted were heated seats and steering wheel and a reversing camera. I've got used to them on the Hyundai so fancied having them again. SE L spec gets heated seats and in hatchback form with metallic paint is 33500 but over the SE Tech the main other upgrade seems to be suede seats and fash panel. Estate SE L is over budget.
SE Tech with winter pack (heated seats, wheel, windscreen and washer nozzles) and rear camera (comes with upgraded rear LED lights) comes in on budget in both bodystyles but metallic paint takes it over if I want estate. So initially i decided hatch in petrol blue. My only concern was with the boot space and so I went to our local dealer who had a hatch PHEV in stock and you do lose enough space to be annoying when you actually want it such as on holidays etc.
So on that basis I've decided to go for an estate in SE Tech with winter and cameras but no metallic (so Energy Blue solid paint). Delivery is expected to take 9-10 months so it should in theory arrive on time. The quote from SG Fleet gives it an official electric range of 42 miles so it drops down to the 7% tax bracket and should cost about £70/month which is a lot less than most of its rivals which just fall shy of the 40 mile range and so are in 12% tax. It is considerably cheaper that the £200/m tax I pay for the Ioniq. I think I've made a pretty good choice given the budget set.
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Post by Alex on Nov 8, 2021 21:45:42 GMT
It should look something like this  |
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Post by Martin on Nov 8, 2021 21:45:52 GMT
Sounds ideal.
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Post by Boxer6 on Nov 8, 2021 23:06:25 GMT
I must admit that I really liked my Octavia, to the point that it was only my own niggles about having battered the offside wheels that made me act on the thought of getting rid when I did.
SE-L was the trim of my 4x4 estate, but it would cost considerably more specced to that level than your selection, or I may have been tempted to go for new - something I've told myself will never happen again! Mine was metallic as well, but taht wouldn't be a deal-breaker in the right colour.
I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on it next summer!
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 9, 2021 0:04:31 GMT
An excellent choice.
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 9, 2021 0:29:48 GMT
Looks like Audi's old Nogaro Blue.
My first car was a very similar colour - think Rover called it electric blue.
Anyway, looks like an improvement on an Ioniq.
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Post by Alex on Nov 9, 2021 7:18:55 GMT
The Ioniq hasn't been a bad car it just doesn't do anything special from a driving point of view. It is at least extremely well equipped coming as it did with full leather memory seats (although I'm not sure that any cows were harmed in the process of making this leather!)
I've always liked Octavias but I did think the face-lift of the previous model wasn't a particularly successful one. The mk4 is a step up in that sense and the standard equipment list is much more generous than Skodas of old. In the right light I think Energy Blue will look not too unlike some of the blues used by Audi for some of their fast estates - not that I imagine it will ever get confused as being a sporty model.
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Post by Roadrunner on Nov 9, 2021 8:28:08 GMT
I agree. I think the latest Octavia is the best one yet to wear that badge. Underneath it is a Golf Mk 7, so it should be decent to drive.
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Post by PetrolEd on Nov 9, 2021 8:49:09 GMT
Good car and great with the phev making such a saving to the BIK.
Only thing I'd have changed is to give up the reversing camera for Metallic paint, Petrol Blue is a lovely colour and think once a car goes over a certain size, flat paint just doesnt work.
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Post by Big Blue on Nov 9, 2021 9:31:40 GMT
Having specced probably every Škoda available for my sister-in-law I reckon they haven’t a duff car in their line up. Great all round family cars that feel premium enough inside without breaking the bank (or taxman in your case). Good PHEV win: I reckon there’s no hop of getting to 30miles on batteries but it will be interesting to find out.
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Post by PG on Nov 9, 2021 9:54:34 GMT
Great choice. I've always liked Octavia estates ever since I had a rental Mk 1 years ago.
That blue is a good standard colour. Way, way better then than the greys, browns, beiges and whites that everyone else seems to offer.
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Post by Stuntman on Nov 9, 2021 19:24:15 GMT
I like it too.
One of my good friends has had a previous generation Octavia for about five years now and he rates it highly. His wife now has a Kamiq so they are a 2-Skoda family. They could choose more expensive cars if they wanted and he is a car person to an extent, but they love how the Skodas fit into their lives very well.
Evo also seem to like the current-generation vRS, saying that it's perhaps the best of the current bunch of VAG 'Golf GTI'-type cars. High praise.
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Post by Alex on Nov 9, 2021 22:09:40 GMT
The Octavia vRS has always been popular because a Golf GTI offers no more performance but costs more and has less space. The Golf admittedly trumps it on interior material quality but not by much especially as VW had to cut some corners to keep costs down on the mk8.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Nov 10, 2021 7:40:47 GMT
I must admit that I really liked my Octavia, to the point that it was only my own niggles about having battered the offside wheels that made me act on the thought of getting rid when I did.
SE-L was the trim of my 4x4 estate, but it would cost considerably more specced to that level than your selection, or I may have been tempted to go for new - something I've told myself will never happen again! Mine was metallic as well, but taht wouldn't be a deal-breaker in the right colour.
I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on it next summer!
I really liked mine, too. It was a good all-rounder that just did what was asked of it. That it was decently pokey, subtly sporty and cheap to run added to the mix. They are fine cars. |
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Post by Alex on Nov 10, 2021 14:23:01 GMT
Although mine isn't a vrs it does come with over 200bhp so should be quite pokey.
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Post by Alex on Nov 12, 2021 16:59:59 GMT
Small update. Order has gone through fine but has been held up by Skoda UK over the reversing camera. Apparently Skoda are no longer offering it as an option and will only fot it to models where it is standard. The reason is the semiconductor shortage which has meant they've had to withdraw a number of options and are culling anything that requires an extra chipset. They're still offering winter pack because it's the most popular option but they've said the car may arrive with some bits of the pack missing. This is apparently happening across the VAG group but only on ICE powered cars. The EVs are seen as priority and so are taking any "surplus" chips from the ICE production lines.
It may mean I may be able to have metallic paint instead so not the end of the world.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2021 17:37:36 GMT
Keep on at them. I had a Citroen Picasso a long time ago and the full length sunroof option vanished between me ordering and the order being accepted by Citroen. I got the sunroof. I ended up dealing with Citroen UK rather than the dealer but it happened.
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Post by Alex on Nov 12, 2021 19:03:34 GMT
Won't happen this time. Apparently a lot of manufacturers are having to cut trim levels and option packs down in order to keep production lines moving. A colleague who has a Golf on order that was due in September has just been informed it's now February and they've also deleted her rear camera from the order.
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Post by clunes on Nov 12, 2021 20:27:42 GMT
A common issue across many sectors and I’ve seen plenty of reports of this abs agree you’re unlikely to have any luck given the current global shortage of microchips. A modern car can have in excess of 3000 chips which puts the scale of demand into some perspective
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Post by Big Blue on Nov 12, 2021 22:31:13 GMT
Yep: Eva missed out on enhanced Bluetooth and wireless charging but nothing else.
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Post by PG on Nov 15, 2021 18:44:56 GMT
It just shows what a pigs-ear the legacy auto industry has made of computerisation by having multiple small (and now very old tech generally) chips, each controlling a few sub functions, each sub system built by a different supplier, who probably uses different chips to the next supplier. From what I've read, one of Tesla's innovations was to move to a lower number of higher computing power chips.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Dec 18, 2021 8:09:32 GMT
A house just down the street from us now have an Octavia SE estate in that blue. It looks good.
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Post by Alex on Dec 19, 2021 21:46:22 GMT
A house just down the street from us now have an Octavia SE estate in that blue. It looks good. Yes I've seen a couple about and think it looks good too. A lot of VW group cars look awful in their standard colour (particularly the Golf in its battleship grey) but Skoda have chosen a reasonably acceptable colour for their free paint option. |
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Post by Alex on Dec 2, 2023 8:25:07 GMT
In a shocking turn of events it would appear that Skoda have actually built my car and its being delivered next Thursday. Only 2 years and 3 weeks after being ordered!
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 2, 2023 8:28:43 GMT
Which bits have they left off? That's a disgracefully long wait. I wonder how many orders have been cancelled by people who couldn't wait
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Post by Alex on Dec 2, 2023 13:27:38 GMT
They've deleted the rear view camera from my order and so far as I know that is all but of course I'll find out later in the week of anything else is missing.
Interesting you talk about cancelling orders. They offered to allow free cancellation, which is not something that happens often. That was about 6 months ago but there wasn't anything else within budget or similar tax bracket that would have come closer. Closest wad a Niro PHEV but I didn't fancy that and, in any case, my two colleagues who did switch their order to one 0f those have been quoted April delivery so it would have been an even longer wait!
The delay was originally due to high demand coming right as the microchip shortage hit car manufacturers and then the war in Ukraine which is where VAG make a lot of their wiring looms caused further delays. Those issues have been largely ironed out but the order books have continued to fill and the newer orders have been sold at higher prices so have been given priority to aid their cash flow. Skoda are essentially selling me a car for £33k that in today's market should be nearer £40k so they will probably be making a loss on it.
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Post by Martin on Dec 2, 2023 16:19:55 GMT
In a shocking turn of events it would appear that Skoda have actually built my car and its being delivered next Thursday. Only 2 years and 3 weeks after being ordered! Good news! |
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Post by johnc on Dec 3, 2023 13:22:05 GMT
Skoda are essentially selling me a car for £33k that in today's market should be nearer £40k so they will probably be making a loss on it. Don't worry about Skoda. You can be sure they are still making a turn selling it at £33K |
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Post by PG on Dec 4, 2023 20:01:23 GMT
Finally!! I am sure they are still making a very good return at £33k, otherwise they'd find some reason to cancel on you or make you want to cancel.
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Post by Alex on Dec 5, 2023 7:38:56 GMT
I'm sure they are doing just fine. If anything it's the lease company that are taking a hosing because the cost to them of borrowing the money to pay Skoda has increased dramatically compared to the end of 2021 when the deal was agreed. That's another effect of high interest rates that the new car market is suffering from and is why people who change their car every few years are getting a bit of a shock when they go to change.
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