New 2014 Octavia Spied!

[joele]

for the 4 star?

No, it was due to a marginal rating for the drivers legs in a head on collision.. You can find the test results online pretty easy..

http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/2012/Skoda/Octavia/90TSI-4D-Sedan-6sp-man-1_4L-4cyl-TPetrol/

They did very well on side impact with 16 out of 16, but front impact was only 10 out of 16 so dropped a star.. Supurb did supurb though with almost 15 out of 16 for front collision (14.75).. Even my wife's cheap i30 (2010) got 13 in front on collisions, it isn't the end of the world, but I think it is something they should focus on and not lack behind cheaper Korean cars on.. That said I am pretty confident they would address it in the new model..

I looked at a Grand Vitara a few years back and it actually got 4 stars for the same reason (leg damage) they said the same when I asked them why it had 4 stars, "ohh missing some sticker somewhere", the ratings don't work like that though, they are based on crash results not fluff..

[ausspace87]

for the 4 star?

No, it was due to a marginal rating for the drivers legs in a head on collision.. You can find the test results online pretty easy..

SKODA Octavia 2012 - 90TSI 4D Sedan 6sp man 1.4L 4cyl T/Petrol | How Safe Is Your Car

They did very well on side impact with 16 out of 16, but front impact was only 10 out of 16 so dropped a star.. Supurb did supurb though with almost 15 out of 16 for front collision (14.75)..

Any drops into marginal is going to drop you out of 5 stars I believe..

I think you will find we were simply implying that many automobile manufacturers study the NCAP requirements and install warning lights, stickers, labels etc in accordance with these requirements to obtain the maximum safety rating and additional points. 5 stars does not necessarily mean that the vehicle performed perfectly in the physical crash test...

Everyone seems to read everything so "literally" on here. I would hate to see some of you read something like Lord of The Rings. I can imagine it now; peering out of the gap in the curtains of your living room window expecting to see Sauron and his army of Orcs invading your suburb... Not everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt fellow bloggers!

[joele]

It is a common thing on forums though, especially with shorter comments, it is very hard to tell what someones motivation is, especially if you don't know them personally.

I clearly thought those posts were suggesting that there is nothing to fix, that just a sticker was missing. So I just wanted to point out that they did do badly in the crash test and did have issues to address. I don't say it to bash either, but I know people do walk away from cars when they get a lower rating, especially if on the fence between a few different models and just one of them has only 4 stars (when the others all have 5) it gives a reason to pick another over the Octavia..

[dArK5HaD0w]

for the 4 star?

No, it was due to a marginal rating for the drivers legs in a head on collision.. You can find the test results online pretty easy..

SKODA Octavia 2012 - 90TSI 4D Sedan 6sp man 1.4L 4cyl T/Petrol | How Safe Is Your Car

They did very well on side impact with 16 out of 16, but front impact was only 10 out of 16 so dropped a star.. Supurb did supurb though with almost 15 out of 16 for front collision (14.75).. Even my wife's cheap i30 (2010) got 13 in front on collisions, it isn't the end of the world, but I think it is something they should focus on and not lack behind cheaper Korean cars on.. That said I am pretty confident they would address it in the new model..

I looked at a Grand Vitara a few years back and it actually got 4 stars for the same reason (leg damage) they said the same when I asked them why it had 4 stars, "ohh missing some sticker somewhere", the ratings don't work like that though, they are based on crash results not fluff..

its intersting that it says "The Australasian model also has intelligent seat belt reminders for both front seats."
i'm pretty sure i do not have seat belt reminder for the front passenger seat!!!

do u guys have this?

[joele]

I think mine does, if I put enough shopping on the passenger seat the alarm goes off... I think this car does that too, last certainly did.. Will check, lol..

[Rooboy]

they are based on crash results not fluff..

Unfortunately when a maximum of 3 points can be awarded for seat belt reminders against 2 points for a pole test they can be based on fluff. To get 5 stars they have to score 32.5 points with a minimum of a 1 point score in the pole test. So would you prefer a 4 star car with 32 points with no seat belt reminder in a crash or a 5 star car with 32.5 points but only got there because it got 3 points for the seat belt reminder? Its minor but seeing 4 versus 5 stars can be influential for some people buying cars but in reality it can be misleading.

[joele]

So would you prefer a 4 star car with 32 points with no seat belt reminder in a crash or a 5 star car with 32.5 points but only got there because it got 3 points for the seat belt reminder? Its minor but seeing 4 versus 5 stars can be influential for some people buying cars but in reality it can be misleading.

Honestly, I would prefer more than 10 out of 16 for the frontal collision test, which as I said, even cheap cars like the i30 can do.. I accept that some things I don't care about like seat belt warnings can effect the score, but they don't effect the collision score which is where the Octavia lost most of their points.

I accept it if you say it is possible for the score to be slightly misleading (only four points), but in this case the Octavia has the seat belt reminder and you can see the crash results and why it got four points, and it was for a valid reason.

[Rooboy]

Sorry I wasn't meaning to denigrate your assessment of the Octavia because it was spot on. But I was trying to point out that there are cars that get 5 stars because of the fluff but really they're a little bit worse than a 4 star car. The problem is most people focus on the stars instead of looking at the data behind it as you were able to do.

Anyway, back on topic - the new Octavia does look pretty good. I wonder how the Scout version will scrub up.

[dArK5HaD0w]

I think mine does, if I put enough shopping on the passenger seat the alarm goes off... I think this car does that too, last certainly did.. Will check, lol..

hmmm...that's interesting.
mine definitely does not have a sound/light to indicate the front passenger is not wearing the seat belt.

i checked the user manual too - only reference made was with regards to the driver's seat belt warning. nothing about passenger's.

[Tigger]

My front passenger seat does have a warning chime too...as did the tiguan before it....

One thing I like though is that skoda's warnings are not as persisitent and annoying as the vw version. That VW thing drives you mad if you just forget to put on the belt in your driveway!
At least the skoda is a little more reasonable... with chimes at a more decent interval...

[joele]

The problem is most people focus on the stars instead of looking at the data behind it as you were able to do.

that site is very good as you can easily review the actual assessment, very handy..

Anyway, back on topic - the new Octavia does look pretty good. I wonder how the Scout version will scrub up.

I don't know if there will be one? was their talk of the possibility of no scout option? Kind of makes me feel better about just getting the soon to be old model scout, lol...

I am very interested to see what their larger SUV is like too..

[zei20t]

At least the skoda is a little more reasonable... with chimes at a more decent interval...

don't drive a fiat without your seatbelt on. my wifes 500 has a high pitch squeal that is constant till you put your belt on. its close to ear piercing. I bet that's how it got 5 stars

I cant wait for an RS version, its going to be very aggressive looking!!

[dArK5HaD0w]

a computer generated image of what a Rapid RS could look like.
i prefer the look of the blue one.




imagine wat the new Octavia RS would look like!!!

[brad]

I looked at a Grand Vitara a few years back and it actually got 4 stars for the same reason (leg damage) they said the same when I asked them why it had 4 stars, "ohh missing some sticker somewhere", the ratings don't work like that though, they are based on crash results not fluff..

It's a pretty well known fact that the Commodore Omega achieved 5 stars by the addition of a passenger seatbelt warning light. It was worth 1 point & got them over the line into a 5 star rating. While there were a number of engineering changes that were made that pushed the Commodore right to the edge of 4 stars, it was the passenger seat belt reminder that pushed the Omega into 5 star rating. It should be noted that a number of other models in the Commodore line-up didn't achieve 5 stars. Holden was keen to get the Omega into the 5 star rating because of fleet sales.

[joele]

It's a pretty well known fact that the Commodore Omega achieved 5 stars by the addition of a passenger seatbelt warning light. It was worth 1 point & got them over the line into a 5 star rating. While there were a number of engineering changes that were made that pushed the Commodore right to the edge of 4 stars, it was the passenger seat belt reminder that pushed the Omega into 5 star rating. It should be noted that a number of other models in the Commodore line-up didn't achieve 5 stars. Holden was keen to get the Omega into the 5 star rating because of fleet sales.

Thats fine, but you can compare on that site and see the actual crash results and many cars deserve 4 stars or 5 as the case may be. It is good to be able to see the actual crash ratings and results as you can see if there are real reasons for the lower star ratings and the two I mentioned (Vitara and Octavia) do have real safety shortfalls compared to most of their piers that warrant the lower star rating..

Sorry I should say the ratings as in 10 points out of 16 for front impact are based on REAL results not fluff, better? But these days everyone does the fluff (pretty much) so we are mostly left with the crash results.. The fluff only counts for 3 points out of 37, so will only pull up a car on the border..

EG compare ford modeo to Octavia

http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/2012/Ford/Mondeo/LX-MC-4D-Hatch-6sp-auto-2_3L-4cyl-Petrol/

http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/2012/Skoda/Octavia/90TSI-4D-Sedan-6sp-man-1_4L-4cyl-TPetrol/

You can see that the mondeo deserved a higher star rating as no area of anyones body got a marginal rating in the mondeo... Even if you subtract the 2 points for the pole test it is still well ahead and scored far better on the frontal collision test..

So yes you can't automatically assume that a car did badly in the crash test based solely on the star score, but it is certainly a large contributing factor (again only 3 point of 37 points are for fluff) and should encourage the buyer to look at the TAC site and see what the crash results actually were.. In the case of the octavia I feel better about the 4 stars as it is only drivers knee possible damage compared to say my old 4 star civic that lost the points for mariginal chest protection for the driver (little more critical area).. Either way no marginal protection areas and a full five stars is a VALID selling point in my opinion, and something I imagine the new redesign will have..