Where are the SKODAS?

[rym]

gregozedobe, I'd agree with your point about this;
"I have a feeling that Skodas aren't currently being purchased by people who intend to turn them over in 12-18 months or so..."

The impression I have is that some people are getting some sticker shock. Right or wrongly, only time will tell if the market is receptive to this new brand with this pricing.

I was initially evaluating this and found that if I don't option up with too many "creature comforts", the value in the Elegance package seems reasonable. Especially more so in the 1.8 TFSI, where accessible performance is concerned. I don't think there are too many products offering similar level of performance and quality "feel" at this pricing.

If you consider Skoda on its own without the VW Golf and Jetta fleet (which they are based), Skoda Octavias would stand pretty well, I think perhaps the sticker shock may be due to our expectation that Skodas "should be" X or Y dollars lower.

Never the less, in Europe, Skoda Octavia's direct competitors on price happens to be the Japanese Mazda 3s and Toyota Corrolas. Put this down to us being a different market. As I've just come back from Europe, this was if anything my own sticker shock to get over.

At the end, as gregozedobe said, if you think you'd happy with the product and are willing to pay, that is the yard stick.

Just as subjective as personal tastes, I like the understated look of the Octavias. It seems to say, I'm happy to be anonymous amongst the hollywood sets but judge me not on my bling factor but on my ability. Someone mentioned that the Jettas are better looking, my own thoughts is the Jettas bling factor was a little cheesy (especially the chrome bumper treatment is so bright that I need to wear shades at night). No offence to any Jetta knights... the ride was also slightly bone jarring.

Hope my Octavia wagon lands soon.

[CO2]

As I mentioned previously, I was hanging off buying a new car for the launch of Skoda in OZ to happen. Pre-launch, Weisner said they'd be priced to "compete with the cheaper Jap & Asian brands" so I was anticipating $20-$30K drive away, not the actual, $30-$40K drive away, as it turned out. Now, I'm having a ...very, very, serious re-think, about spending anything more than $13K for a new Hyundai Getz (with 5 a year warranty & it runs on the smell of an oily rag), since I heard of the ex Iranian Oil Minister's (Dr Ali Samsam Bakhtiari) flying visit to OZ in late 2006, when he (quietly) told little "Honest Johnny" & Co, down in Canberra, that it was ..."quite possible, that we would be paying $6.00 per Litre, at the pumps, for ULP, here in OZ, by ...2010"...!! So far, the strong $OZ has shielded us from the full impact of the $110 US per barrel (and rising) price of crude, but if the bum falls out of the OZ economy, thanks to the US Subprime mortgage meltdown flowing on to the wider world economy, & The $OZ heads back towards 50 cents US (or worse) then we are gonna be ...SCREWED, big time...! by the Arabs & the Oil companies. Have a think about how, that little scenario, would impact upon your ...lifestyle...?? If that does come about, car companies won't even be able to give away ...for free, anything, that even remotely, resembles a gas-guzzler. Even without the worst-case scenario happening, vastly improving their fuel economy is going to be the ...absolute driving force, behind all car manufacturers, in the next 5-10 years, so what's your new $40K++ car purchased today, with its current fuel economy, going to be worth re-sale wise, in even 5 years from now...??? If you want some more scary thoughts, have a look at www.endofsuburbia.com

[XXX-1.8T]

wow thats scary not!!!!

In the UK they pay $6.00 a litre it just means the cost of living in Oz will go up along with wages

Everything will be ok

[Frufru]

I doubt it...

wow thats scary not!!!!

In the UK they pay $6.00 a litre it just means the cost of living in Oz will go up along with wages

Everything will be ok

I dont think that everything will be OK. Just imagine a guy with Mazda Bravo ute, 14 l per 100 km. He would spend 14 grands a year on fuel if thats the case. You cant compare UK and here. Do you really mean that distances and public transport are comparable?????

It would (and I think it will) hit us pretty hard make no mistake about it. I reckon that the price will go to about $3-4 because after that there are some changes people will make and this hopefully will buy us time to come up with alternatives.

I believe that resale values of new cars should be OK as long as fuel consumption is not north of 10 l. This is the reason why I bought diesel. and start to think about making biodiesel.

I think it is coming and I dont believe its gonna take longer than 5 years. Did you guys here that US Air Force is building a plant to convert coal to kerosene. Not talking about US actually increasing their strategic reserves right now.

[gregozedobe]

Now, I'm having a ...very, very, serious re-think, about spending anything more than $13K for a new Hyundai Getz (with 5 a year warranty & it runs on the smell of an oily rag),

If I was looking at small, economical cars I would investigate a Honda Jazz, I know lots of people who own them and they rave about how good (and roomy) they are.

There are a lot of factors that go into saving money on fuel, not just the particular car/engine you drive. Driving style makes a difference, as does getting more efficient in planning trips, so you do multiple things in the one drive rather than taking a separate drive for each thing. Doing short journeys on foot or bicycle can also save car trips. I see it as more how much you spend on fuel in total that counts (and whether you can afford it or not), not the actual cost per Km.

The weirdest thing I have ever heard is people who go an a specific drive to brag about how good fuel economy they can get from their car (eg driving on lonely roads at only 80Kmh to get maximum fuel economy). If you are just driving to find out what your fuel consumption is, then it doesn't matter how low your fuel consumption is, it was just 100% wasted fuel and I think it is hypocritical to the take a holier-than-thou attitude to others who drive something thirstier (JMHO, feel free to differ).

That's why fuel economy competitions seem totally pointless to me, it seems all about who can waste fuel at the slowest possible rate, but everyone is still just wasting fuel. I don't see this as being in any way superior to such non-PC driving activities as going for an enjoyable brisk drive on an interesting windy road, going for a long driving holiday, or even (shock horror) track work or even official racing.

A lot of new car buyers in Australia seem to gravitate towards smaller, more economical cars when prices first rise, but then we all get used to the higher prices and the majority start buying biggger, heavier cars again.

Look at how big and heavy Holdens and Falcons have grown over the years, and they aren't the only ones. Nearly every new model is bigger and heavier than the model they replace, and after 3 or 4 model changes these increases really add up. Look at how small the original Camry was (smaller and lighter than the current Corolla), and the story is the same for the Accord, the Golf and many others. More efficient engines help, but if cars got smaller and lighter instead, they would get much better economy than they currently do (and yes, I ldo ike a lot of the comfort and safety gear that is crammed into modern cars making them nicer, safer but heavier than their predecessors)

Unless you hang onto your car for a long time or drive big miles, depreciation/finance and rego + insurance will cost you as much or more than fuel. Lots of people seem to have fuel cards from their employment or lease, so they don't feel the impact of increased fuel costs like those of us who pay directly out of their own pocket.

Still, at least here in Australia we have a choice at the moment , in the US there is a push (again) to have mandatory decreases in average fuel economy. This is great for a maker of many small, economical cars (eg Suzuki), but a distinct problem for a maker of big, heavy luxury cars (eg Mercedes).

[evorobin]

Drive a manual getz using the h/brake and tell me it does not rock!

[gregozedobe]

Drive a manual getz using the h/brake and tell me it does not rock!

Are you seriously suggesting that having fun doing handbrake turns on public roads should be the main basis for choosing which economical car to buy ?

That's just wrong in so many different ways I don't know how to respond

[Frufru]

Smell of petrol rag...

Drive a manual getz using the h/brake and tell me it does not rock!

You guys must have been sniffing something.

[mrx]

Drive a manual getz using the h/brake and tell me it does not rock!

Don't have to. I've sat in a manual Getz, and it does not rock!

[Golf Loon]

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

This has been updated recently and will make you think about an economical car.

[rym]

Geez... this thread has taken a BIG detour from "where are the Skodas" to "Life After Oil Crash". Posts about the car doomsday scenarios would be better posted on the petrol guzzling V8 forums to get them thinking about efficiency.

Posting such on a forum where the cars are already the leading bunch when it comes to Engine Efficiency and kerb weight footprint that is on the low side... is like preaching to the converted.

Tax the SUVs and V8s like the Tobacco tax I'd say...

Now, where were we? Getting my Skoda this week!

I will sure feel like "The only Skoda in the village" when I do get it! Still have not seen a single Skoda anywhere in the wild. Dealer show room and parking lot doesn't count.

I think VGA ought to be a lot more ambitious and sell more cars... a volume target of 2k to 3k annually seems like just... testing water, which could make potential buyers nervous about making the commitment. You could argue that it's a big commitment just to bring it here but VGA ought to put on the buyer's shoe and look at it from this perspective. Obviously, a different target with the relevant pricing for such target may have done wonders and you start hearing the noun "hot cakes" in the same sentence with Skoda.

[rym]

I thought I was the only Skoda in the village

I thought I should update this thread...

Having not seen a Skoda in the wild for the best part of 7~8 months now since Skoda was launched here.

On the weekend, I saw two in the same day! A black vRS sedhatch and a blue TDi wagon.

Been driving the folks around lately, I think the old man is keen on one of these.

[mrx]

I've seen a few more lately too. Keep seeing a silver diesel wagon on Beaufort St., anyone from here?

[anthony]

Since launch I have been looking ,and have now seen a total of 5 Skodas in and around Melbourne.
An Octavia wagon,white with NSW plates.
A Octavia sedan Red
An Octavia sedan Silver
A Roomster Grey
A Roomster silver.
All the Skoda fans must be very disapointed with no presence on the roads at all,in complete contrast to the current VW range.

[gregozedobe]

All the Skoda fans must be very disapointed with no presence on the roads at all,in complete contrast to the current VW range.

Ahh, feeling bored so you are back again to do some more Skoda enthusiast baiting, ehh Ant ?

I wonder how many VWs there were on the road in Australia 6 months after the beetle was first released ? Some people wouldn't buy anything made by the germans back then, as it wasn't so long since WW2.

Maybe Melburnians aren't so discerning in their vehicle choices, so aren't buying Skodas yet ? Or maybe your very own private campaign is getting results in Melbourne at least.

So tell me, when is the Golf/Jetta wagon finally going to be available in Oz ? How much more will it cost (than an Octy RS) when fitted with the 2.0 TFSI motor and manual gearbox ? And how much less does it hold than an Octavia wagon ?