Ride and Handling
We drove the new car on varied terrains, ranging from well paved 6 lane streets of Chandigarh to broken and narrow roads of small towns/villages of Himachal Pradesh.
The Octavia boasts of great ride quality on most roads and only the biggest of undulations on the beaten tarmac unsettle the car. However, just when we were about to term the ride quality as exemplary, we decided to take the car to the broken roads for a high speed drive. What ensued was a lot of clatter from the suspension and a really unhappy rear passenger. While the front passengers emerged fresh out of the car even with some fast driving on broken roads, the rear passenger had less nice things to say and kept complaining about the discomfort he suffered for the rest of the day.
It won’t be wrong to say that our little adventure brought out a glaring fact about the Octavia’s ride quality, especially at the rear. We do understand that none of the new Octy owners might ever decide to play the boy racer on broken hilly roads but it is pretty surprising to note how the Octavia, which offers a plush ride on most surfaces, sings a different tune when the going gets tough.
Handling is where the Octavia excels and we surely had a fabulous time pushing the car in the corners of Chandigarh-Shimla highway. True, the Octavia is no Mazda Miata in the corners but we really can’t think of any D segment family sedan that has been as much fun in on a hilly road. The car’s steering, even though an EPS unit, has just the right amount of weight at high speeds and is as precise as a Swiss watch. We really can’t stop marvelling over how the really accurate steering and well controlled body balance make a mockery out of the most challenging of the corners.
Motoroids Rating: 4.5/5
Go to next page to get to read our Verdict