Yup, the title is confusing. How does a person cross-shop between two products that serve purposes of polar-opposite nature? Well, the person has to have a bend towards daily usability, potent ability and comfortable commute all at once. It does not involve scrutiny of how great the in-car entertainment or luxury is on offer (Okay, there is a certain degree of involvement of such a practice too). What it entails is how each vehicle performs as a daily driver and as an occasional spirited ride. The contenders are the D-Max V-Cross pick-up truck from Isuzu and Octavia sedan from Skoda. Here’s how I look at the problem by listing benefits of each vehicle but not their disadvantages because they are both quite new to the market. First up is the D-Max V-Cross.
So, the D-Max V-Cross is Isuzu’s venture into a market space that was once occupied by Tata’s Xenon pick-up truck. What happened to Xenon was that its crew cab variant was discontinued shortly after launch. Yes, Indian audiences are new to pick-up trucks as lifestyle vehicles, forget about their utility aspect. The problem increases as soon as you figure in the SUVs being sold in India. Still, the fact that Isuzu has tried to bring something out in a segment which attracts few uses is amazing itself. Back to D-Max V-Cross, it is a derivative of the D-Max pick-up truck that can only be bought as a commercial vehicle. What the V-Cross brings to the table is shared underpinnings with Chevrolet vehicles like Colorado and Trailblazer. What the V-Cross sports as a novelty is the addition of hydraulic power steering that is a rarity in the current automobile market, even when you factor in supercars.
What it also brings to the table is one price that is affected by the number of options you opt for than different variants that are priced differently. This means there a large number of personalisation accessories will be on sale alongside the truck. In simpler words, it is meant to be a workhorse that can be used either off-road or on the highway. Since it has a separate loading bay (admittedly small but good enough for a city bloke), that affords it usability beyond par. At the same length as entry-level luxury sedans like Toyota Corolla Altis, it is cheaper too. Lastly, maintenance should not be much of an issue in this case as it is mostly a bare-bones concept taken to a new high with never-before-seen features like shift-on-the-fly 4×4 mode, looks and purpose.
Then comes the Octavia. It has been a dream of a lot of folks to either own or drive this fabulous (objectively) car from Skoda. It has become quite a looker and is pretty solid too. It feels nice on the inside and is not cramped for guys that are over 6 feet tall either in the back or the front. It is among those cars that takes full advantage of its multi-link rear suspension, though it is available in top trim petrol variant only. Again, it has all the features one could ever ask for. However, it throws in a few goodies too, like foldable rear seats with the boot lid opening all the way up to the sky to afford space like few others sedans ever can. Add the automatic transmission to the mix and you have amazing versatility offered by the car both in city and on the highway. The Sport Mode of the transmission makes the car come alive. However, above everything else, it is the fact that this car is just wrapped around the driver like nothing else in its segment. This is what defines this car in a nutshell.
Herein lies the difficulty. Judging both offerings by their merits makes choosing one over the other really difficult. Yes, the task would have been much easier if we could compare the two or just bring into conversation their demerits. That would deviate from the core point of all this talk though. The core point is looking for the best product without having to look at points that make it superior or inferior. One way of doing it is by finding out how both the vehicles feel from the driver’s seat. Are all controls within reach? Is the infotainment unit responsive enough to not demand a re-look? Is there good visibility out front and at sides? Which vehicle feels nice to drive day-in-day-out? It is the answer to these questions that will determine the choice. Now, I know the Octavia is great on all counts but does V-Cross also feel the same way? If yes, then only will the question be all about the money they charge. Till then, there is no winner here.
Car images from their respective manufacturer’s websites
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