Having caught up on many issues of the Autocar Magazine while at home on break, I had read enough to understand that this would certainly be something worth attending. And it absolutely was.
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It was an extremely fortunate coincidence of events that let this happen. My university semester began on the 20th of January 2025, which meant that by simply flying back to Delhi one day earlier than I would otherwise have done, I could attend the Auto Expo for the first time in 5 years!
Having caught up on many issues of the Autocar Magazine while at home on break, I had read enough to understand that this would certainly be something worth attending. And it absolutely was.
A lot of it was because @CentreOfGravity, @TheHondaLover and I were able to coordinate our visits and meet up at the BMW drift event and explore onwards together! My first planned Team-BHP meet. Additional respect to @TheHondaLover for changing his plans last minute to make it on Sunday and meet us.
I’ll cut right to the chase: the car that I was the most excited about was the new Superb. Hence, when we finally got to the Skoda pavilion, I was like a kid let loose in the candy store. Here it is in the flesh! One of the few cars that looks quite similar in real life as it does in photos.
Just like the previous generation, this is also unmistakably a Skoda. However, you can see their new, slightly more rounded design language showcasing itself on this car as opposed to the sharper lines of the previous one. As usual, exterior fit-and-finish is absolutely top-notch with amazingly even panel gaps.
I am not sure how I feel about the new lights. It somehow seems as though they lack the purposeful look of the old ones. However, overall, the stance is definitely a little more imposing than before due to the car looking much larger. Here’s a look at the lights carrying forward a slightly toned down version of the lighting elements behind the DRL, homage to Czech glassmaking.
And a look at the tail lights (credits to @CentreOfGravity for photographing the Superb’s lights). Note the 4×4 badge; the model on display was the 2.0 Litre 4×4 TDI. Also note how the subtle integrated spoiler on the boot gives away the fact that it doesn’t perfectly align with the quarter panel: the only uneven panel gap I could find.
The interior is simply stunning in terms of design. The way the tan leather inserts have been used, the nice false wood, the chrome embellishments and the absolutely beautiful A/C vents make for a very visually pleasing place to be in.
However, I am not fully sold on the quality of a few bits. For example, the textured surface on the top of the dashboard and door-pads. This generation also does away with the traditional automatic shifter; it now gets a Mercedes-like column shifter instead.
The three multifunction dials at the centre console to control A/C temperature, drive modes, blower speed and ventilated seats are quite easy to get used to, and hopefully should not require you to look down while driving, unlike the disastrous touch controls used in newer VWs.
The seating position was quite good for someone of my height (5’10” with long legs), and the front seats were large, firm and supportive. The type of leather used seems quite different to the outgoing car; it felt very different to that of our 2021 Superb. Overall build quality wasn’t really easy to judge; the touchpoints felt solid enough though (minus the multifunction centre dials).
All in all, it is certainly a much more flamboyant design than before, and a 9/10 according to me. The single point deducted is because in my opinion, the screen should not be as tall as it is, and the S K O D A lettering on the steering wheel isn’t quite to my taste. This is of course, subjective.
The car that was the real crowd-puller however was this, the Octavia RS. And my goodness, what a beautiful shade of green this is!
The blacked out grille and air dam look incredibly tasteful and combined with the low stance, this is the first time in a while that a new Octavia has captured my desire.
Check out the beautiful lights! Credits to @CentreOfGravity for the second photo.
The same interior which looks a little clinical in beige with piano black now looks smashing in all-black with alcantara and carbon-fibre inserts. The touch controls are still a bummer functionality-wise though. I would not want to have to look down from driving hard on a track or windy road to change the blower speed or volume!
I am a fan of Skoda’s style of door handles; this is from the new Kodiaq for example. Extremely elegant (although polished chrome might suit it better, right?). Look at the incredible amount of textures and materials surrounding it!
A little story: a young kid of around five years old was intently examining the interior sitting in the passenger seat, while his dad clicked pictures. Upon noticing me waiting in queue, the kid’s mother asked him to hurry up, causing him to flash an annoyed glare. Because I would have spent time in the interior in exactly the same way at that age (even today in fact; doing so is how I was able to write this post!), asking the parents to let their child take his time felt incredibly good!
Hats off to Skoda for having an incredible display and for also letting people sit inside even the expensive CBU models. I was also shocked to see that the crowd was pretty civilised at this pavilion; not something one expects at such events in India.
Tata’s Avinya concept was another crowd puller, with its sheer size and good proportions. A decidedly RWD stance. I have to say though, I see a bit of Vinfast in the logo.
The Mercedes pavilion had two beautiful displays right up front: the SL 55 AMG and a mean, sleeper-spec S-Class. Pictures are worth a thousand words, these tasteful designs are in stark contrast to the jarring ones BMW is now putting out.
While on the topic of BMW, I essentially had to skip their pavilion at hall 6. There was nothing short of a literal stampede in there, right between BMW and Porsche’s displays. Missing the latter is a bit unfortunate, as the new Panamera and a tasty yellow 911 was on display.
Toyota’s new Camry was on display too. I’m not sold on the front, but the side profile looks great (ironically due to the large and impractical-for-India wheels).
Right next-door was the Lexus LF-ZC. While it is a striking design, I am bound to forget the rather confusing name quite soon. By the way, “the endless pursuit of perfection” was a slogan more befitting for the meticulous attention to detail and quality upheld by Lexus, don’t you think? Perfection at the end of the day is a concept impossible to universally define, and is a goal one can only incrementally and endlessly inch towards through continuous improvement.
So, here is my little account of snippets from the 2025 Auto Expo that I found the most interesting. It was an absolutely fantastic day made even better by the presence of @CentreOfGravity and @TheHondaLover. Such events are always made more fun when you’re in the company of those you can geek out with.
The expo this year was jam-packed with new concepts, and a far grander iteration of the event compared to the comparatively rather sad 2020 expo in Greater Noida.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this post; as parting shots, here are two displays from MG that we all loved.
The truly British MG Midget…
And this very creative display showing old and new side by side.
@CentreOfGravity will take it from here with his absolutely incredible collection of photos and expert observations of all the other pavilions and expos.
Until next time, cheers!
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