Sleek face and new engines
Skoda is giving its biggest current success number a facelift. We are not talking about the Kamiq, Kodiaq, Fabia or Enyaq, but about the Octavia. It gets a tightened snout and is further finely ground, especially at the detail level.
When Skoda gave the previous generation of the Octavia a facelift, it was quite rigorous. The relatively traditionally shaped headlights that the model initially had made way for headlights cut in half in 2016 that gave the Octavia a unique front. Now the current model presented in 2019 is going under the knife and now the focus is on the lighting, but the Czechs are not going as intensely as in 2016 this time.
The Skoda Octavia (Combi iV) from before the facelift.
Yet you can immediately distinguish the updated Skoda Octavia from the front of the now four-year-old original. The headlights largely retain their basic shape, but still change significantly. The LED daytime running lights, previously housed in the bottom of the headlight and consisting of two side-by-side L-shapes, are turned around and are now located at the top of the binoculars. It is striking that from now on a piece of daytime running light pierces through the boundaries of the headlight unit and dives further down into the nose. The Octavia is available with new LED matrix headlights at an additional cost.
The Skoda Octavia gets new bumper work and the Czechs have also made some changes to the rear, albeit subtly. Here we observe a revised rear bumper. The rear lights remain as they were, although the part of the lighting in the tailgate in particular is more segmented. We also see new alloy wheels.
The updated Skoda Octavia Combi.
There is also news in the Skoda Octavia. The spacious Czech benefits from the arrival of the new infotainment system from the Volkswagen Group. This is already in the new Superb and Kodiaq and also found its way into the Volkswagen Tiguan, Passat and the revised Golf. The screen has a diagonal of 13 inches. It is not standard, however, as a 10-inch display is part of the standard equipment. Like other models from Volkswagen Group brands, the Octavia will have functionalities provided by ChatGPT artificial intelligence. More tech news: the Octavia has a 15-Watt inductive charger from the Selection version and thanks to new USB-C ports you should be able to charge your phone considerably faster than before. There is no Skoda without the tricks that the brand attaches to the Simply Clever umbrella. There are a few new ones, including an optional automatic luggage compartment cover and a storage box in the rear, in which you can store shopping bags, for example.
There are also new safety systems. Just like the new Skoda Superb and Kodiaq, the Octavia also gets the extensive Driver Alert system. Park Assist – available on models with automatic transmission – can put the Octavia into a parking space itself. With Remote Park Assist, this is also possible without you being in the car yourself.
Skoda Octavia: with new and larger infotainment screen.
engines
The Skoda Octavia will soon be available again as a liftback and as a Combi. The engine list includes a 115 hp 1.5 TSI four-cylinder that replaces the 1.0 TSI three-cylinder with 110 hp. This is available with and without mild-hybrid support, just like the 150 hp 1.5 TSI. The 1.5s also have cylinder deactivation, a piece of technology that should have a beneficial effect on consumption. All mild-hybrid versions have – not surprisingly – the seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. The plug-in hybrid powertrains will probably return later. Unfortunately, the sporty Octavia RS will not come to the Netherlands. We don’t expect a possible new Scout version here either.
The updated Skoda Octavia will come to the Netherlands in the second quarter of this year. Prices will follow in the run-up to the market introduction.
Skoda Octavia: quite successful
Skoda has sold more than 7 million units of the Octavia worldwide – spanning several generations. Last year Skoda sold a total of 886,800 cars. Of these, 192,000 were Octavias. This made it the most popular model. Ample even. The Kamiq was in second place with 116,500 units sold. In the Netherlands, the Octavia only had to tolerate the electric Enyaq last year. In 2023, 4,158 Octavias will be registered in our country. Since the introduction of the Octavia, which Skoda introduced under the wings of Volkswagen, 116,620 units have been registered in the Netherlands. This makes it the most popular Skoda ever in the Netherlands.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl