What's the news?
Skoda has released images and details of a considerably updated Octavia line-up, with an eye-catching new front end, more technology and updated engines. It may even arrive in Ireland in time for the '171' plate in the New Year.
Exterior
You simply will not miss the 2017MY Skoda Octavia because it has bisected front lights. The Czech company has also had a fiddle around with the radiator grille and the result is a car that doesn't look much like the outgoing model at all. Skoda says it has altered the rear of the Octavia too, although any alterations there are much more minimal than the re-sculpted nose. The new version of the big C-segment machine is available in hatchback or Combi estate format, as per usual.
Interior
No real change to the cavernous amounts of interior space for the Octavia, with the hatch still featuring a 590- to 1,580-litre boot and the Combi a gigantic 610- to 1,740-litre cargo area. The Combi can be had with an optional electrically operated tailgate, while all three of the in-car infotainment systems - Bolero, Amundsen and Columbus - have 'capacitive displays in glass'; that means touchscreen, to you and I. There's a bigger 9.2-inch display on the top-spec Columbus and it also comes with a WLAN hotspot for maximum connectivity. Further upgrades include 'Simply Clever' additions in the form of a customisable key (allowing multiple users to save their preferred vehicle settings), a heated steering wheel, bottle holders that help with the opening of bottles and a removable torch in the boot of the Combi.
Mechanicals
Skoda lists two TSI petrol engines - a 115hp 1.0-litre three-cylinder and a 150hp 1.4-litre four-cylinder - from launch, alongside two diesels: the 115hp 1.6-litre TDI and the 150hp 2.0-litre TDI. No word yet on the performance RS models. A six-speed manual gearbox and six- or seven-speed DSG automatic transmissions are offered depending on engine.
New tech includes a trailer assistant function, which can help with reversing a trailer, predictive pedestrian protection to supplement Front Assist, plus Blind Spot Detection and Rear Traffic Alert.
Anything else?
"The Skoda Octavia has always been in a class of its own in the compact segment," said Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier. "As the 'heart of the brand', the Octavia has decisively shaped Skoda's outstanding development from the very start and has made the company what it is today: an internationally successful automotive manufacturer with a presence in more than 100 markets worldwide. With the now extensively revised Octavia, we are keen to continue this development sustainably."
The revised Octavia hatch and Combi models will, we believe, be available to order from the end of the year. Deliveries will begin in early 2017 and we expect prices to remain largely unchanged, which means a starting price of about €18,500 for the Octavia hatch and closer to €20,000 for the Combi estate.
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