Skoda Octavia

The third generation of the Skoda Octavia further strengthens the Czech car manufacturer’s footing in the country. For over a decade now, the Octavia has been a strong name in the D-segment in India. The premium sedan in its latest iteration gets fresh style and feature upgrades.

The new Skoda Octavia features a split set of headlamps and reworked grille. The front bumper along with the fog lamps and the bonnet have been mildly tweaked as well. Along with the adaptive LED headlamps with DRLs, Skoda has designed the LED fog lamps to now double up as cornering lights. The side profile and rear section make do with just a fresh alloy design and new lightning signature for the tail lamps.

As for the interior, the Octavia gets a larger 8.0-inch infotainment screen unit as a replacement to the older 6.5-inch unit. The SmartLink interface has been retained along with the smartphone integration. The instrument cluster has been revised with the addition of 10 colour ambient lighting, new steering wheel and added USB ports below the AC vents..

Under the hood, the Octavia continues with the same engine and transmission options. There are two petrol motors and one diesel engine on offer. The petrol unit is a 1.4-litre four cylinder producing 148bhp and 250Nm mated to a six-speed manual transmission. The bigger petrol engine option is a 1.8-litre unit producing 180bhp and 250Nm of torque which is coupled to a seven-speed DSG transmission. Meanwhile, the diesel option is a 2.0-litre oil burner that puts out 143bhp and 320Nm and can be had with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed DSG transmission.

The new 2017 Skoda Octavia competes against the likes of the Toyota Corolla Altis, the Hyundai Elantra and the VW Jetta in India.