The now legendary Skoda Octavia is a car that is incredibly popular not only among Czech users. Its new fourth generation presents itself as a very handsome and still spacious car from the very first moments.
We currently drove a very decent “wagon”, which had excellent specifications, i.e. a two-liter diesel engine, a seven-speed DSG automatic and the Style equipment.
Pleasant exterior
At the beginning, I must admit that I am a fan of the current design direction of Skoda cars. The new generation of Octavia is designed fully in this spirit and therefore definitely won me over in terms of external appearance. The omnipresent sharply cut lines and dynamic shapes are thus also strongly influenced by the appearance of the new Octavia.
The front part will offer a wide front mask with distinctive chrome edging, which is followed very elegantly by the headlights. Their shaping and light signature give the Octavia a very bewitching look. Within the front part, there must also be a wide cut in the lower part of the bumper, in which the fog lights are inscribed.
The side profile is proportionately very balanced, despite the relatively long overhang of the rear part of the body, which you can quite logically appreciate in the volume of the luggage compartment.
The rear part is enlivened by a prominent molding, in which the taillights are inscribed, which are subsequently connected to the lower part of the boot lid by a discreet line. Naturally, the trunk lid has a distinctive “Skoda” inscription, which has replaced the original logo.
The fourth generation Octavia is therefore a really good looking car. Sometimes you can see the Superb and then again the Scala, both nice pieces from the Mladá Boleslav portfolio.
Spacious and airy interior
The interior of the new generation Skoda Octavia is not as radical in digitalization as it is with the new generation Golf. Compared to the Golf, the Octavia thus offers more mechanical controls on the dashboard and still a pair of separate displays for the on-board infotainment and instrument panel. Even with this chosen approach, the dashboard looks very simple and fresh in the new Octavia. An elegant horizontal line then clearly divides it into individual parts.
The instrument panel in front of the driver will offer a familiar fully digital environment where you can switch between different display styles. You can also change the displayed data inside the individual alarm clocks. The right roller on the steering wheel is used for this. On the sides of the display are the familiar indicators of engine temperature and fuel level.
The main on-board infotainment display in the tested Style was equipped with the Columbus system and a 10″ screen. Its home screen will offer two main screens. In the first part you choose your favorite functions, the second is dedicated to the media.
Other functions such as driving assistants, air conditioning, car settings, telephone and, of course, navigation are also controlled via the infotainment display. This approach to controlling individual functions via the infotainment display brought about the announced and for me completely positive simplification of the dashboard.
Below the display itself in the dashboard is a touch bar, which we know from the recently tested Golf, and which is used to control the radio volume in the new Octavia. The new Golf also offered a temperature setting within this bar, so it made a little more sense to me there than with the tested Octavia. I regularly adjusted the radio volume on the left roller of the new multifunction steering wheel rather than on the notified touch bar.
Below the on-board infotainment display, a couple of classic controls are also located within the dashboard, which are very elegantly integrated into one frame with the air conditioning vents.
Next, we have the central tunnel, which is equipped with a new automatic transmission selector. Similar to the new Golf, the dial has been significantly reduced and the central tunnel is noticeably more airy.
As with the new generation Golf, voice control is also new in the Octavia. With the command “Hey Laura” you activate an assistant who will try to fulfill “all” your wishes. You can currently use your voice to control the functions of the radio, telephone, air conditioning or navigation system. According to the automaker, the voice control system is still being improved and in the context of new updates, it should always be able to do a little more.
A major innovation in the new generation Octavia is the presence of a head-up display, which projects its data directly onto the windshield.
In terms of internal dimensions, the intergenerational increase will definitely please. The car gained extra millimeters in length, width and height. The luggage compartment has also been increased, which will now offer 640 liters, even 1,700 liters with the backrests folded down.
The interior of the new generation is therefore very spacious, and the layout of the dashboard itself looks attractive and airy. After all, the processing of the central tunnel itself, which unfortunately did not forgive the presence of hard plastics, became a minor disappointment for me.
Offered motorizations and driving impressions
The fourth-generation Skoda Octavia is currently presented with four petrol and three diesel engines, as well as one plug-in hybrid version.
Gasoline engines are represented by the basic 1.0 TSI with an output of 81 kW, followed by a 1.5 TSI with an output of 110 kW. We also have a variant burning CNG 1.5 TGI G-TEC with an output of 96 kW. The Octavia RS is then available with a 2.0 TSI with a power of 180 kW.
The diesel engine is represented by the 2.0 TDI, which is tuned to 85 and 110 kW of power in the RS version, then to 147 kW.
Transmissions aside, a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed DSG automatic is available.
The announced plug-in hybrid version has a gasoline 1.4 TSI with a power of 150 kW. This variant is then connected to a six-speed DSG automatic.
The 2.0 TDI Evo diesel engine tested by us is completely new under the same designation and performance. Its 110 kW of power is more than sufficient in the car, the motorization shows a good reaction to the gas pedal and its dynamics are also at a good level. Its noise reduction and consumption are also worthy of praise. As part of a weekly editorial test, I drove it with a consumption of around 5.5 liters per 100 km.
The comfortable tuning of the new Octavia was complemented by an additional DCC chassis in the tested car. The DCC adaptive chassis is traditionally worthy of praise, in the individual mode you can tune it to a softer position than the comfort mode itself offers, as well as to a harder one than the sport mode offers. The range of settings is therefore really large and the new generation Skoda Octavia is very comfortable with this chassis. However, similar to the recently tested Golf, I was unpleasantly surprised by a certain noise of the chassis when driving over lateral bumps. However, this is probably the only shortcoming that I have observed in the driving characteristics of the new generation Octavia.
In conclusion
You can get the basic “liftback” Octavia with a liter TSI (81 kW) and the Active equipment from 493,900 CZK including VAT. The basic Octavii Combi of the same specifications starts at CZK 533,900 including VAT. The version tested by us, i.e. Octavia Combi 2.0 TDI (110 kW) with seven-speed DSG automatic and in the Style equipment starts at 782,900 CZK including VAT. The specifically tested car, with additional equipment, climbed to a purchase price of slightly over one million crowns. Skoda therefore comes with interesting prices for basic equipment, on the other hand, with increasing equipment, the purchase prices of the new generation also rise significantly.
The new generation Skoda Octavia comes with a very pleasant exterior and a spacious and airy interior. It has recently undergone a certain amount of digitization and will also offer more equipment. As a result, I definitely have no doubts about its continued popularity not only among Czech users.
