All new Skoda OCTAVIA delights with an emotive design and innovative technologies

ŠKODA has launched yesterday in Prague (Czech Republic) the all new Octavia fourth generation. This new sedan has an even larger boot and is even more emotive thanks to the new ŠKODA design language. The new interior concept combines an excellent amount of space and outstanding functionality with high-quality materials and clever details. Innovative connectivity and new assistance systems raise comfort and safety to an even higher level.

ŠKODA AUTO CEO, Bernhard Maier, said, “For ŠKODA, the OCTAVIA is of immense importance. That’s why we’ve completely redeveloped this car. The outcome is the best OCTAVIA of all time – it is even more spacious, practical and even safer than ever before. By unveiling its latest generation just in time for its 60th anniversary, we have taken a major step forward. The OCTAVIA has significantly contributed to the positive development of the company and the brand. Over the last six decades. I am very confident that the new generation will play its part in maintaining this positive development.”

Bigger and even more attractive

The new OCTAVIA has grown further and, thanks to new proportions and the latest developments in ŠKODA’s design language, is even more emotive and dynamic than its successful predecessor. At a length of 4,689 mm, the hatchback is 19 mm and the COMBI 22 mm longer than the third-generation model. Its width has increased by 15 mm. The COMBI’s boot capacity, which is the largest in the segment, has increased by 30 l to 640 l. The hatchback has a capacity of 600 l – 10 l more than the previous generation. The new front apron and the razor-sharp, narrower, new headlights are a visual delight and feature LED technology for low beam, high beam and daytime running lights as standard. The tail lights, brake lights and fog lights make use of LED technology as well. The newly designed, shallow roof rails emphasise the elongated silhouette of the OCTAVIA COMBI, while the hatchback looks almost like a coupé. Alloy wheels measuring up to 19 inches lend all of the model variants a powerful appearance. Crystal Black, Lava Blue and Titanium Blue have been newly added to the range of paint finishes; a Chrome and a Dynamic package are optional extras.

New interior concept and a multi-level dashboard

In the newly designed interior, the OCTAVIA offers a new two-spoke steering wheel, which can be heated as an option and – if ordered as a multifunction variant – comes with new control buttons and knurled scroll wheels, allowing drivers to operate a total of 14 different functions without removing their hands. The dashboard, which has also been redesigned, is modular and has been arranged in different levels, featuring a large, free-standing central display. The centre console is elegant, uncluttered and adorned with chrome details – as are the new door trims and handles. New and soft-touch materials lend the interior a premium look, while the new LED ambient lighting provides a special visual touch for the front doors and dashboard by indirectly illuminating them in a choice of ten different colours – even in a variety of colours if desired. Coordinated lighting scenarios can also be selected.

Head-up display making its debut and particularly back-friendly Ergo seats

Optional, particularly back-friendly Ergo seats, which among other things offer an electric massage function, are available for the first time in a ŠKODA. In the top version, they can also be ventilated and bear the seal of approval of the German Campaign for Healthier Backs. The optional head-up display is another first for a ŠKODA. It projects the most important information such as speed, navigation, detected traffic signs and activated driver assistance systems directly onto the – optionally heated – windscreen. The 4.2-inch, multifunction Maxi DOT 16-colour display comes as standard.

DSG with shift-by-wire technology and optional full LED Matrix headlights

The new OCTAVIA is the first ŠKODA ever to use shift-by-wire technology for operating the DSG, which electronically transmits the driver’s gear selection to the transmission. In place of the familiar DSG lever, there is therefore a new control module located in the centre console with a small rocker switch for selecting the drive modes as well as a button for the parking mode. Innovative full LED matrix headlights are available as an option, allowing the driver to leave the high beam on at all times without dazzling other road users. Full LED tail lights featuring crystalline elements and dynamic indicators are another option. A whole range of new safety systems such as Collision Avoidance Assist, Turn Assist, Exit Warning and the local Traffic Warning function are also making their debut at ŠKODA.

New alternative powertrains and efficient engines

Never before has the OCTAVIA been as efficient, eco-friendly and available with as many alternative powertrains as in its fourth generation. For the first time, the line-up includes a plug-in hybrid, the OCTAVIA iV. Some of the petrol engines, which have been further optimised, are now equipped with innovative mild hybrid technology, while the diesel engines come from the latest EVO generation and emit up to 80 per cent less nitrogen oxide. The wide range of powertrains deliver from 81 kW (110 PS) to 150 kW (204 PS). With 17.7 kg of natural gas (CNG) in its tanks, the OCTAVIA G-TEC can cover up to 523 km in its eco-friendly and efficient CNG mode. In the OCTAVIA iV, a 1.4 TSI petrol engine and an electric motor deliver a combined power output of 150 kW (204 PS). With a capacity of 37 Ah providing 13 kWh of energy, the high-voltage lithium-ion battery allows for an all-electric range of up to 55 km in the WLTP cycle. The eTEC variants fitted with latest EVO-generation 1.0 TSI or 1.5 TSI petrol engines feature mild hybrid technology when equipped with DSG. Using a 48-volt belt-driven starter motor and a 48-volt lithium-ion battery, it is possible to recover brake energy, support the combustion engine by providing it with an electric boost, and to coast with the engine completely switched off. The EVO diesel engines apply a new ‘twin dosing’ exhaust gas treatment, where AdBlue® is injected specifically in front of the two catalytic converters that are arranged one after the other. Dynamic Chassis Control including Driving Mode Select, which is optional, now comes with slider controls within the different driving modes, allowing the driver to change individual parameters such as the suspension, damping and steering characteristics or the operation of the DSG to suit their preferences.

Innovative Simply Clever features

For diesel cars, the range of the brand-typical Simply Clever features now also includes a convenient filler tube for AdBlue®, enabling it to be filled up using a lorry pump nozzle too. In the rear, two smartphone storage pockets on the front seatbacks are making their debut at ŠKODA. The Sleep package for the back seat is now also an optional extra for the OCTAVIA COMBI. In addition, new retractable sun blinds for the rear side windows make it possible to block out the light. There is a multifunction storage pocket below the boot cover in both the hatchback and the OCTAVIA COMBI; the latter will also feature an automatically retractable load cover. The storage compartment with an umbrella and hand brush in the front doors is new. The funnel integrated into the lid of the windscreen washer tank is yet another new feature in the OCTAVIA.