2020 Skoda Octavia unveiled: it’s sleeker, packs more tech and gets multiple powertrain options
The world premiere of the 2020 Skoda Octavia took place in Prague yesterday. In its fourth generation, the Octavia is now longer and wider than its predecessor and has a much sleeker stance thanks to Skoda’s new design language. The sedan also packs more tech, more space and will be offered with new powertrains that are compliant with the latest emission standards.
At 4689mm, the new Octy is 19mm longer than the model it replaces while its width has increased by 15mm. The front end looks razor sharp and Skoda has fitted the Octavia with a larger butterfly grille. Its split headlamp design has been ditched for a much sleeker single unit LED headlamp set-up. There’s LED lighting all around and globally Skoda is offering wheel sizes upto 19-inch. Skoda has also focused on improving the aerodynamics of the Octavia and the car has a drag coefficient of 0.24.
The newly designed cabin of the Octavia offers a new two-spoke steering wheel that comes with new control buttons allowing drivers to operate a total of 14 different functions. This number might vary for India as features like heated steering might not make it to a tropical country like ours. The dashboard gets a ‘multi-level’ layout – the upper level gets clean flowing design, the central level houses the touchscreen and side air vents, while the bottom one houses ambient lighting and the central air vents. The touchscreen can be had in different sizes, measuring from 8.25 to 10 inches. There’s also a 10.25-inch virtual cockpit (this will feature on higher trims) that can be adjusted via a touch slider below the display. Also, in place of the DSG gear lever, there’s a small rocker switch to select drive modes along with a button for parking mode. All in all, the new cabin is uncluttered and the soft touch materials lend it a very premium look.
In terms of powertrain, the Octavia now gets multiple options. The line-up includes a plug-in hybrid christened the Octavia iV. Its 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine and an electric motor deliver a combined power output of 201bhp along with an all-electric range of 55km in the WLTP cycle. There are also two turbo petrol engines on offer – a 1.0-litre TSI and a 1.5-litre TSI that can be paired to a seven-speed DSG or a six-speed manual transmission. These engines can also be had with mild hybrid technology that features a 48V belt-driven starter motor paired to a 48V lithium-ion battery. That apart, the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine is now more efficient thanks to the a ‘twin-dosing’ exhaust gas treatment where Adblue is injected specifically in front of the two catalytic converters, helping the Octavia comply with the Euro VI emission standards. India will most likely get the 1.5-litre TSI and the 2.0-litre diesel engines and they will be BS6 compliant.
The 2020 Octavia is filled to the brim with features. What enthusiasts will surely rejoice is the optional Dynamic Chassis Control, which allows adjusting the characteristics of the suspension and damping. The characteristics of the steering and gearbox too can be adjusted depending on the driving style. The cabin gets a plethora of new features like ambient lighting, heads-up display, ventilation and massage function for seats, optional Canton sound system amongst many others.
There’s no official confirmation on when the fourth generation Octavia will debut in India but we can expect it to arrive at our shores around the end of 2020 or early 2021. Presently the Octavia rivals the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis and the Hyundai Elantra.
