The next-gen Skoda Octavia has been spied testing in India absolutely without camouflage. The launch isn’t anytime soon but is slated for the first quarter of 2021 with the expected price being in between Rs 20-15 lakh.
Following the launch of the updated Superb and the Karoq, Skoda has now begun testing the next-gen Octavia on our roads. This is the first time the next-gen Skoda Octavia has been spotted in India but surprisingly, Skoda didn’t bother to wrap the car up in camouflage. The new Octavia has already been fully revealed globally and other than a few changes in specifications, the India-spec Octavia will largely remain the same.
Although this is a whole new generation of the Octavia, the styling is typically Skoda. The design of the new Octavia is much sleeker and sophisticated. In fact, the new Octavia looks a lot like the new Superb, only toned down a little, for hierarchy sake. The face loses the characteristic split headlamp design and adopts a single unit design with standard-fit LED lights. The headlamps neatly blend into the butterfly grille and the bumpers have also been completely redesigned. The new car also gets a lower roofline, giving it a more coupe-like stance.
The test mule in these spy pictures seem to be wearing 17-inch ‘Rotare Aero’ alloy wheels. Skoda will also slightly raise the ride height of the India-spec Octavia as compared to the global model for better suiting our road conditions. The design has matured very well to look much more stately and elegant than ever before. The new Octavia has also grown in terms of dimensions. It now measures 19mm longer and 15mm wider than the outgoing model. That also translates to more interior space than before.
Speaking of which, it is the interiors of the new Octavia that has taken a massive step forward, not only in terms of technology but also perceived quality. Skoda has used plenty of soft-touch materials in the cabin and coupled with multi-color ambient lighting, it really uplifts the mood in the cabin. Although these spy pictures do not provide a proper look inside the cabin of the new Octavia, it will come with a dual-tone, beige-and-black interior theme.
The dashboard gets a multi-layered theme with a silver trim running in between. A 10-inch freestanding infotainment display taking center spot on the dashboard. There’s a neat row of one touch buttons below the infotainment screen for essential vehicle function and if you have opted for the DSG automatic variant, the gear lever in the centre console has been replaced with a rocker switch arrangement for shifting gears for a more minimalistic look.
Other features that you can expect on the new Octavia are 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster, three-zone climate control, a heads-up display, connected car tech with a digital assistant (named ‘Laura’), gesture control, and wireless smartphone charging. The global-spec Octavia also gets a very cool looking two-spoke steering wheel but we aren’t sure at this moment if it will make it to India.
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Under the hood, the new Octavia will be powered by VW group’s 190hp, 2.0-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine at launch. Going ahead, Skoda could also introduce another engine for entry-level variants of the Octavia – 150hp, 1.5-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine – that will also do duty on Volkswagen Group’s upcoming mid-size SUVs. Skoda followed a similar strategy for the outgoing model of the Octavia as well. As for gearbox options, Skoda will likely offer the 1.5L TSI engine with a a six-speed manual gearbox, while the 2.0 TSI should be come with a 7-speed DSG automatic.
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Skoda had initially planned to launch the new-gen Octavia in India this year itself but due to the coronavirus scare, the company had to push their plans to 2021. As of now, it is expected that Skoda will launch the new Octavia in India sometime between January and March 2021. It is expected to be priced in between rs 20-25 lakh and will go up against the likes of the Honda Civic and the Hyundai Elantra.
