The ongoing coronavirus scare has pushed the launch of the next-gen Skoda Octavia to early 2021 but more importantly, it could come with the RS variant right from launch.
The coronavirus crisis certainly has had an impact on the launch timelines for many manufacturers. It has already delayed several car and motorcycle launches in the coming few months and the latest development now comes from Skoda. Skoda has now confirmed that the launch of the next-gen Octavia will now only happen in early 2021 while it was originally supposed to launch by the festive season this year.
Skoda pulled the plug on the current-gen Octavia as the BS6 norms came into effect. The carmaker did not update the current-gen sedan to the stricter emission norms as the new-gen car would have arrived in a few months time. However, as things stand now due to the lockdown, Skoda will not have a key offering from the lineup for the rest of the year. The only two other cars in this segment and the Hyundai Elantra and the Honda Civic, now that the Toyota Corolla Altis has been discontinued.
There are also talks of Skoda bringing the next-gen Octavia with the sportier RS variant right from when its launched in the Indian market. Whether its going to come here as a completely knocked down unit (CKD) or a full import just like the current-gen Octavia RS 245, is still not known yet. The standard Octavia will be locally assembled here in India and so there’s a possibility that the RS too could see the same treatment. However, if it comes as an import, it will again be in limited numbers.
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The next-gen Octavia is a huge leap over its predecessor. It has grown significantly in terms of dimensions and while still typically a Skoda, the design of the new Octavia is much sleeker and sophisticated. The bigger highlight is on the inside where the cabin sees a significant improvement in terms of quality and equipment too. Skoda has even introduced gesture control and an advanced voice-controlled digital assistant called Laura. You will also find Volkswagen group’s new virtual cockpit on the new Octavia as well.
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Under the hood, the next-gen Octavia will feature a 2.0L TSI petrol engine with 190bhp and 320Nm of peak torque. The engine will solely come mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Skoda is also expected to offer a 1.5L TSI petrol engine for the entry-level variants of the Octavia at a later stage. As for the RS variant, it will come with updated version of its existing 2.0-litre TSI, 4-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine that offered in the RS variant. Well, the wait for the launch of the next-gen Skoda Octavia just got longer but when it comes, it will arrive with a bang.
