Skoda Ireland has confirmed prices for its new generation Octavia, which goes on sale in Ireland on March 16, writes Brian Byrne.
The base price of the car is €18,995, which gets an Active specification 1.2 petrol offering 86hp.
The price range tops out at €27,995, for the 150hp 2.0 diesel in Elegance trim.
More than nine out of ten customers are expected to go for the 105hp 1.6 diesel, with the most popular trim version being the mid range Ambition version at €24,545.
The price increase for the new generation model is €1,250, but the car comes with a lot of extra specification. This includes start-stop technology, ESC, a knee airbag and curtain airbags and 16" alloy wheels on the Ambition specification.
The average price step up to Ambition is €2,350, and a further step to Elegance is €1,550. Among the Ambition extra details are air-conditioning, Bluetooth phone connection, leather covered steering wheel and an 8-speaker sound system. Elegance brings on a auto-dimming rear view mirror, 17" alloys, rear parking sensors and cruise control among others.
A day of driving Skoda's new generation Octavia in Portugal left me with very positive impressions of a car that will not just hold existing owners to the nameplate, but is also likely to attract buyers from other brands, writes Brian Byrne.
The fleet sector is quite likely to score well with the new car, which offers many of the advantages of a mid-sized vehicle while nominally staying in the compact family segment.
The new styling won't hurt prospects either, as the model's designers have succeeded in shifting the look from quite ordinary towards a premium-level elegance. In my view, it's rare that almost every element in a sheetmetal redesign comes so well together first time around.
A longer wheelbase and some extra overall length provide part of the new visual quality, with straight horizontal lines throughout being used effectively to give an overall sharpness that doesn't depend on excessive sculpting to attract attention.
Equally, the inside design is taut and clean, and there's no attempt to use visual gimmickry to set the car apart from its competition. That same clarity of design thought is extended also to the instruments and minor controls, developed from familiar VW themes.
As always on international previews, the cars driven are top-level grades, so the impression of high-quality trim and seating material does affect first perceptions. But I don't think even the lower grades will disappoint when I get into them.
The preview cars were also loaded with all the high tech options in comfort, entertainment, and safety which will be available in the new Octavia range. Essentially these are renamed versions of those things we've seen in the recently launched Audi and Volkswagen equivalent cars.
Some of them interest me, others I can very well do without. In particular, the so-called Lane Assistant which is designed to keep a driver from wandering between lanes. As I found recently in a Golf under review, it has an irritating tendency to fiddle about even when on non-motorway duty, and I'd leave it switched off.
The new turbocharged petrol engines from the parent group are really good, and the 1.2 TSI with 105hp is perfectly adequate to run this car comfortably and with a frugality that was only diesel available not so long ago.
Still, the diesels have been improving too, and the 105hp 1.6 TDI that's going to be the main version in Ireland is even more fuel-efficient than it used to be. Part of the improvement is in the engine, but the fact that the new larger car is more than 100kg lighter than the one it is replacing also helps it keep on passing the pumps.
The extra wheelbase length definitely improves the ride, and the car handled very sweetly in the sweeping hills behind Faro, an area thankfully traffic-free at this time of the year. I was also impressed by the tangible solidity of the build, even when running the car over rough cobbles.
Octavia has made Skoda the force it is today, globally and in the Irish context. This new one is going to push that envelope out even further.
The entry price of the new generation Skoda Octavia will be held below the €19,000 price point when it goes on sale in Ireland in mid-March, writes Brian Byrne from the car's international launch in Portugal.
That's the indication although final prices have not yet been signed off, according to Skoda Ireland's Ray Leddy (below). He emphasised that any price increases over the current car will be more than offset by higher levels of standard specification.
The new larger car will give buyers in the compact segment two choices of Skoda, the new Rapid launched last year serving the budget end while the new Octavia will provide a car with more presence and space, tempting buyers who might normally be thinking of a mid-sized family car.
Fuel consumption improvements of as much as 23 percent over the outgoing model are claimed by Skoda for their new Octavia.
Depending on markets, up to four petrol and four diesel power units will be available, and tranmissions are 5- or 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic DESG. The petrol units are 1.2, 1.4 and 1.8 with power outputs ranging 86-180hp, while the 1.6 and 2.0 diesels offer 90-150hp.
The petrol engines are brand new VW units which are lighter, smaller and substantially more efficient than their predecessors. The diesels have improved energy-critical components, low-friction camshaft bearings, and a dual-circuit cooling system that allows quicker warmup.
While the full range of engines will be available to order in Ireland, the biggest seller is likely to be the 105hp 1.6 diesel, with the 1.2 petrol of similar output being the petrol of choice.
With more than 5,000 units sold last year, Skoda achieved eighth place in the Irish market as a brand, writes Brian Byrne. Given that about half of those were Octavias, of a generation that was already eight years old, the performance is a real testament to a model which has built an undeniable affection with Ireland's motorists.
Indeed, in terms of segment, the Octavia scored third place in 2012, behind Ford's Focus and VW's Golf. By any standard, that's seriously impressive.
Now a brand new generation is about to be rolled out. In Skoda's new sharp but simpler design, the latest Octavia is longer, wider, and has a longer wheelbase than the outgoing version.
In automotive architecture terms it's also right up there with its parent group's other offerings in the compact family segment, Audi's new A3 and VW's new Golf.
In style it follows the edgy look of the recently launched new Rapid, which may well become the bigger seller over time in the compact segment. Octavia, while still nominally a C segment car, has been pushed closer to the next level in size, and provides significantly more presence than the Rapid. Particularly at the front.
The car has some tidy work at the rear end too, and a slight reworking of the familiar 'C' shaped rear lights that very distinctively signwrite the brand at night.
Like everybody else in the business, Skoda has been doing an Operation Transformation in weight terms. So despite the fact that it is a significantly larger car, with benchmark passenger and cargo numbers, it is the weight of a sturdy male occupant lighter.
It is going to change the model and brand expectations in fuel efficiency too, thanks in part to that same weight trimming, but also because of further improvements in the engines. A Greenline model powered by one of the 1.6 diesels will have official CO2 emissions of 89g/km, which means it is comfortably low in the A2 tax band here in Ireland, at €180 a year.
There are options of a lot of the technologies which we have seen in the A3 and Golf in recent months, including intelligent lights, automatic parking, adaptive cruise control and more. However, these things do tend to substantially push up the price of a car. Ultimately, Octavia fans will be looking for the kind of value/quality ethos which has made it such a success so far in Ireland, and that will mean doing without most of that stuff anyhow.
I'm out in Portugal to drive the car tomorrow, and by then I'll also have more detail on the specs and prices for home. So come back here tomorrow for that. In the meantime, I suspect that dealers are waiting for supplies as soon as possible, so they can not just satisfy existing Octavia owners, but notch up some satisfying conquests too.
This is the new Skoda Octavia, which officially debuts at Geneva in March, writes Brian Byrne.
We'll be driving it in a couple of weeks and will give you some first impressions, but we already know the nameplate that's the most popular in the brand's stable will be bigger than the outgoing model.
That's because the new compact Rapid more properly fills the C segment, and the Octavia now moves further towards the medium size car. But it is in fact still between segments.
The new version also comes with a longer wheelbase, thus increasing the space inside. It is built on the same platform as the new Golf, the new A3 and the latest SEAT Leon.
The engines range includes four petrol and four diesels, though we don't yet know what will be the irish lineup. But a 1.6 diesel is claimed to offer CO2 emissions of 89g/km.
In line with industry practice, Skoda has managed to increases size and still cut weight, and the new car weights 102kg less than the current version.
A wagon version is planned for launch in the summer.
Skoda has revealed its third generation Octavia with more room, cleaner style and exceptionally frugal engines for the class, writes Brian Byrne.
The latest version of the Czech brand's most important car is longer, wider, and has a significantly extended wheelbase. Inside there's more front head room and elbow width, as well as more room for rear seat passengers. The boot capacity is also class-leading at 590L.
With more than 102kg trimmed from the weight against the outgoing car, and revised powertrains, the new Octavia will offer CO2 emissions from as low as 89g/km.
More technology will be available, including adaptive cruise control, self-parking, autoamtic high beam control and traffic sign recognition.
