The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Three generations of the modern-era Octavia model have been introduced to date, delivered with five-door liftback saloon or five-door estate styles only. The car is front engined, both front- or four-wheel drive are offered. Around five million units have been sold in its two decades of presence on the market. The Octavia is Škoda's most popular model; about 40% of all newly manufactured Škoda cars are Octavias.
The current generation is available in wide range of derivatives, i.e. sports Octavia RS, four-wheel drive Octavia Combi, frugal Octavia GreenLine, CNG-powered Octavia G-TEC, and outdoor Octavia Scout.
The first generation Octavia was released in November 1996 and was built at the modernised Škoda factory in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. This generation was made available in sedan or estate styles only.
In the United Kingdom, sales began in 1998 and the mid-size car was an instant success with buyers who appreciated its solidity, refinement and value for money, though it could not quite match the success of established large family car favourites such as the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra.
The car was widely used in the United Kingdom taxi trade, owing to the large number of private hire drivers who used the vehicle, due to its low price [and advantageous leasing agreements directed at the self-employed taxi driver], space and reliability.
The first generation Octavia had a facelift in 2000, and was still manufactured and marketed in some markets, even after the second generation was introduced in 2004. In Germany, and other parts of West Europe, as well as Asia, the first generation model was marketed as the Octavia Tour, while the newer model is marketed as the Octavia. In some markets, the first generation Octavia was still known as Octavia, and the newer model was referred to as the new Octavia, Octavia5 (Greece) or Laura (India).
In India, Octavia was launched in 2002 and was an instant hit with Indians for its frugal engines and solid build. It became a huge success in India, selling 44,900 units.
The major improvements of the facelifted model are the independent rear suspension and improved interior, in terms of space, design and quality of materials.
The facelifted Octavia featured a 4x4 wheel drive version both for the estate and more popular sedan models, and used the Haldex Traction clutch, like other Volkswagen Group A platform based cars (Golf IV, Audi A3 and Seat Leon Cupra R4). It had higher ground clearance and a bigger fuel tank carrying 63-litre (17 US gal; 14 imp gal) compared to the 55-litre (15 US gal; 12 imp gal) standard front wheel drive versions.
The 4x4 option was only available with the 1.8 T 150 bhp (112 kW; 152 PS) petrol engine, the 1.9 TDI 90 bhp (67 kW; 91 PS) diesel engine, or the 2.0 L petrol engine, all coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox, and with the 1.9 TDI-PD (Pumpe-Düse) 100 bhp (75 kW; 101 PS) diesel engine which came with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The other 6-speed manual model was the 1.9 TDI-PD 131 bhp (98 kW; 133 PS), only available with front-wheel-drive.
The vRS was the top-level and quickest specification and used a 1.8-litre straight-4 turbocharged engine which produced 180 bhp (134 kW; 182 PS). Škoda made a limited number of 100 WRC Replica Cars worldwide in 2002. These differ from normal vRS Octavias, as they are produced in white, have rally decals and have additional accessories as standard (such as ESP, xenon lights, heated front seats).
The vRS model was also popular with police in the United Kingdom, both as a traffic car and as an unmarked Q-car, due to its low cost, reliability, performance, and understated styling.
The engines used are the same as for many other cars in the Volkswagen Group:
The Škoda Octavia has been used in the European Touring Car Championship, the World Rally Championship and the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup.
The second-generation Octavia was introduced in March 2004, based on the Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35) platform also used by other Volkswagen Group cars, such as the Audi A3 Mk2, Volkswagen Golf Mk5, Volkswagen Jetta Mk5, SEAT León Mk2, etc.
Responsible for the design were Thomas Ingenlath and Peter Wouda. Along with a new internal-combustion engine range, also shared with other models of the Volkswagen Group, body changes included more legroom for rear-seat passengers (a weak point in the original model) and increased ground clearance at front and rear to reduce the risk of grounding on steep ramps or facing kerbs.
In addition to the Czech factories in Mladá Boleslav and Vrchlabi, from 2008, the Octavia has also been produced at a factory in Bratislava, Slovakia, and in Shanghai, China, under the joint venture of Shanghai Volkswagen. In Russia, the Octavia is assembled at the Volkswagen plant in Kaluga.
In India, the second-generation Octavia was marketed as the Laura to distinguish it from the first generation. The car was marketed in a higher-income segment, and was sold alongside the previous-generation Octavia. However, the first generation ended production in India in 2010, and as of 2012, the Laura's price was reduced and was competing in its predecessor's segment.
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