Skoda, a German-owned Czech brand that is known for the elegance, performance and luxury it provides in its cars. Now, it is all set to launch the next-gen Skoda Octavia on 10th June 2021. Let’s tread down the road and take a look at the evolution of Skoda Octavia in India since 2002. The car that has been behind many enthusiastic modifications, Octavia has been one of the premium offerings by Skoda.
2002: Skoda Octavia Launched In India
Indians were having sedans such as Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Baleno etc. But these were more oriented towards city driving and were not at all enthralling. This is when Skoda launched their first product in the Indian market, the Skoda Octavia. A sedan that had two engine options and that too turbocharged! Skoda offered a 1.9-litre TDI diesel engine capable of producing 90hp of power and a peak torque of 210Nm. A 1.8-litre turbo-petrol churning out 150hp of power and 210Nm of torque was also at the offer. Both the engines were mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Skoda being Skoda offered power-adjustable ORVMs, ABS, power windows, dual-front airbags, power steering, air conditioner and many other features making Octavia a fun-to-have sedan. In the launch year, Skoda sold over 44,000 Octavias making it a huge success story.
2005: Skoda Laura Launched In India
Octavia had a successful beginning and was growing strongly. The company wanted to launch a new-generation Octavia in India but replacing the 2002 model would have had implications. So, being clever, the Czech carmaker decided to launch Laura, the Octavia Mark II while keeping the Mark I on sale alongside. Laura was more premium to Octavia. The 1.9-litre TDI diesel engine under the hood produced 104hp of power and a peak torque of 250Nm. Laura also became popular in India and a DSG gearbox was also introduced in 2009.
2013: People Wanted A New Skoda!
Skoda Octavia Mark-I was discontinued in 2008. Laura was a good car but Skoda knew that Indians wanted more. So, in 2013, Octavia came back with all-new engine options: 1.4-litre TSI, 1.8-litre TSI and 2.0-litre TDI. 1.4-litre TSI churned out 138hp of power and a peak torque of 250Nm whereas the 1.8-litre TSI produced a good 178hp of power and 250Nm of torque. The 2-litre TDI made a 141hp of power and a peak torque of 320Nm. All the engines had a 6-speed manual while the bigger engines got automatics too.
When it was launched, the then director of sales and marketing, Pawe Szuflak said, “The new Octavia is our attempt to make the best car in its class and we are confident that it will redefine standards in its segment. By virtue of being built on the Group’s MQB platform, the new Octavia is larger and yet lighter than its predecessors. A joy to look at and a greater joy to drive, the new Octavia is sure to captivate the hearts and minds in India. Octavia will be a sheer delight for the customers who have an affinity for premium-ness and quality combined with an excellent price-value proposition.”
The Current Skoda Octavia
With BS6 norms in place, Skoda removed the 1.5-litre engine. It got 16-inch alloy wheels, chrome treatment for the front grille, turn-indicators in the ORVMs, dual-zone climate control and much more. Though it is a complete car, still, we do want the new-gen to launch in India.
10th June 2021: Mark Your Calendars
Within a few days, we are going to have the all-new Octavia launched. Take a look at what all it has to offer!
- The new-gen gets LED headlamps as compared to the quad headlamp set up in the old model.
- The front grille has also changed as it now gets a chrome treatment with integrated LED DRLs.
- The front bumper has also been redesigned with black bezels along the entire length.
- The all-new Skoda Octavia 2021 gets all-new 17-inch Rotare Aero alloy wheels.
- At the rear, you’ll see the Skoda letter badging along with updated LED tail lamps.
- We can also expect Octavia to get T-Roc’s 1.5-litre 4-cyl TSI engine. This engine is capable of producing 150ps of power and 250Nm of torque. A 6-speed manual transmission could be on offer.
- The top-spec variant will get a 2.0-litre TSI engine capable of producing 190ps of power. We can expect a 7-speed DSG with this engine.
And that is what the journey of almost 20 year looks like! Indians just love Skoda Octavia, especially those who love performance. Octavia has a cult of its own, unchallenged by any rival in the vicinity. What are your thoughts about the Skoda Octavia? Will the new-gen Octavia be another success story? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
akshat ajeya
Good read