New Skoda Octavia review, test drive

The Octavia, when launched here in 2001, attracted a lot of attention. And for good reason – it was fast, frugal, well built and very comfortable. Most importantly for our market, it came with an affordable price tag. This was the car that made Skoda’s fortunes here. When the second generation car was launched, the Octavia name was ditched in favour of Laura. This was also quite a success, but did not manage to garner as much fan following. Now, with the latest Octavia, the carmaker hopes to recreate the hype around the first avatar.   

The plan Skoda has for India is pretty exciting too. There’ll be more powerful and updated versions of the ubiquitous 2.0-litre diesel and the fantastic 1.8-litre TSI petrol, and this time around, the range will include new, smaller engines like the 1.4-litre TSI. And that could mean a competitive starting price of something like Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom). But is the new Octavia good enough to rise to the top?

Also read >>  New Skoda Octavia variants in detail