Automotive News Europe - April 2020 - 22

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

SUPPLIERS

Skoda improved the Octavia's drag coefficient by 40 percent through design tweaks that include adding intakes
near the foglights that vent air across the front wheels.

Octavia remains humble
despite multiple upgrades
S

koda refutes the suggestion that the
substantial upgrades to the new Octavia's quality, design and technology signal
that the Czech brand has premium ambitions for the compact car. "We call it a
smart understatement. We don't want to
be premium," Skoda's head of design, Oliver Stefani, told Automotive News Europe.
The Octavia, which is offered as a hatchback and a station wagon, is by far the
Volkswagen Group subsidiary's global
best-seller, with 363,700 deliveries in
2019. About two-thirds of that volume
went to European customers, making
the Octavia the No. 3-selling compact
in the region after the VW Golf and Ford
Focus. The Octavia is also Europe's bestselling station wagon.
Changes to the new model compared
with its predecessor can be seen
throughout. For example, the Octavia's
rear lights stretch onto the tailgate instead of sitting to the side. "It's more
expensive but you gain a lot in design,"
Stefani said. Inside, the high-end optional technology includes a head-up
display, a second digital screen in front
of the driver, and LED lighting offering
10 different mood colors. The materials
are softer to the touch as well.
These high-quality features are what volume customers demand, said Christian
Strube, Skoda's head of technical development. "If you look at Kia or Peugeot or
Renault, they are all at quite a high standard and for us it's super-important that

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our car is equal to or even a little bit better than our competitors," he told ANE.
The Octavia also offers a range of electrified engines that help bring down the
brand's CO2 footprint and also appeal to
emissions-conscious fleet customers, who
account for about 65 percent of the car's
European sales. Leading the way are two
Octavia plug-in hybrid variants that each
emit about 30 grams of CO2 per kilometer,
The models, which can travel up to 60km
in electric-only mode, mate a 1.4-liter gasoline turbo engine with a 13-kWh battery.
The top-performing Octavia plug-in hybrid
offers 242 hp and will be part of Skoda's
RS performance subbrand, (known as vRS
in the UK). Two mild hybrid variants will be
added later. Both will wear Skoda's e-Tech
badge. At launch, however, the Octavia
will be offered with a choice of a 1.5-liter
turbo gasoline engine and two versions
of its 2.0-liter diesel.
Skoda claims the hatchback and the wagon are among the most aerodynamic models in the compact segment, further helping the cars' fuel economy. A 40 percent
improvement in drag coefficient has been
achieved by design tweaks such as adding
intakes above the foglight surrounds that
vents air across the front wheels.
Skoda says the Octavia has the largest
trunk space in the segment. The wagon offers 640 liters of space, which is
30 liters more than its predecessor.
-- Nick Gibbs

The Basics
❚ Launch date: April (Europe)
❚ Base price: 27,360 euros (Germany)
❚ Where built: Mlada Boleslav,

Czech Republic

❚ Main rivals: Ford Focus,

Hyundai i30, Opel/Vauxhall
Astra, Renault Megane

Fast Facts
❚ Connected: In line with other new

cars on the parent Volkswagen Group's
MQB platform, the Octavia leverages
connectivity via the eSim card, allowing
owners to link to the car remotely via a
mobile phone app as well as buy packages to let passengers stream data
from the car. Skoda will also be able to
update the car over the air in the future.
❚ Approaching autonomy: Adaptive
cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and low-speed traffic jam assistance help out the driver, as will two
new additions to Skoda's active safety
kit. Those are collision avoidance assist, which helps the driver steer away
from an obstacle, and turn assist,
which can detect oncoming traffic
when pulling out of a side road and
warn the driver or apply the brakes to
prevent an accident.

APRIL 2020

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Automotive News Europe - April 2020

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