It was in November 2001 that the Volkswagen owned Czech auto-giant Skoda Motors forayed into the Indian auto-market with its premium mid-size sedan, the Octavia. The first generation Octavia was first introduced in its home market in 1996, and was based on the Volkswagen Group A4 platform. The second generation Skoda Octavia first introduced in 2004 is being marketed in India as the Laura, to distinguish it from the first generation model. It is based on the Volkswagen Group A5 platform, which is also used by other cars of the VW group such as the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf Plus.
Design
The Octavia is more handsome than it is beautiful. Although not the flashiest car around today, it has a certain aura surrounding it, which makes it quite a pleasant sight. It is also quite masculine and bulky, and is splattered with subtle lines. The best thing about Octavia’s design though is the lack of fussy details. Simplicity forms the core of Octavia’s design, and that is the beauty of it all.

Simple is also the first word that comes to mind when looking at the interior. There is definitely a certain bit of European feel to it. Simple the interior might be, but it is definitely not lacking in terms of quality, comfort and convenience. The quality of plastic used is top-notch and there is ample legroom and knee room at the front. The rear is a bit cramped for space though, one of the few grouses of this otherwise splendid car. The leather upholstery is smooth and the seats very comfortable, add to that the ample under-thigh support and you can almost forgive the car for its cramped rear. The Octavia boasts a storage capacity of 528 litres, a lot more than what is offered by some of its adversaries.
Comfort
Like any self-respecting family sedan the Octavia carries a whole lot of comfort enhancement features. Air-condition, power windows and power steering is the most rudimentary of comfort features and comes standard on all the models. Then come the big guns of the comfort enhancement sphere, such as automatic climate control, air quality control, heated front seats, cruise control, parking sensors automatic headlights and automatic wipers. The Octavias seats are superbly comfortable and offer adequate lumbar support. Rear seats get a centre armrest to take rear comfort to the next level. Rear passengers also get a pair of air-con vents, helping to distribute air-conditioned air uniformly inside the cabin, quickly and efficiently. Then there is an entertainment system in the form of a single disc MP3 player and a 6-CD MP3 player for the L&K only, sure to save one from a whole lot of boredom on a long journey or when stuck in traffic.
Engine, Transmission and Performance
When it comes to the engine, there is thankfully nothing simple about the Octavia. Available in both diesel and petrol engines with varying capacity, the Octavia is still as refined as any car of its segment on the road today. The four different models of the Octavia come under the L&K, Ambiente and Elegance banner. The base Ambiente model comes with a 1.8-litre MPI Turbo petrol engine under its hood. Sporting a 5-speed manual transmission and power figure of 150bhp and a torque of 210Nm @ 1,750rpm straight to the redline of 4600rpm, it is quite plain to see that this is a very fast car. How fast? Well, it can race to 100kmph from zilch in just 8.4 seconds, and attain a maximum speed of 219kmph. Now that’s real fast!

See Specs of Skoda Octavia Variants
The Ambiente is also available in diesel guise with a 1.9-litre TDI engine in the front. Then there is the Octavia L&K which also comes with the same 1,896cc, 90bhp, turbocharged in-line four cylinder diesel engine, with Dual Overhead Camshaft (DOHC) and a direct fuel-injection system. The diesel variant may not be as fast as the Ambiente petrol, but it more than makes up for its lack of speed with its fuel economy, which stands at a very decent 13kmpl in the city. On the highway the L&K delivers 19kmpl, which is phenomenal for a car of any segment and engine size! Come to think of it, all Octavia models are quite economical and this is one of the primary reasons for their success in India.

The Octavia is as much fun to drive as it practical and economical. Acceleration across all the models is brisk and torque is available from very early. With minimal turbo-lag and superb stability, the Octavia is fun to drive both in and out of the city. This is the kind of car, which tempts the driver to push it harder, and boy, can it be pushed hard! Thanks to minimal body-roll, corners can be negotiated at high speeds and there’s no worry of the car ending up in the bushes, besides the road. The power steering is precise though a bit heavy and when combined with the smooth gearshift it allows the driver to stay in control under all driving conditions. When it comes to ride quality, the Octavia is not found wanting either. The front McPherson struts with wishbone arms with torsion stabiliser bars and the rear compound link crank axle with torsion stabiliser bars smoothen up the ride considerably and absorb bumps or any unevenness of the road without any fuss.
Safety
For any modern family sedan to be taken seriously the presence of safety features to protect and cocoon its passengers is of paramount importance. In this regard too, the Skoda Octavia is as impressive as the rest. With Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA) and dual SRS airbags coming standard, it is quite apparent that Skoda is not taking any chances when the safety of its passengers is concerned. Not to be missed are the side impact beams, which absorb the impact of any collision from the side, saving those inside from serious harm. Rear child safety locks and central remote locking also come standard.The Skoda Octavia is the quintessential family car, being practical, economical and great value for money, and as a bonus, it’s not at all bad to look at either. Priced competitively in the range of Rupees 11 to 14 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) it remains very likely that the Octavia has many more years to live before being phased out, and that can only be a very good thing.