First sketches of the innovated Octavia. Take a look

It’s not long now till the innovated version of the bestselling Škoda Octavia is unveiled. Can you guess what will be new? The sketches might give you an idea.

6. 2. 2024 Models Octavia

The design sketches provide the first glimpses of the coming changes. “Revitalising and evolving the design characteristics of our brand icons is both a demanding and fascinating task. For the Octavia’s latest update, we have reimagined the bumpers and the Škoda grille. At the same time, we have sharpened the contours of the headlights, lending our bestseller an even more striking and sporty appearance,” says the Czech carmaker’s chief designer Oliver Stefani about the look of the updated Octavia.

The design sketches suggest that as part of the upgrade, both body styles of the Octavia will receive new front and rear bumpers as well as a redesigned radiator grille. The model’s light signature will be new, and the headlights will now boast not only a sportier design, but also the Crystallinium element already familiar from the new generations of the Superb and Kodiaq. The new Octavia will also be available as a high-performance RS or Sportline version.

First sketches of the new Škoda Octavia Combi

First sketches of the new Škoda Octavia

First sketches of the new Škoda Octavia RS

Fourth generation

The estate variant has always been an extremely important member of the Octavia model, so it’s no surprise that it was introduced at the same time as the liftback when the fourth generation was launched. Compared to the previous generations, the fourth Octavia didn’t just get a new design, which Škoda is continuing to develop in its other models with combustion engines; above all, it was endowed with significantly upgraded technology and the MQB platform. It was in this generation that the traditional petrol and diesel Octavias were joined by mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, making the model even more versatile. The much-touted boot capacity is 600 litres in the liftback (the Octavia G-Tec offered 455 litres in the liftback and the Octavia iV 450 litres) and 640 litres in the estate (495 litres in the G-Tec and 490 litres in the Octavia iV).

Second generation

The second generation of the Škoda Octavia premiered at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show as a liftback with a 560-litre boot. An estate offering 580 litres of luggage space followed a few months later. The second generation improved the successful recipe of the first one, with turbocharged TSI engines gradually coming to the fore. An all-wheel-drive variant was again offered, and one of the technical innovations was the DSG automatic transmissions. In addition to the sporty RS version, which is available in every modern generation of Octavia, the second generation also premiered the “outdoor” Scout version. In 2008 the second generation received a facelift with larger and more distinctive headlights.

First generation

In 1996 Škoda introduced the first new model developed after the Czech carmaker became part of Volkswagen Group. At a time when Škoda was mainly making the Felicia, the Octavia, then in liftback form, marked a significant augmentation of its model range. In 1998 the liftback was joined by an estate version, which quickly gained immense popularity with customers and which still makes the Octavia one of the best-selling estate cars ever. The sleek bodywork with technologies from VW Group’s compact models has 528 litres of luggage space in the liftback version, while the estate has 548 litres of space. The first-generation Octavia was modernised in the year 2000, but the changes to the design were subtle, making it a bit sleeker than before. There were also minor technological modifications, with an emphasis on safety equipment.

The original Octavia

The four modern generations of the Octavia follow on from the historic model of the same name, but not only in name. Launched in 1959, the Octavia was an updated version of the Spartak and was intended to embody that era’s idea of a practical and versatile car. The spacious two-door body was joined by an estate version produced from 1961, which was also popular beyond the borders of Czechoslovakia. Thanks to this popularity, the Octavia was made as an estate until 1971, while production of the saloon version ended in 1964. Incidentally, the estate version’s boot of the estate version was massive, holding from 690 to 1,050 litres of cargo.