The Skoda Octavia facelift is on sale now, priced from £17,055 to £30,085. It undercuts the Ford Focus and Audi A3 but is more expensive than the new Hyundai i30 and outgoing Volkswagen Golf.
Prices for the Octavia vRS hot hatch start at £25,130 for a 227bhp 2.0-litre petrol model with a manual gearbox, and rise to £29,330 for the all-wheel-drive, automatic diesel.
The Octavia Estate starts from £18,225, while the all-wheel-drive Scout version starts from £26,525. The prices represent a marginal increase over the old model's, but the facelift gets extra kit to compensate.
Spec levels consist of S, SE, SE Technology, SE L and range-topping Laurin and Klement trims.
The 2017 updates brings new front and rear end designs, updated in-car tech and more potent vRS range-toppers.
The global engine line-up now consists of nine engines, ranging between 1.0 and 2.0-litre capacities and producing from 85bhp to 227bhp, although the lowest output engine won't be sold in Britain.
Instead, the key units offered here will include a 113bp 1.0 three-cylinder petrol and a 147bhp 1.4 TSI four-cylinder petrol, as well as 1.6 and 2.0 TDI diesels that produce 113bhp and 147bhp respectively and offer up to
As before, the top Octavia vRS model is available in turbocharged 2.0-litre diesel and petrol guises, but it gets more power. The petrol is the most potent, offering 227bhp, while the diesel produces 181bhp.
Front-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive layouts are available, as before.
Skoda’s best-selling model receives a new, more angular grille in the style of the recently launched Kodiaq SUV, along with new headlights, which are now LED units and divided into two sections, and redesigned tail-lights. The bonnet, meanwhile, gets a more streamlined appearance, and a range of newly designed 16in, 17in and 18in wheels are available.
Among the updates inside are new ‘Simply Clever’ features, such as a new bottle holder which is moulded to the shape of plastic bottle bottoms, allowing them to be opened one-handed. A torch is integrated into the bootlid of the estate, and a powered bootlid is also now an option.
There’s also a heated steering wheel and upgraded infotainment systems, of which three specifications are available: Bolero, Amundsen and range-topping Columbus. 9.2in touchscreens feature in the highest-spec models, and the touchscreens have all been redesigned to give a higher-quality feel.
