With the arrival of the new year comes the promise of a new Skoda Octavia, as indicated by a recent teaser from the Czech brand. They have shared a brief video previewing the updated vehicle concealed under wraps and have announced that they will unveil the mid-cycle refresh in February. Although the teaser doesn’t show much, we can at least see that the badge might be illuminated, and that the headlights are being updated. The new DRLs appear to extend past the main body of the headlights, and down towards the grille, a bit like fangs.
Previous spy photos suggest that the front
end will get a few other changes, though they will be minor. A new vertical
intake will bracket the bumper, and it appears that the grille will be tweaked,
albeit only slightly. Those same spy photos showed that Skoda is hiding the
rear end of the Octavia, suggesting that the back will also get some updates.
However, so far it seems that those updates will be even more minor than the
ones at the front.
The spy photographers also shed light to
the interior revealing that the updated Octavia will get a new infotainment
screen. The VW group is working to make its screens more consistent across
brands, and is adding more buttons, providing us with a hint as to what we should
expect in this car.
Under the hood, we aren’t expecting much
to change. However, the Octavia will likely borrow the 1.0-liter turbocharged
three-cylinder, 114 hp engine from the updated Kamiq. A
1.5-liter four-cylinder engine making 148 hp is also
expected, as are an assortment of 2.0-liter engines. That last one will power
the high-performance RS (vRS in the UK) version.
Reports indicate that Skoda is also
developing an all-electric version of the Octavia, but that’s not expected
until the second half of the decade. This model will continue to be based on
the familiar MQB platform, not the all-electric platform that VW refuses to add
engines to. However, the plug-in hybrid version of the car is expected to
remain in the lineup with the upcoming update in February.
