The Škoda Octavia is a small family car (C-segment) produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have been introduced to date, delivered with five-door liftback or five-door estate styles only. The car is front engined, both front- or four-wheel drive are offered. Around five million units have been sold in its two decades of presence on the market.[1] The Octavia is Škoda's most popular model; about 40% of all newly manufactured Škoda cars are Octavias.[2]

The current generation is available in a wide range of derivatives, i.e. sporty Octavia RS, estate Octavia Combi, four-wheel drive Octavia Scout, frugal Octavia GreenLine and CNG-powered Octavia G-TEC.

The third-generation Octavia was revealed on 11 December 2012 at the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav.[36] The car began to appear in showrooms in key European markets in February 2013.

Previously, photos of the car covered in light camouflage were released to the media in late October 2012,[37] after other pre-production cars had already been spotted on several occasions during the same month.[38][39][40] It was once again spotted, this time without camouflage, on 18 November 2012 in Santiago, Chile, in both liftback and estate body styles, during the filming of a TV advertisement.[41]


The Octavia features numerous so-called ‘Simply Clever‘ details, i.e. an ice scraper inside the fuel filler flap, a rubbish bin inside the door panel, a parking ticket holder and a double-sided (rubber/textile) floor mat in the boot. A tilting/sliding panoramic sunroof is available as an option – a single-piece for the Octavia liftback and two-piece for the Octavia Combi. The Bolero, Amundsen, and Columbus car radios are protected against theft by the physical separation of the central display and the multimedia system's own central unit. The Octavia also offers a Phone Box, a storage compartment for a mobile phone with a planar antenna at the bottom of the compartment, which permits a so-called inductive exterior antenna connection.

For the front-wheel drive Octavia, engine outputs are offered of 63–132 kW (86–179 PS) on petrol/gasoline cars and 66–110 kW (90–150 PS) for the diesel engines. The two environmentally friendly versions of the Octavia are: the GreenLine version with 1.6-litre diesel produces only 85 grams of CO2 per km; the G-TEC is fitted with 1.4-litre TSI engine running on CNG and emitting 97 grams of CO2 per km. The all-wheel-drive Octavia Combi can be powered by one petrol (1.8 TSI/132 kW) and three diesel engines (ranging from 77 to 135 kW).

The Octavia RS, available in both the liftback and estate body styles, was premiered at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013. It features the 162 kW (220 PS) 2.0 TSI engine from the newly launched Volkswagen Golf GTI and the 135 kW (184 PS) 2.0 TDI engine from the Volkswagen Golf GTD. With a top speed of 248 km/h (154 mph), the Octavia RS with petrol engine and manual gearbox was acclaimed to be the fastest production Octavia ever. In comparison with the standard car, the sports Octavia features progressive steering (variable-ratio steering), sports chassis, electronic differential lock (XDS), and so-called ‘Performance Sound Generator‘, that enhances the sporty sound of the engine. The source of sound vibrations is the electromagnetic pulse generator placed in the area under/in front of the windshield. The sound vibrations are spreading into the car's cabin through the body and the windshield. The frequency and intensity of the sound are dependent not only on the profile chosen but also on the engine revolutions, driving speed, and engine load (the throttle pedal position). The generated sound is directed inside the cabin, especially to the front seat area. Škoda used the 2015 Geneva Motor Show to shine the spotlight on its new and more powerful Octavia RS 230. The car has 230 PS (10 PS more than stock) and this helps it shave a tenth off its benchmark sprint time and adds 2 km/h to the car's top speed which increases to 250 km/h (155 mph); it also gets a standard electronic differential in this version and lower, stiffer springs.

In early 2014, Škoda revealed the Scout; it has raised suspension, plastic cladding, and four-wheel drive.

In early 2017, the third-generation facelift Octavia arrived in the showrooms, with the main visible difference being the split front headlights looking like the pre-facelift Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W212).[44]