HERE

Skoda opened its doors at Geneva to give us a first look at the interior of the new Octavia. And it showed the company is sticking with its functional, no-nonsense style. The cabin is neat and well made, even if the dark dashboard is lacking in exciting design features and the fabrics which have been used for the seating have more than a hint of the Eighties about them.

In all other respects, though, the Octavia looks like a fine package. It promises class-leading boot space of 560 litres, and will also benefit from the VW Group's excellent 1.6 and 2.0-litre FSI petrol powerplants and the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines.

Cheaper versions will get the current model's 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol units, while the 1.9 TDI oil-burner will also be carried over from the existing line-up. The new car arrives in British showrooms in September. It will be sold alongside the current model, which is set to continue in estate and vRS forms until the two versions are replaced in 2005. Prices are not expected to increase significantly over those of the current Octavia line-up.

Along side current vRS versions eh?

So, the vRS is to continue in production till next year. Looks like a good excuse to keep mine.

No matter how good or how advanced a Skoda design is these journalists and critics always have to make out they are in some way out of date - 'the fabrics which have been used for the seating have more than a hint of the Eighties about them'.

Hi everyone,

I guess that someone has probably already mentioned this but you can control an incredibly good 360-degree panoramic view of the new Octavia interior here:

http://www.skoda-auto.com/newoctavia/panorama.aspx?language=GBR

Controlled by the mouse and simultaineously pressing the left-mouse button in any direction (up and down too), key zooms-in and the key zooms-out.

Infact their whole New Octavia site is excellent. And with this 360-degree panoramic I think Skoda are trying to sell the car before it's market-place even gets to the dealer.

Enjoy.

I take it this car will be in Birmingham for the motorshow? Just sometimes manufacurers don't take all their cars to the UK

That's terrific!

The new Octavia is really beginning to grow on me. It looks absolutely fabulous from all those new angles on the official Skoda site. That first photo was a real dud...

I take it this car will be in Birmingham for the motorshow? Just sometimes manufacurers don't take all their cars to the UK

Fingers crossed.

BMW last year didn't even go - let alone any of their cars - apart from MINI and Rolls-Royce. Must have had their toys taken out of the pram and on one of their :grumpy: days.

Willy Wonka's.

More AutoExpress - first driving experience:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/?http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/previews/previews_story.php?id=45362

Roadtest of the new Octy has just been posted on the 4car web site.

Dougal

http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-tests

quote:

" The vRS, incidentally, will have a turbocharged version of the 2.0 FSI direct-injection engine, delivering around 200bhp.It's an important model for Skoda's UK importer, as our market takes more vRS models than any other."

ohmigod, i can't wait!

drooooooooooool!

so there definately will be a new vRS?????

well we've always siad they'd be stupid not to, and this seems to confirm it.

put me down for one!

(oh, did you also notice that there will be a 4x4 estate too? along with the evolutionary design, it seems they're keeping the status quo)

So, NO DIESEL vRS!

And you can't help getting very happy from reading prose like this:

"The body style, like the last one, is a long-tailed, big-booted hatchback, but slightly larger all round - specifically in length, wheelbase and combined front and rear legroom, which have all grown by a little under three inches. It's enough to make the Octavia a viable rival for cars nominally in the next size-class up, cars such as the Mondeo, Vectra and Laguna. Underpinning the smart, chiselled but very evolutionary body style, masterminded by design chief Thomas Ingenlath, are the same steering and suspension systems that have transformed the Golf Mk5's dynamics compared with the stodgy Mk4 (although the old Octavia always was a sharper drive than its Wolfsburg cousin)."

Or this:

"Skoda has a past much chuckled over for its cash-strapped Eastern European origins. The joke has run its course now, but some people may be sceptical of Skoda ownership for fear of jibes from those not in the know. The other side of this is that those who are in the know recognise a Skoda for the excellent value it represents, and can bask in their auto-intelligence."

QED...

ooooh 200bhp vRS yum yum