Skoda has revealed detailed sketches of its 2025 Octavia, which will bring refreshed styling and potential tech upgrades.
It’ll be revealed on February 14, 2024.
CarExpert understands the updated Octavia will arrive in Australia towards the end of 2024, or early 2025.
The sketches reveal new front and rear bumpers for the facelifted fourth-generation model, as well as a slimmer grille.
The Octavia will receive second-generation LED matrix headlights with Crystallinium which adds a blue hue to the interior of the light housing, as well as new light signatures with “sharpened contours”.
Skoda has confirmed it will continue to produce the Octavia in both liftback and wagon body styles, and will continue to offer Sportline and vRS (aka RS in Australia) variants.
The updated model has been teased previously, while spy shots have revealed changes inside the cabin.
The Octavia is set to get a larger infotainment touchscreen like the new-generation Superb and Kodiaq, and may get a fully digital instrument cluster.
Spy photos show a touch-capacitive slider underneath the touchscreen plus a row of physical switches further down on the centre stack, though it’s unclear if the Octavia will get the Smart Dials seen in the Kodiaq and Superb.
These feature integrated screens and can control the climate, seat heating, volume, driving modes, air conditioning, and map zoom functions.
The stubby transmission shifter remains, however it’s unclear what else the centre tunnel will house.
The Skoda Octavia sits on the MQB Evo platform and is available with a choice of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Skoda Australia has previously ruled out plug-in hybrid models and will instead jump straight to electric vehicles. It also no longer sells diesel vehicles.
The Octavia is currently offered in Australia with a choice of two petrol engines.
The 110TSI Style and Sportline have a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 110kW of power and 250Nm of torque.
Drive is sent through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission to the front wheels only.
The range-topping Octavia RS is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 180kW of power and 370Nm of torque.
It’s also front-wheel drive, but uses a seven-speed (wet) dual-clutch automatic transmission and has an electronically locking front differential.
Those wanting a similarly sized Skoda passenger car with electric power will need to wait for the brand’s upcoming electric wagon, due in 2026.
Skoda refers to its upcoming electric wagon as the “Combi” and says it will measure around 4700mm long, which means it will sit between the Octavia (4689mm) and Superb (4901mm) in size.
The company’s local boss, Michael Irmer, has previously told CarExpert the brand has no plans to discontinue combustion-powered vehicles in Australia before the 2030s.
Nevertheless, it’s finally introducing electric vehicles (EVs) to Australia, with the Enyaq due here in 2024.
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