The facelifted version of the new Skoda Octavia also comes with some major improvements when it comes to comfort and technologies. These are designed to make everyone forget how strange the car looks from outside, with the doubled front lights.
Octavia comes with several innovations in terms of the materials and colours for the interior: The Ambition equipment line features a new black/brown combination; the instrument panel is entirely in black. The other equipment lines are enhanced with the inclusion of new patterns.
For the equipment lines Style and Laurin & Klement, ŠKODA completes the decorative strips in the doors with ambient lighting as standard. Narrow light guides create subtle lighting that can be regulated in ten colours.
Both the hatch and combi versions have 73 millimetres of knee room in the rear. The hatch and Estate models have boot volumes of 590 litres (1580 litres with rear seats folded) and 610/1740 litres respectively. If the backrest of the passenger seat (option for Ambition and Style) is folded down, objects of up to 2.92 meters in length fit into the vehicle.
For the estate version, Skoda can supply an electric boot door as an option. In addition, there are numerous ‘Simply Clever’ solutions for the luggage compartment, including the variable loading floor (from Ambition up, excluding G-TEC), the multi-function shelf and the luggage net partition. Four bag hooks come as standard.
The interior of the new Octavia also features upgrades: the bottle holders in the centre tunnel console are shaped so that they interlock with the bottom of PET bottles – which allows them to be opened with one hand. In the boot of the combi there is a removable LED flashlight, which is held in place by a magnet on the body. The front seat backrests can be fitted with folding tables.
There are also the heated steering wheel and three customizable keys. As soon as one driver unlocks the vehicle, their personal settings are initiated. These cover a wide range of operating areas, including driving profile selection, assistance systems, indoor and outdoor lighting, Climatronic, infotainment systems and electrically adjustable seats.
The Swing sound system provides extensive connectivity, including to the SmartLink+ platform. This is compatible with the standards MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This enables many smartphone apps to be displayed and used through the car’s infotainment system.
The Amundsen navigation system can be used to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot, giving passengers free access to the Internet to surf, stream and access email with their smartphones and tablets. The top navigation system Columbus features integrated Wi-Fi hotspot and a 9.2-inch, 1,280×640-pixel monitor. On request, an LTE module provides the Skoda Octavia with high-speed Internet access with download speeds of up to 150 Mbit per second.
