As its most important new model of the past few years, Skoda wants to give the third generation of the Octavia as much publicity as possible, which is why the Czech carmaker planned a special event for the press at its headquarters in Mlada Boleslav earlier this week ahead of the car’s first public outing at the Geneva Salon in March.
Skoda’s bestseller has been designed from the ground up sharing its MQB-platform and mechanical hardware with the latest generations of the VW Golf, Seat Leon and Audi A3 compacts, all of which were released in Europe this year.
The new Octavia won’t be sold in Europe alone, though, as it will spearhead Skoda’s efforts worldwide, including in key markets such as China and Russia, where it will be locally built in the near future.
The sleeker and more premium looking Octavia III, which may or may not remind some of you of older Audi A4 models, is bigger but also lighter than the model it replaces.
Skoda will offer the 2013 Octavia with several turbocharged powerplant options when it goes on sale in Europe next spring, including the frugal 1.6-liter TDI diesel, which in GreenLine trim, returns 3.4lt/100km (69.2mpg US or 83.1mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of only 89 g/km, and a 1.8-liter TSI petrol rated at 177hp (180PS).
Video Credits: YouTube NamoPL / Vezess Ponthu
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2013 SKODA OCTAVIA III 
SKODA MUSEUM 
