The fourth-gen Skoda Octavia is expected to be launched in India early next year, and will rival the Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic
Skoda revealed the fourth-generation Octavia sedan globally in November last year, however, the carmaker continued to retail the facelifted third-gen model of the D-segment sedan in the Indian market until early 2020. However, the Octavia was not upgraded to comply with the stringent BS6 emission norms, and hence, was discontinued.
However, Skoda is certainly keen on bringing back the sedan to the country, that too in an all-new avatar. Test mules of the fourth-gen Octavia have been spotted testing in the country a couple of times, suggesting that the launch could take place early next year.
While this is not the first time that the upcoming sedan has been spied on test in India, but this is actually the first time that the 2020 Octavia has been caught on camera in the country without any camouflage. Talking about its design, the changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary as compared to the outgoing model.
The two-piece headlamp at the front makes way for a single-piece unit. The sedan gets Skoda’s butterfly grille that is bigger than the one seen on the previous-gen model. Apart from that, the 2020 Octavia will be getting new alloy wheels. The rear-end features new angular LED tail-lights, while the Skoda emblem has been removed and the bold ‘SKODA’ badging on the boot lid takes its place.
Powering the new-gen Octavia will likely be the 1.5 TSI petrol engine producing 150 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque; which is the same engine Skoda offers with the Karoq. However, the top-end variants could get the 2.0-litre TSI engine that makes 190 PS. The transmission options will likely include a 6-speed MT, as well as a 7-speed DSG auto. No diesel engine will be available with the sedan.
As mentioned earlier, Skoda is expected to launch the next-gen Octavia in the Indian market early next year, and the updated D-segment sedan will directly rival the likes of the Hyundai Elantra as well as the Honda Civic in the country.