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How Skoda Octavia Beat Volkswagen Golf at Its Own Game

Skoda has pulled the veil off its all-new fourth-generation Octavia, an event which proved significant on the European automotive scene - but why did we end up caring so much about this family-friendly hatchback/wagon?
Skoda Octavia 22 photos
Photo: Skoda
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Well, picture this - it’s 1996 and the notion of cars offering the space and practicality you could only get from those a class above is not really familiar. And that’s exactly what the first-gen Octavia (and Skoda under VW generally speaking) offered - loads of interior space and plenty of features, comparable to something bigger than it, all at a price that undercuts that of other cars its size.

There was more to it than that, though. Aside from being ridiculously roomy, the Octavia was considered very well built for its time, with assembly and materials quality that matched what its German masters VW were offering back in the day. Sure, some materials weren’t quite up to Golf standards, but the difference was minimal and since the Octavia was a bit cheaper than a Golf, buying one made a lot of sense.

Skoda Octavia
Photo: Skoda
How you specced your Octavia also significantly altered the car. You could buy a basic, entry level model, with manual windows and no air conditioning quite cheaply, while at the same time, if you wanted to spend more you could, and get a full leather interior, climate control, fancy Xenon headlights and more powerful engines.

There was a lot of variation to play with there and it’s still evident today, if you check the classifieds looking for an early first-gen Octavia. These cars’ specs vary from ones with no equipment, to lavish ones that still have a decent amount of gear even by today’s standards.

Then, later on, in 2001, Skoda refreshed the range and added dedicated sporty and luxurious models too. The former, the Octavia RS (or vRS, depending on the market) was better and more powerful than the VW Golf GTI of the era, even though the two cars were related and shared an engine (though the Skoda came in a higher state of tune).

Interestingly, it was the Skoda that was the more powerful hot hatch and with its smart add-ons, it looked sportier than the Golf too - it has to be said that the standard fourth-gen Golf GTI is considered one of the dullest GTIs ever made, but even so, the fact that the Octavia RS was a more desirable car than a decades-old institution of hot hatches really goes to show just what an impact it made.

Skoda Octavia
Photo: Skoda
Along with the RS, Skoda also introduced the Laurin & Klement luxury edition of the Octavia, a fake wood- and leather-clad version that genuinely felt luxurious by early 2000s standards. These cars came with a full beige leather interior, lots of equipment including a full color sat-nav, heated seats, lots of airbags, as well as standard ESP.

The first generation pretty much set the stage for future incarnations of the Octavia, a model that kept getting better and better with each subsequent model. The second generation was slightly bigger, much better to be in and more modern, and it came packed with even more features and performance.

It didn’t make quite as big an impact on the market as the first-gen, but it still sold in huge numbers, catering to a wide range of needs. And just like the first Octavia, the second model also managed to pull off one important trick that the VW Golf was renowned for - it became a classless car, or, in other words, you really couldn’t judge what its driver does for a living (and how much money he or she made) based on the fact that they drove an Octavia.

It was seen as a smart and thrifty buy, yet at the same time, people appreciated it and you weren’t considered a cheapo if you got one in favor of a VW or something with a premium badge. The second generation Octavia RS got a bigger, more powerful engine and a diesel variant for the first time - both power plants were identical to what you got in the fifth-gen Golf GTI, yet the Octavia undercut the Golf on price, so it still sold really strongly.

Skoda Octavia
Photo: Skoda
For the third generation of the Octavia, Skoda really went all out in terms of making the car feel almost like a premium car, a trick that VW had been pulling with the Golf for ages. And it succeeded, as you really couldn’t tell there was much of a difference between the two in terms of onboard ambiance and luxury feel.

And you didn’t need to get a high-spec third-gen Octavia to feel this premium car ambiance inside, because it wasn’t down to the use of leather or the fact that it was brimming with gadgets - it stemmed from the clever use of soft-touch materials and just the generally super-sturdy build quality that one associates with a premium car.

The third-gen Octavia was still a very popular model, even if it didn’t make quite as big an impact as the first two generations. On top of this, when Skoda gave it its mid-life cycle facelift, the consensus is that they gave it quite a polarizing (some say ugly looking) front end design. But, even if the facelift didn’t improve its aesthetics, the car still sold very well and because it improved on what was already a very good car.

Now a new fourth-gen Octavia has been revealed, and it looks like it’s going to be business as usual. It seems to have been quite well received at its (static) unveiling event, and when the first reviews start rolling in, it will probably be deemed a very solid and competent compact car, another solid contender in the class.
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