When a car company is looking to enter a new country, the biggest decision is which car to launch first, as it can make or break the company. When German-owned Czech car company Skoda decided to launch its Octavia just over a decade ago, it’s hard to imagine if any of Skoda’s bosses had any idea what they started. This car took the automotive market by storm because no one had ever seen a car with such levels of quality, both inside and out. Every panel, surface, switch, and knob felt solid and as tight as a drum. The paint consisted of several layers, so it had much better scratch resistance and the overall effect was fantastic.

This was all back in 2001 and now, Skoda has relaunched the famous Octavia and the success story looks set to repeat itself. The new Skoda Octavia is powered by one of three engine options: a 1.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine generating 138PS; a 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder petrol mill making 177.5bhp; and a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel engine generating 141bhp. The 1.4 petrol comes connected as standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox and the 2.0 diesel can be ordered with a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. However, the 1.8 TSI petrol comes only with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The diesel engine is a bit rough but other than that driving this car is sublime.

The car soaks up almost all bumps, dips and potholes with ease and when you put your foot down, the car’s handling is much sharper than many cars built from the ground up to be sporty. The interior of the car is a lovely place to be. It’s wrapped in all the right materials; Whether it’s leather, wood or chrome and as always, everything feels built to last. There’s a beautiful big panoramic sunroof, a 12-way power adjustable driver’s seat and cruise control on the top-end variant. The other variants are by no means ignored in the features department. Depending on the variant, they have a 5.8-inch LCD touch screen to control the infotainment system, steering wheel-mounted controls, dual-zone climate control, rear air conditioning vents, Bluetooth telephony, rain-sensing wipers, reading and puddle lights, refrigerated glove box and a cavernous boot that’s just a boot under 600 litres.

All this opulence can be easily enjoyed because the 2013 Skoda Octavia comes with lots of gadgets that also make it very safe, such as 6 airbags in the high-end ‘Elegance’ variant, ABS with EBD and BA, electronic stability control, parking sensors, keyless entry with controls for the doors, trunk, windows, and sunroof, and an engine immobilizer. The price range of the 2013 Skoda Octavia ranges from just under Rs 17 lakhs to around Rs 24 lakhs depending on the location of purchase and the variant in question.

But no matter which variant you buy, as almost every Skoda Octavia review will tell you, this is a great car to own. It’s truly a worthy successor to the original Octavia we knew and love, and it begs the question: With this new sedan giving more expensive cars serious competition for their money in every respect, why would one pay so much more money and buy one? from those? For Skoda, in fact, there was no going back after having created such a powerful first impression and, while all of its models have less expensive alternatives from other manufacturers, for people who understand the experience of owning and driving Skoda cars, the premium that pay certainly worth it. every penny