Skoda Octavia 2017 | new car sales price

Skoda Australia has dropped its 110TDI diesel variants of the Octavia as part of its mid-life facelift while enhancing the standard spec and upping the price on its mid-size sedan and wagon range.

However, whether or not the feature-heavy but slow-selling Octavia Scout wagon will continue on remains to be seen, with Skoda Australia saying that model was "not part of the new Octavia line-up at the time of launch".

Skoda has renamed its variants with the mid-spec model now called the Sport, a change from Style, while the base 110TSI Ambition is now known as the Octavia 110TSI.

The newly named RS135 TDI sedan and wagon are now the only diesel-powered options in the Octavia range, with the 110TDI liftback sedan and wagon dropped.

High buyer demand for the Sport Pack in the outgoing model means a new Sport model will be added.

Prices commence at $23,490 plus on-roads for the base Octavia 110TSI manual sedan, up $500 on the previous range opener, while the base wagon is up $300 to $24,990.

The dual-clutch auto option will set you back an extra $2500 for what is a seven-speed in the 110TSI and Sport and six-speed in the RS.

High buyer demand for the Sport Pack in the outgoing model means a new Sport model will be added later in the year.

The Sport will be dual-clutch only and set you back $29,990 for the sedan and $31,490 for the wagon.

Depending on options the even sportier RS will cost an extra $800 to $1200, beginning at $38,890 for the RS169 TSI manual sedan and peaking at $43,990 for the top-of-the-line diesel DSG-only RS135 TDI wagon.

The petrol-powered RS has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that makes 169kW and 350Nm of torque.

The new base Octavia has more standard equipment than the outgoing model including an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

A tougher 180kW/370Nm RS245 is odds-on for a November launch in Australia with both manual and DSG options.

The new base Octavia has more standard equipment than the outgoing model including an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Front Assist with City Emergency Brake, Multi Collision Brake adaptive cruise control, alloy wheels and floor mats.

It also has seven airbags, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, upgraded reversing camera with multiple views, auto-dimming rear vision mirror, dual-zone climate control air-conditioning, fatigue detection, LED tail-lights remote folding rear seats and voice control.

The Sport brings LED headlights, sports seats, 18-inch dark alloy wheels, lowered sports suspension, a black rear lip spoiler on the sedan, black mirror caps and side door and tailgate foils, automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers.

The RS features a 9.2-inch touchscreen with 'Columbus' sat-nav system, 18-inch black alloy wheels, an eight-speaker stereo, USB, auxiliary and two SD card slots.

Has Skoda made the right call to simplify the Octavia range and toughen up the sporty versions even further? Tell us what you think in the comments below.