Skoda Octavia 2012 News

Buying a used car is difficult enough in normal times.

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Three weeks after the global scandal broke, Australian owners of VW diesel cars finally know if their car is affected or not.

Skoda is punching hard as it lifts its profile, firing up cars as small as its budget-priced Citigo city car - expected here around February - and the new mid-size Rapid that will be on sale mid-year and take on the Mazda3, Ford Focus, Holden Cruze and Toyota Corolla.The entry of the Rapid - a Volkswagen Polo-based liftback - also opens the door to the 2013 Octavia that grows in size to dimensions shared with rivals including the Ford Mondeo and its own cousin, the Passat. Carsguide drove the five-door Citigo in Portugal earlier this year and was impressed by the compact car's ability to mix nimble inner-city handling with 120km/h open-road touring.The Citigo is Skoda's take on the Volkswagen Up, which is expected to go on sale in Australia before this Christmas. Skoda Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says that, officially, the Citigo is still "under consideration''.  But significant legwork has been done by Skoda to make the car fit into its Australian line up. It could be here by February and carry a price tag of about $15,000.The Rapid - which borrows its name from Skoda's sporty, rear-engined two-door model made from 1984 to 1990 - is almost the same size as the current Octavia. It is almost identical to the MissionL (CORR) concept car first shown by Skoda at last year's Frankfurt motor show and then at last month's car show in Beijing.Australia will get the Rapid from the Czech factory and not from Skoda plants making the car in India or, from next year, China. It will come with a choice of Volkswagen drivetrains, the most likely a 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre turbo-petrol and 2-litre turbo-diesel. The Rapid inherits the Octavia's liftback - a large hatch that makes it look like a sedan - and variable seating for SUV-like flexibility to make it a hit with families. Skoda hints that it will have a wagon version within a year of the liftback's launch.The arrival of the Rapid will kick start the launch of the bigger Octavia, giving Skoda by the end of 2013 an incremental model line-up from this car down to the Rapid, Fabia and Citigo. Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland told Carsguide at the Citigo launch in February that there were also plans for a larger SUV based on a platform similar to the Audi Q5. That SUV, to complement the Yeti and Octavia Scout, won't be seen until late 2014. 

Echoing the design path of the Volvo XC70, Subaru Outback and Skoda Octavia Scout, the world number two manufacturer launches its Volkswagen Passat Alltrack mid-2012 as a versatile wagon that's also a competent soft-roader.VW says Alltrack is aimed at broadening the customer base of the popular Passat wagon. It's built on the all-wheel drive platform which gives it flexibility in varying road conditions.A VW spokesman said "There's no doubt there's a market for this type of vehicle. Volkswagen sees buyer interest there and just wants a bit of the action." For us, offering it with a diesel engine and DSG auto transmission gives it an edge that some rivals can't match."Alltrack made its international debut at the recent Tokyo motor show. It is based on the same AWD platform as the existing Passat 4Motion V6-engined wagon.That includes the latest Haldex AWD system now used in the Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. The Passat 4Motion is designed for on-road applications with its drive system the best way of putting 220kW to the ground.In the Alltrack, the focus is on all-road applications. It is expected that the Alltrack will use a 2.0-litre, 125kW turbo-diesel engine. Pricing will be unveiled closer to the launch date but it will be cheaper than the $57,990 of the Passat 4Motion wagon and more than the existing front-drive $45,990 2.0-litre diesel version.Volkswagen may be keen to match it up against the Subaru Outback diesel (from $40,990 as a manual only) and its own Skoda Octavia Scout diesel auto that costs from $39,990. The Volvo XC70 diesel auto is from $63,450.

And it wasn’t done any favours by offering unusual looks and no automatic transmission. But Skoda is not giving up on it just yet. The little people mover has sold just 66 over the whole of 2008 and is lagging behind that sales level this year. “The numbers speak for themselves,” Skoda Australia head Matthew Wiesner admits. “We didn’t give it enough attention – probably through the fact that we had to focus on (medium-size passenger) Octavia to give us best cut-through and best return on investment. “Quite frankly, Roomster has suffered a bit because of that.” However Wiesner says that situation will change next year. “There will be a facelift in the new year – and some drivetrain changes and updates — which means we will then give Roomster the focus it requires, and give it the space to be a far better contribution to what we’ve been doing. Wiesner says that the Roomster has also been hampered by not having an automatic transmission. “Having it in manual only doesn’t help in the Australian market. People want an auto. “And it is a quirky design – you either love it or you don’t. “Is there a market for it? Yes, but it’s a niche market definitely. “But do you give up on it? No. Now that we’ve had a few focus groups, we now better understand who a Roomster owner is – and what they do and how. “They are very different to an Octavia buyer. We now don’t assume they will pick up on us as a brand by what we’re doing with Octavia, so we’ll start to target them specifically.” Wiesner says Skoda missed the mark in thinking there “might been some carryover between wagons, given what Roomster represents”. “But there is quite a distance even between a wagon buyer and somebody interested in Roomster – but their intentions, their motivations and interests are very different. “They are incredibly practical … we just need to be practical about how we talk to them. And we haven’t done that well yet. No question.”  

Fresh-faced and with stronger engines, the new car arrives here in September along with a new-look Scout wagon. The RS gets a contemporary look based on other models in the recently-released Octavia range. But it hits harder with a different valance, fog lights, body-coloured trim and LED tail lights. The punch is the choice of a 147kW direct petrol injection 2-litre turbo mated to either a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch or a six-speed manual transmission as Skoda moves closer to align drivetrains with parent Volkswagen. Optional is a 125kW 2-litre turbo-diesel with the same transmission choices. Skoda Australia boss Matthew Wiesner says the company's range in Australia is being tightened and adjusted to maximise appeal. Speaking from the Czech Republic, he admits there are gaps in the range. The Scout, which arrives in its new form in September, still has no automatic option. "But its coming," says Wiesner. "It's only available as a manual from the factory _ it is not sold anywhere as an automatic _ but we've been fighting for an auto on the basis that Australia is a special market that needs this option. "Finally, there's clarity in the issue and I'd expect a DSG version perhaps within 12 months." Modifying the Skoda line up has seen the workhorse 1.9-litre turbo-diesel dropped from the Octavia range. The replacement as the entry-level model is the 1.6-litre petrol-engined sedan at $26,990 _ a price Weisner says gives entry into a price segment usually occupied by small cars. Octavia models now come as a 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol and the 2-litre 103kW turbo-diesel. The Roomster will be retained despite having a practically invisible road presence. "We're looking at some ideas with Roomster," Wiesner says. "It gets a face lift in mid-2010 and were prepared to persist because we see potential in this product. "It is possible that sales will increase when we get Yeti because they would complement each other," he says of the Skoda small SUV that's earmarked for Australia. Yeti will join the upmarket Superb saloon as new entrants. "Roomster is being bought by young people and retired people. It's very difficult to pinpoint it because its market is broad." Wiesner says the Yeti wasn't being considered as just another product line. Rather, it will give Skoda entry into a younger demographic of buyers. That would be assisted by the Yeti's two-wheel drive option _ it will come standard as an on-demand all-wheel drive _ that would offer the SUV package but at a reduced price. However, the 2WD could be seen as a future replacement for Roomster. Wiesner says the Volkswagen Group was holding up well on global markets and Skoda was part of that modest success. "Skoda has been helped in Europe because of the scrappage system which has helped new car sales, and also because of presence in China," he says. "We're in a better position than some because we are under exposed in places like the US and Japan." In Australia he says sales are steady, up 12 per cent for the year compared with the corresponding period in 2008. "Hopefully we're growing on a wave," he says.