In December 2012, the Czech company Skoda Auto, at a special event held in the museum of the brand in Mlada Boleslav, showed the world its global bestseller of the next, third in a row, generation - the five-door Octavia liftback with the internal plant index "A7" / "5E ".
The car, the full-fledged debut of which was organized in March 2013 at the international Geneva exhibition, beat its predecessor on all fronts - it became larger, more solid, more technological and more expensive.
In the summer of 2016, Octavia underwent a small technical revision, as a result of which it received a new three-cylinder engine and an adaptive DCC suspension (however, these innovations bypassed Russia), and in October, the changes reached the exterior (and they were mainly in the front end), interior and equipment list.
The “third” Skoda Octavia looks laconic, high quality and solid, and its faceted silhouette is not devoid of a bit of grace, however, after the renovation, the car lost its former harmony in the image, and all because of the design of the facade. The front of the five-door "flaunts" four curly headlights, stylistically continuing the contour of the "family" radiator grille and evoking associations with the Mercedes-Benz E-class in the back of W212, with an absurd "broken" line of running lights. From other positions, the car demonstrates a more solid and attractive look: a complete silhouette with a dynamic shape of the roof and a window line with an upward bend on the rear doors and a sculpted stern with unpretentious headlights and a neat bumper.
Formally, "Octavia" of the 3rd generation belongs to the "golf" class, but in terms of its dimensions it occupies an intermediate position between the categories "C" and "D": 4659 mm in length, 1814 mm in width and 1461 mm in height. The wheelbase of the liftback is 2680 or 2686 mm, depending on the installed engine, and the ground clearance is 155 mm.
The geometrically thought-out and correct interior of the Skoda Octavia attracts attention not only with its pretty and unnecessarily calm design, but also with carefully calibrated ergonomics and perfectly selected finishing materials. The main attention inside the car is taken by the 9.2-inch touchscreen display, located on the center console, under which the climate system unit is successfully arranged (however, in the "base" there is neither a radio tape recorder, nor even an air conditioner, and in the "medium" versions of multimedia it is much simpler) ... The clear instrument cluster with a colored "window" in the middle and a beautiful multifunctional "steering wheel" of optimal dimensions do not stand out from the general concept.
The front seats of the Czech liftback are good-looking and hospitable in practice and are endowed with exhaustive adjustment ranges, and the only complaint about them is the wide-spaced lateral support rollers (the situation is corrected by sports seats).
The rear sofa, despite the flat back, has a comfortable profile and optimally dense padding, but at the same time it upsets the high and wide floor tunnel.
The cargo compartment of the third generation Skoda Octavia "flaunts" the correct configuration, low loading height, excellent functionality and 568-liter volume as standard. In the back of the second row of seats there is a hatch for transporting long items, and the sofa itself is hidden in the floor in a ratio of 60:40, increasing the space reserve to 1,558 liters. As standard, the car is equipped with a full-size "spare tire" in the underground.
Specifications... On the Russian market, Octavia 2017 model year is presented with three power plants installed in conjunction with four types of gearboxes:
- At the initial level, the liftback is equipped with a petrol 1.6-liter "aspirated" MPI with four "pots", distributed "power" and 16 valves, the performance of which is 110 horsepower at 5500-5800 rpm and 155 Nm of torque at 3800 rpm / minute. A "mechanic" with five gears or an "automatic" with six ranges work in conjunction with him.
- The following versions are placed under the hood of a 1.4 TSI petrol engine with an aluminum block, a turbocharger and optimized direct injection, which has 150 "horses" at 5000-6000 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 1500-3500 rpm. It interacts with a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed DSG with two clutches.
- Tops the power range of the 1.8-liter TSI turbo four with an exhaust manifold built into the aluminum block, direct fuel injection, turbocharging and phase shifters at the inlet, which generates 180 "mares" at 5100-6200 rpm and 250 Nm of potential at 1250-5000 rpm / minute. The gearboxes he relies on are the same as the previous unit.
By default, all motors are stitched with a front-wheel drive transmission, and for the "top" version, an all-wheel drive with a Haldex multi-plate clutch providing torque to the rear wheels and electronic imitation of cross-wheel differentials is offered as an option.
In running disciplines, the "third" Skoda Octavia shows decent results: the maximum capabilities of the five-door are 188-231 km / h, and the starting "spurt" to the first "hundred" fits in 7.3-12.2 seconds. Gasoline modifications are content with 5.3-7.3 liters of fuel in mixed mode.
Octavia 3 is based on the modular MQB platform, which is characterized by extensive use of high-strength steels and is the basis of many models of the Volkswagen AG concern. An independent McPherson-type arrangement with lower wishbones is used on the front axle of the car, and the rear suspension design depends on the engine power: if its output is less than 150 "horses", then a semi-independent beam is installed at the rear, and if more - a multi-link system.
The liftback has a rack and pinion steering complex with an electromechanical power amplifier and four-wheel disc brakes (in the front with single-piston floating calipers and ventilation), supplemented by auxiliary electronics.
Options and prices. In Russia, the "third" Skoda Octavia in an updated look can be purchased in solutions "Active", "Ambition", "Style" and "Laurin & Klement" at a price of 940,000 rubles. The initial equipment includes: two airbags, an ERA-GLONASS system, LED DRLs and taillights, front power windows, ABS, a four-speaker audio system and 15-inch steel wheels.
The most "fancy" car in 2017 cannot be bought for less than 1,853,000 rubles, and you will have to pay another 90,000 rubles for an all-wheel drive transmission. Its arsenal includes (in addition to the above options) six airbags, leather interior, dual-zone "climate", heated front and rear seats, alloy wheels, rain and light sensors, cruise control, rear parking sensors, multimedia with an 8-inch screen , "Music" with 8 speakers and other "goodies".
