Skoda teases 2013 Octavia

Skoda has revealed the first official teaser video for its 2013 Octavia that’s due to debut over the coming months.

Based on the Volkswagen Group’s new MQB platform, which also underpins the Golf VII, the new-gen model introduces crisp styling that brings it into line with the smaller Rapid that we sampled earlier this year.

It’s believed the new Octavia is larger in all key dimensions than the existing model, which has now been around for eight years. The next-gen car is also said to feature a higher-quality cabin with better trim materials to endow the car with genuine appeal when stacked up against the best of the bunch in the mid-size segment.

The fact it’s underpinned by the new modular MQB platform should also be a tremendous boost to its ride and handling, as well as helping it to shed some weight despite being around 250mm longer (at circa-4800mm) than the existing car.

As per the Golf it shares its platform with, the Octavia will be offered with a range of diesel and petrol engines, and there will again be a high-po RS variant to top the range, propelled by a version of the new Golf GTI’s 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre four-pot turbo-petrol engine.

Also in the Skoda product pipeline is a new seven-seat SUV that could be derived from the existing Yeti.

Motoring.com.au understands Skoda is fast-tracking its first three-row crossover into production due to increasing demand for SUVs globally and such a model’s fit within the Czech brand’s range above the Yeti.

Skoda is gradually making inroads into the Australian market, with 3260 sales to the end of October this year, compared with 2239 units for the same period last year.

The Yeti has been its biggest seller with 960 sales, followed by the Octavia (837), Fabia (660) and Superb (622).

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