Skoda Octavia Combi και Octavia Combi 4×4 [Photo Gallery]

Press KIT – New Octavia Combi and Octavia Combi 4×4

› New ŠKODA Octavia Combi now available with front- and all-wheel drive
› Excellent space offering, unequalled functionality
› ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 impresses with secure handling even on difficult terrain
› An estate car with middle-class qualities at a compact-car price
› Design boasts dynamics and clarity, launch from May 2013
› Top safety package: five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests
› Fuel consumption lower by up to 17 per cent: up to 102 kg less weight than its predecessor
› Innovative safety, comfort and infotainment systems

Mladá Boleslav, 29. April 2013 – ŠKODA continues its model offensive with the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi and the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4. Sales of the Octavia Combi will begin in Europe in early May 2013, just a few weeks after the launch of the Octavia limousine. ŠKODA will present the new Octavia Combi 4×4 with an improved four-wheel drive and the latest-generation Haldex 5 clutch, to be launched from June. ​“The ŠKODA Octavia is the heart of the ŠKODA brand and our bestselling model by far,” says ŠKODA CEO Winfried Vahland. “The Octavia Combi especially embodies ŠKODA’s brand values in its space offering and unmatched functionality, and it has had a large role in the Octavia’s impressive success,” Vahland says. “The estate version of the Octavia was the bestselling estate car in Europe in 2012,” Vahland continues, “and ŠKODA again confirms its all-wheel drive competence with this model.”

Whether as a front- or an all-wheel drive version, the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi offers middle-class qualities at a compact-car price. The car has grown significantly in its measurements and impresses with an optimum price-value ratio. This is borne out in an excellent space offering, even more functionality, fuel efficiency, innovative safety and comfort systems, many “Simply Clever” ideas and a dynamic design. Also, the new car has become up to 102 kg lighter than its predecessor. The new Octavia Combi 4×4 impresses with an advanced all-wheel drive based on a fifth-generation Haldex clutch.

The ŠKODA Octavia Combi is not just roomy and functional, it looks good, too. ŠKODA head of design Jozef Kabaň and his team have completely re-designed the car from head to toe. Never before has a ŠKODA Octavia Combi stood as dynamic and yet as timelessly elegant as this bestseller’s third generation. “The ŠKODA Octavia Combi offers space in its most beautiful shape,” says Winfried Vahland.

In launching the Octavia Combi and the new Octavia Combi 4×4, ŠKODA ignites the next stage of the largest model offensive in its corporate history. Both models have great importance for the brand’s growth plans. In the past 16 years the ŠKODA Octavia has been on the market, the Combi variant has had a share of about one third of sales. At 124,500 sold in 2012, the ŠKODA Octavia Combi took third place in ŠKODA’s worldwide sales rankings behind the ŠKODA Octavia limousine and the ŠKODA Fabia. In Europe, the ŠKODA Octavia Combi was the bestselling estate car in 2012. In Germany, it was the bestselling import car.

The Octavia Combi 4×4 has been making an important contribution. Almost 20 per cent of all Octavia Combi sold worldwide in 2012 were all-wheel drive versions. The first all-wheel-drive Octavia Combi was launched in 1999 and confirms the brand´s all-wheel drive competence. The Octavia Combi 4×4 is especially popular in Alpine countries and in Scandinavia. In Switzerland 55 per cent of Octavia Combi customers opted for the 4×4 variant, in Austria, 41 per cent, and in Norway, even 61 per cent. In Sweden and Russia as well, more than one third of Octavia Combi customers chose the all-wheel drive version.

In the years ahead, ŠKODA expects the new Octavia Combi to contribute to further growth in sales. “The Octavia Combi and Octavia Combi 4×4 are fantastic cars. They are sure to delight our existing customers and address new ones,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA board member for sales and marketing. In Eichhorn’s view, the new Octavia Combi is “equally attractive for both private and corporate customers.”

A real loadmaster

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi is significantly larger than its predecessor, offering generous space for five occupants and their baggage. Exterior and interior measurements are identical for the Octavia Combi and the Octavia Combi 4×4.

At 4.66 metres, the car is 90 mm longer and, at 1.81 metres (excluding side mirrors), it is 45 mm wider than its predecessor. At the same time, the Combi’s wheelbase has grown by 108 mm. The result is a superior space offering. Just as does the limousine, so the Combi version impresses with best-in-segment values in space. In some respects, the Combi offers even more space than the Octavia limousine, itself extremely roomy to begin with.

No other car in the compact segment offers a longer interior and more kneeroom in the rear. The ŠKODA Octavia Combi’s interior length at 1,782 mm, has grown by 33 mm compared to its predecessor. Leg room at the rear has grown 26 mm to 73 mm, and there is more headroom at the front and at the back (front: 983 mm instead of currently 981 mm, rear: 995 mm as compared to a current 984 mm). Elbow room has also grown considerably: 1,454 mm, a plus of 39 mm in the front and 1,449 mm at the rear, a plus of 26 mm. Shoulder room in the Combi has also been significantly optimised, by 19 mm to 1,398 mm in the front and by 4 mm to 1,378 mm in the rear.

The ŠKODA Octavia Combi’s boot sets another best mark in its class, its volume having grown by five litres to 610 litres as compared to its predecessor. This is 20 litres more than in the Octavia limousine. With the rear seats folded down, the Combi’s loading volume even rises to 1,740 litres (preceding version: 1,655 litres). The rear seats can be conveniently folded down from inside the boot at the push of a button. With the front passenger seat folded down, the car will carry objects up to 2.92 m in length.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi’s tailgate swings open widely, making loading extremely convenient: the boot opening is all of 1,070 mm in height, 9 mm more than in the predecessor model. The boot’s width is a maximum of 1,070 mm (Octavia Combi II: 1,061 mm). The loading sill is a mere 631 mm, 6 mm less than hitherto.

“Simply Clever” through and through

Add to this numerous “Simply Clever” details. Here again, all features can be found on both the front-wheel drive Octavia Combi and the all-wheel drive variant. Available for the first time in the ŠKODA Octavia Combi is a variable double loading floor in the boot. This enables to partition the boot into compartments of different heights and areas, which makes for very flexible transport options. A new feature is the coat rack underneath the boot covering, which offers space for objects which would otherwise spill out across the boot.

The boot’s roll cover can be removed and stored below the double floor. This is where the optional roof rack can also be kept while not in use. The rear seat back can be folded at a ratio of 60:40. An optional separating net prevents objects from being hurled forward and can be used even with the rear seats folded down.

Four folding hooks for shopping bags in the boot come as a standard. Two boot lights ensure visibility, and a 12 V plug provides convenient power, e.g. for a cooling bag.

For the first time ever, the Octavia Combi has a double-sided floor mat in the boot: during normal use, a high-quality carpet ensures comfort and provides a pleasant appearance. The mat can simply be flipped over to carry dirty hiking boots, potted plants or wet ski boots on what is then a dirt- and water-repellent top. Also new is the so-called cargo fastening element. This element can for example fasten cartons and boxes, securely in the boot, preventing them from sliding around en route.

The interior of the ŠKODA Octavia Combi has all of the limousine’s clever features: a multimedia holder in the cup holder of the centre console makes room for the mobile phone or iPod. There are rubbish bins for the storage area in the door. There is also no lack of beverage holders. Up to eight bottles can be put into holders designed specifically for them. An ice scraper is located in the fuel filler flap as a standard. There is a fixed spot for the warning vest, which is in a holder underneath the driver seat. There is no more troublesome searching for either in the interior.

Modern all-wheel drive technology for the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4

In addition to these features, the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 offers the high convenience of an all-wheel drive vehicle: improved pulling power on slippery surfaces and optimum driving-off and climbing ability.

This is thanks to an advanced all-wheel drive system based on a fifth-generation, the most recent, Haldex clutch, which ensures all-wheel drive and electronically controls power allocation to the front and rear axles. The advantage is an intelligent distribution of torque between both axles and the individual wheels. In normal driving, most of the power will go to the front axle. As soon as more torque is required or the wheels need more grip, the rear wheels are seamlessly activated. In addition, the standard EDL electronic differential lock ensures optimum driving-off behaviour on light terrain.

A dynamic and functional design

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi and the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 marry high functionality to dynamic elegance in a special way. Their design impresses with clarity, precision and perfect proportions, from the front to the rear. While the front appearance is identical to that of the Octavia limousine, the side aspect and rear are different, the side aspect projecting pure dynamics. Its lines, surfaces, window graphic and proportions are in perfect harmony. The new model’s 2,686 mm wheelbase, which has grown by almost 11 cm compared to the predecessor (2,578 mm) underlines the car’s forceful proportions, as does the front overhang, which has been shortened to 886 mm (Octavia II: 915 mm). The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi is 4,659 mm in total length, making the third generation 90 mm longer than its predecessor. The length and width of the Combi are identical to those of the Octavia limousine. At 1,465 mm, the Octavia Combi stands 4 mm higher than the limousine.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi appears clear and concise from the side, its silhouette flowing dynamically from the windshield to the rear window, without unneeded kinks or superfluous lines. The high tornado line markedly highlights a self-contained, sharply cut lateral graphic. The roofline slopes gently downward to the rear, the taillights reaching far into the rear lateral area and aligning directly with the tornado line.

The car’s rear also appears clear, precise and tidy. The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi is immediately recognisable as a ŠKODA by its C-shaped taillights and characteristic triangular elements in its tailgate. Just as in the saloon, so the ŠKODA Octavia Combi has for the first time two C-shaped strips in its taillights that reinforce their graphic effect. The new ŠKODA brand logo is positioned centrally on the tailgate, with the ŠKODA lettering to its left and the Octavia model designation to the right. The all-wheel drive Octavia Combi bears an additional 4×4 lettering.

Safety at the highest level

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi and the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 impress with their high level of safety. A few weeks ago, the model earned a perfect five-star score in the Euro NCAP crash test. This top overall rating recognises the new ŠKODA Octavia’s very strong showing, which subdivides into occupant protection for adults and children, pedestrian protection and supporting safety systems.

Among safety systems newly developed for the Octavia Combi are the Front Assistant with emergency braking function (available from May 2013), Lane Assistant, which keeps the Octavia on track, multicollision-braking with its automatic brake actuation in an accident, the Crew Protect Assistant which secures the vehicle in an accident situation or the Driver Activity Assistant (fatigue detection). These systems help avoid accidents or mitigate their consequences for occupants and other road users.

In the event of an accident, a comprehensive package of passive safety elements provides optimum protection for driver and occupants. In the area of reactive safety, up to nine airbags, finely interacting with 3-point safety belts, shield occupants from injury. Knee airbags (standard in EU countries) and rear side airbags are available for the first time in the ŠKODA Octavia Combi. In addition, a precise chassis, a long wheelbase and a rigid and light body structure combine to ensure an extremely stable handling in ŠKODA’s most recent offspring.

The ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 offers variable torque distribution between front and rear axle, ensuring unmatched traction potential. A consequence is added safety in all driving situations. The car is the first ŠKODA to feature the fifth and thus most recent generation of the innovative Haldex clutch. This technology will react within milliseconds to any change in driving behaviour, guaranteeing excellent active safety even on difficult terrain. In addition, the third generation of the Octavia Combi 4×4 comes standard with an electronic differential lock (EDL), which acts as a transversal lock permitting stable starting-off even on surfaces with uneven grip.

New efficiency: CO2 emissions from 87 g/km

Engines newly developed for the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi are up to 17 per cent more fuel-efficient than the predecessor generation. The engine offering for the Octavia Combi includes four petrol and four diesel options. A broad engine palette runs from the 1.2 TSI/63 kW to the top option, the 1.8 TSI with 132 kW.

Except for the relevant entry-level petrol and diesel option, all engines now are available in a Green tec version with a start-stop system and recuperation. The fuel-efficient GreenLine version, a 1.6 TDI with 81 kW, consumes a mere 3.3 litres of diesel per 100 km. This is equivalent to CO2 emissions of only 87 g/km. In addition, ŠKODA is planning a natural-gas version for the Octavia Combi as well.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi 4×4 offers a choice of three engines (1.8 TSI/132 kW, 1.6 TDI/77 kW and 2.0 TDI/110 kW). Compared to the car’s predecessor model, fuel economy and emission figures have been improved by an average of 14 per cent. All come with start-stop and recuperation as standard.

Innovative comfort systems

The new Octavia Combi and the new Octavia Combi 4×4 feature an impressive comfort offering thanks to numerous electronic comfort systems. New functions such as hitherto available only in higher-segment vehicles. Technology which makes mobility safer and more comfortable. All comfort systems are available both for the front- and the all-wheel drive version.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi has an automatic distance control (Adaptive Cruise Assistant), which automatically maintains a pre-set distance to the car ahead. The new Intelligent Light Assistant will switch to high beam and back automatically, increasing comfort and safety in traffic. The Automatic Parking Assistant makes parking the Octavia in and out easier. Also available for the first time in a ŠKODA will be in the future traffic-sign recognition as part of the ‘Traveller Assistant’ package. Driving Mode Selection enables drivers to set certain vehicle driving characteristics at the push of the button.

The electric panoramic sliding/tilting sunroof is also available for the new ŠKODA Octavia Combi. In the Combi, it is made up of two parts. The front part can be tilted and shifted electrically, while the rear part is fixed. The entire roof module is made of tinted, heat-insulated glass and is 1,362 x 870 mm in size. The glass will reflect 95 per cent of irradiated heat and 93 per cent of irradiated light.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi’s tailgate can optionally be opened and closed electrically. In addition, the new Octavia Combi comes with KESSY (Keyless-Entry-Start-and-Exit-System), the automatic door- and ignition-lock system.

The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi impresses with an all-new generation of radio and radio navigation systems. Touch displays up to 8 inches in size with proximity sensors and swiping functionality will be available in higher-level systems, as they are in the Octavia limousine. The new CANTON sound system provides pure listening pleasure. It has been acoustically optimised for the passenger space.