The Škoda Octavia is a small family car (C-segment) produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have been introduced to date, delivered with five-door liftback or five-door estate styles only. The car is front engined and both front- or four-wheel drive are offered. Around five million units have been sold in its two decades of presence on the market. The Octavia is Škoda's most popular model; about 40% of all newly manufactured Škoda cars are Octavias.
The current generation is available in a wide range of derivatives, i.e. sporty Octavia RS, estate Octavia Combi, four-wheel drive Octavia Scout, frugal Octavia GreenLine and CNG-powered Octavia G-TEC.
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First generation (Typ 1U; 1996)
thumb|left|Škoda Octavia (pre-facelift)
thumb|left|Interior (facelift)
The first generation Octavia was released in November 1996 for the 1997 model year and was built at the modernised Škoda factory in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. This generation was made available in liftback or estate styles.
In the United Kingdom, sales began in 1998 and the mid-size car was a success, nearing the success of established large family car favourites such as the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra.
The first generation Octavia had a facelift in 2000 for the 2001 model year, and was still manufactured and marketed in some markets, even after the second generation was introduced in 2004. In Germany, and other parts of West Europe, as well as Asia, the first generation model was marketed as the Octavia Tour, while the newer model is marketed as the Octavia. In some markets, the first generation Octavia was still known as Octavia, and the newer model was referred to as the new Octavia, Octavia5 (Greece) or Laura (India).
In India, the Octavia was launched in 2002 and was an instant hit for its frugal engines and solid build. It became a huge success in India, selling 44,900 units.
Revisions to the facelifted model included independent rear suspension and revised interior.
The facelifted Octavia featured a 4x4 wheel drive version both for the estate and more popular liftback models, and used the Haldex Traction clutch, like other Volkswagen Group A platform based cars (Volkswagen Golf Mk4, Audi A3 and SEAT León Cupra R4). It had higher ground clearance and a bigger fuel tank carrying compared to the standard front wheel drive versions.
The 4x4 option was only available with the 1.8 T petrol engine, the 1.9 TDI diesel engine, or the 2.0 L petrol engine, all coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox, and with the 1.9 TDI-PD (Pumpe-Düse) diesel engine which came with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The other 6-speed manual model was the 1.9 TDI-PD , only available with front-wheel-drive. The length was achieved by widening the centre pillar, increasing space for the rear seat passengers.
Supposedly, Škoda delivered only 25 automobiles to the state administration, five of them in the facelifted version. All were hand-built and the factory sold them below the build price.