We’ve finally got the all-new Skoda Octavia! It was supposed to go on sale in April this year, but that couldn’t happen courtesy of India going under lockdown. In its fourth generation, the sedan is available in two variants – Style and L&K (Laurin & Klement). The former costs Rs 25.99 lakh, whereas the latter wears a sticker price of Rs 28.99 lakh. The two differ only on the kit as both get the same powertrain.

Contrary to what we had guessed, the Skoda Octavia comes with the same engine-transmission combination as the one found in the Audi Q2, Skoda Superb and the Audi A4. That means a 2.0-litre TSI motor generating 188bhp/320Nm, and a 7-speed DSG to harness that oomph and feed it to the front wheels. As for the claimed mileage, it is 15.81kmpl.

Compared to the previous one, the new Octavia is longer and wider. That means more room indoors for both living and non-living things. The boot capacity, for instance, has gone up by 10 litres as it can gulp 600 litres of stuff. There are five colour options – silver, brown, white, blue and black. The first two are reserved for the dearer variant.

As standard, the Octavia comes with features like a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, two-zone automatic climate control, 17-inch alloys, auto-dimming IRVM and driver-side ORVM, cruise control and automatic headlamps and wipers. The L&K ropes in extra stuff such as hands-free parking, adaptive LED headlamps, side airbags for rear passengers, an 11-speaker Canton sound system, powered tailgate, wireless mobile charger and electrically adjustable front seats with memory function.

The new Skoda Octavia has one direct rival in India – the Hyundai Elantra. The Korean model offers more choice in the powertrain department. That said, none of its derivates is as potent as the Skoda Octavia. Besides battling the Elantra, Skoda’s latest offering will also try and lure customers away from similarly-priced SUVs. How do you like the new Octavia?