The brand new Skoda Octavia is here, and it&rsquos a reason for all lovers of road-trips to rejoice. The third generation of the hugely popular car arrives with many great new features that will see this sedan emerge a winner yet again. What makes the new Skoda Octavia really stand out from the crowd is that it&rsquos a great travel car. And we&rsquore not talking other sedans. Even most SUV&rsquos would struggle to be as feature-rich and feature-smart. If you have to compare the new Skoda Octavia, it would be to top-end luxury SUV&rsquos, which are, of course, much more expensive.
So take a look at what makes the new Skoda Octavia the perfect travel companion.
The Skoda Octavia's smart features makes it perfect for hill drives[/caption]
Enjoy a great Hill Drive with the Octavia
If you&rsquore planning for a drive to the mountains, then the Skoda Octavia is the perfect car for you. The car&rsquos new smart features make it perfect for the task of navigating steep terrain and ensuring a smooth drive in ever-changing climactic conditions.
For starters, the car comes equipped with the Hill Hold Feature. It allows you to start the car while on an upward incline without having to use a handbrake to prevent the car from rolling backwards. What&rsquos more, the Hill Hold Control is activated automatically on any incline higher than 5%, whether you&rsquore driving the car forward or in reverse. This smart feature keeps the pressure on the brake system for an extra 1-2 seconds after you&rsquove released your manual pressure on the brake while on an incline.
The Hill Hold smart feature makes driving in the hills easier[/caption]
In the heart of natural beauty, you would do nothing to pollute your surroundings, and the high fuel efficiency and low emissions of the Skoda Octavia ensures that your car doesn&rsquot pollute either. The car features its third generation petrol engine in two variants, designed for use on the new MQB platform. This light 4-cylinder engine, in 1.4 TDI and 1.8 TDI options, as well as a 2 TDI turbocharged diesel engine version. These deliver serious power and torque, and an impressive fuel economy of 19.3km/l for the 1.4TDI petrol engine and 21km/l for the 2TDI diesel engine. These engines aren&rsquot just light and fuel efficient, but also reduce CO2 emissions. So go ahead and enjoy your drive in the beautiful hills with a clean conscience.
The new Skoda Octavia's green and powerful engine gives it an edge above the rest[/caption]
What makes the Skoda Octavia&rsquos power and features more amazing is that they outstrip the abilities of your average sedan, providing specs that you&rsquod find in SUVs twice its price.
The adventure&rsquos incomplete without a Skoda Octavia
Your life is incomplete without a jaunt into the unknown, your rucksack, mountain-bike and tent in tow. No don&rsquot bother with the SUV. What you need is the Skoda Octavia, the perfect companion for your adventure holiday. The biggest benefit of this is the amazing luggage space. The car comes with a boot capacity of 590 litres. This rises to a whopping 1,580 litres with the rear seats folded down. Talk about roomy, that is better carrying capacity than what even some of the top-end SUVs possess. You can safely carry everything you need. Then there are the new mud flaps that protect the chassis from damage caused by debris and stones. An adventure means low connectivity with the outside world. Which is why you will need the superior satellite navigation system that comes with the new Skoda Octavia. What&rsquos more, you can operate the infotainment system through your phone via MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Skoda Octavia's luggage space is a stunning 590 litres[/caption]
You may not know what kind of visibility conditions you may come up against but the Skoda Octavia&rsquos Adaptive Frontlight System will know what to do. The system is automatically activated by light sensors which switch on the headlight in low light conditions. The supremely versatile AFS headlight control system changes the light beam to react to different driving environments like Load, Rain, Steering Angle and Speed.
If you&rsquore taking turns driving, then you can use the 12-way electrically adjustable driver seat with 3 different seat and rear view mirror positions. This makes driver transitions a smooth operation.
With smart features like this, you don&rsquot need an SUV. You need the Skoda Octavia.
The new Skoda Octavia is perfect for long drives with the family[/caption]
Weekend Family Drives in style with the Skoda Octavia
Who doesn&rsquot look forward to a long weekend getaway drive with the whole family With so many amazing driving destinations around the country, just a few hours from your city, take the Skoda Octavia for drives to remember. Whether you&rsquore taking the Taj Expressway from New Delhi to Agra, or the NH-6 from Mumbai to Panaji , in Octavia, you have the perfect getaway vehicle. Make good use of the ample luggage space of 590 litres to pack all the essentials, so that nothing you need is left behind.
The IBuzz Fatigue Alert is the perfect companion for a long drive[/caption]
Long drives can be tiring affairs. To help with this, comes the Octavia&rsquos smart feature, the IBuzz Fatigue Alert. This assistant system evaluates data from sensors in the power steering to detect any tiredness in the driver. The car will accordingly ask you to stop and take a break on the colour Maxi DOT display. Isn&rsquot that useful There are more safety features in this sedan than you could have hoped for, like the airbag system&ndashwith front driver and passenger airbags, head airbags as well as front and rear side airbags for additional safety.
The Skoda Octavia's Airbag System ensures driver and passenger safety[/caption]
The AFS headlight control system switches on the right or left fog light separately, depending on the steering angle, or in the direction of the turn you&rsquore taking. This will increase visibility for you and help you avoid obstacles. The AFS also automatically switches on the Interurban Mode, illuminating both right and left lanes, when you&rsquore driving on long highways at night at 90km/h or above. There are also automatic front light illumination modes for speeds of 0-15km/h, 15-50km/h and 50-90km/h. Well, you could say that the car can pretty much do your driving for you.
This is especially true for the cruise control mode where you can maintain a pre-selected speed and increase or reduce speed through a smart button, and not use pedals. The Octavia can also park itself. If this makes you feel like you&rsquove got a Batmobile, you might not be wrong.
The Panoramic Sunroof in the new Skoda Octavia[/caption]
If the weather&rsquos good, roll back the panoramic sunroof and enjoy the fresh breeze. Using top of the line technology which would put even the costliest SUV to shame, the sunroof can be retracted or tipped up, depending on your mood. The tinted glass of the sunroof ensures lower light transmission and greater thermal permeability,
The customised Thermo-Electric Cooling Box keeps food and beverages fresh for long drives[/caption]
Long family drives also means much snacking, as well as robust use of the car&rsquos entertainment systems. In both cases, the Skoda Octavia&rsquos smart features have it covered. The glove compartment, when used with the AC on, can keep snacks and drinks cool and fresh. What&rsquos more, a customised thermo-electric cooling box can store more food and beverages and keep them very fresh indeed. So ditch that SUV, which won&rsquot be giving you any of these fun features that make driving a joy, and take the Octavia out
The new Skoda Octavia is the perfect sedan for a great urban drive[/caption]
A Night out on the Town with the Skoda Octavia
For a great Skoda holiday, you needn&rsquot even leave the city. Opt for a staycation instead in your favourite hotel, and hit the town dressed to the T in the über-stylish new Skoda Octavia. If looks could kill, then this luxurious sedan would slay them all.
The Octavia was always a good looking car, and the new design facelift has made it a stunning car. The strong and chiseled new angular look is a winner, starting with the new split-grill design up front. The edgy-but-timeless design aesthetic is highlighted by the stylish LED headlamp system, ambient lighting inside the car&rsquos interior (there are 10 colours to choose from), the upswept dynamic window line with its &lsquofin&rsquo effect, the stylish and the high-end taillights give the car an unmistakably premium feel. You&rsquoll be sure to turn heads with this car
The stylish LED headlights add to the design oomph of the Skoda Octavia[/caption]
In car entertainment systems are important, especially when you&rsquore club-hopping. Use your multi-functional steering wheels to play music with its built-in audio controls and Bluetooth. Use the SmartLink system for MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for a variety of hands-free mobile-related functions.
Use the great Infotainment System for a smart and stylish driving experience[/caption]
To find your favourite clubs and restaurants, use the touchscreen central infotainment system to display navigation maps and to control the music and other media inside the car. Even before you get to the club, you&rsquoll be carrying the club around with you
If you&rsquore out with friends, then make use of the snazzy dual-zone climate control smart feature with which you can regulate the preferred cooling for both the front and rear of the car. It also comes with a humidity sensor, which reduces windscreen misting.
You&rsquod be hard-pressed to get all these clever features even in top-end SUVs, and in terms of looks, the urbane, stylish and edgy new Skoda Octavia is the clear winner.
Skoda's 4 Year Service Care
With all these great features, and because of the sheer joy of driving the new Skoda Octavia, this car is meant to be driven, all the time if necessary. To help you with that, Skoda is offering a fantastic 4-year offer that covers a 4-Year Skoda Warranty, Skoda's any-time Road Side Assist and a 4-Year Maintenance Package.
The 4-Year Skoda Warranty is a promotional offer for all new buyers of the Octavia. From the date of purchase of the vehicle to 4 years/100,000km, you can enjoy Skoda's after sales services for a full two years more than what any other car brands offer. This covers rapairs for manufacturing defects related to the paint work and bodywork corrosion. What's more, this warranty is transferable to any subsequent owners for the duration of the policy.
The Road Side Assist offers reliable and secure roadside assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This covers mechanical/electrical assistance, flat/weak battery, flat tyres, fuel exhaustion, key replacement, breakdown/accident and the relaying of urgent messages.
The Maintenance Package, which is for 4 years/60,000 miles, covers all car-related maintenance at a fixed cost and uses genuine Skoda-approved parts and highly skilled technicians for car care. This too is transferable t new owners and all subsequent owners during the duration of the policy.
See a video of the car below
This story has been sponsored by Skoda.