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Performance – The Skoda Octavia is offered with three engine, two petrol and one diesel. The entry level petrol engine is the Jetta borrowed 1.4-litre TSI which comes mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. This engine produces 140 PS of power between 4500 – 6000 RPM and a torque of 250 NM between 1500-3500 RPM. Fuel efficiency of this motor as per ARAI standards is 16.8 km/l. The 1.4 TSI engine is available in Active and Ambition trims only.
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The second petrol motor is targeted towards petrol heads and will please enthusiasts with its power and torque. The 1.8-litre TSI motor produces a brilliant 180 PS of peak power between 5100–6200 RPM and 250 NM of torque between 1250–5000 RPM. Skoda claims that this is not the same 1.8 TSI seen in the Laura but is from a new series. We had a short stint in this powerful version of the Skoda Octavia and were impressed. Mated to this engine is a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The beauty lies in the fact that the torque is available at the lower end of the rev band. The engine performs strongly in the mid and high range and the DSG gearbox works well. However, once you floor the throttle, it does take a while for the DSG to react, which is strange since the DSG works perfectly in other VW cars. In fact, the other journalists on the drive faced the same issue with all the DSG equipped cars. Leaving that aside, it works beautifully.
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You can drive it in ‘D’ for city runabout and can move it into ‘S’ for some fun. In the ‘S’ mode, the upshifts and downshifts are slick. In this mode the car will hit the rev limiter around 6100 RPM before shifting up. If you are looking for some serious action, slot the gearbox into the tiptronic mode and it’s game on. Floor the throttle and this motor will churn up adrenaline at good pace. On a long stretch this version of the Skoda Octavia hits 200 km/hr comfortably and the engine note is absolute nirvana. However, since this model is aimed at the enthusiast, Skoda should have offered paddle shifts on the steering wheel. The top end Jetta gets it and we reckon the Octavia should have got it too. We did not get a chance to test its real world fuel efficiency but this engine delivers 14.7 km/l as per ARAI. This version is only available in the Elegance trim.
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We spend the maximum time in the 2.0-litre TDI powered Skoda Octavia. This is going to be the favourite engine amongst customers and will account for maximum volumes. This is the favourite engine for most VW group companies in India as well. Right from the Audi A4 to the Volkswagen Jetta, the 2.0 TDI engine is the maximum used engine in our country. The 2.0 TDI engine has been reworked to meet emission norms and produces 143 PS of power at 4000 RPM with 320 NM torque from 1750–3000 RPM. This engine comes mated with both, a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed DSG transmission. The manual and automatic return a fuel efficiency of 20.6 km/l and 19.3 km/l respectively as per ARAI test standards. This engine is available in manual guise in the Active and Ambition trim while the automatic is available in the Ambition and the Elegance trim.
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Our test car had the manual transmission on board. The gearbox is super slick and gearshifts are butter smooth. The clutch is not too heavy either and this makes it drivable in crowded city conditions. The ratios are sorted for both city and highway driving styles and sixth gear is tall allowing the Skoda Octavia to stretch its legs on the highway. There is some initial turbo lag till about 1700 RPM after which this engine revs freely up to the redline with strong mid and high range. In spite of keeping the engine on the boil, the display still showed an average fuel efficiency of 14.2 km/l, which is exceptional for a vehicle of this size and class. We were unable to test the real world fuel efficiency and top speed on our drive.
Head over to the next page to read about the Skoda Octavia’s dynamics and our verdict on the car.
