Fancy a sportier-looking Octavia without stepping all the way up to the RS? Skoda has you covered.
The company has revealed the Skoda Octavia Sportline, which is coming to Australia.
Skoda will introduce its 140TSI turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine to the redesigned Octavia in the third quarter of this year.
It will initially be offered in a special Launch Edition, which will become a permanent Sportline model in 2022.
Pricing is expected to be around the $40,000 mark.
The Launch Edition and Sportline’s 140TSI engine produces 140kW of power and 320Nm of torque, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Unlike the Karoq 140TSI Sportline, the Octavia 140TSI will be offered only with front-wheel drive in Australia.
Slotting in between the 110TSI Style and the RS, the 140TSI Sportline hatchback (‘Sedan’) and wagon will offer a range of styling tweaks inside and out.
The front spoiler, grille frame and rear diffuser are finished in gloss black, while the hatch adds a black rear spoiler.
Sportline models will offer a choice of three alloy wheel designs in Europe, all finished in black and measuring 17, 18 and 19 inches. We expect Skoda to only offer the largest wheels in Australia.
Inside, there’s a fabric finish for the instrument panel with strips of Piano Black trim.
The sports seats are finished in ThermoFlux upholstery, while there’s also a sports steering wheel with a Sportline badge.
Skoda has yet to release interior images for the Sportline.
Adaptive damping, which Skoda calls Dynamic Chassis Control, will be optional on European-market Sportline models but it’s not yet known whether that’ll be offered here.
Also not yet confirmed is whether the Octavia 140TSI will use a petrol particulate filter (PPF) like the Karoq 140TSI Sportline.
The redesigned Octavia range currently opens with the less powerful 110TSI models, priced between $30,390 before on-roads for the Ambition sedan and $36,190 list for the Style wagon.
The RS sits atop the range, priced at $47,790 list for the sedan and $49,090 for the wagon. You can view a full list of prices in our price and specs article.
The addition of the 140TSI powertrain is something the related Volkswagen Golf Mk8 doesn’t offer, though it’s available in the base model Passat 140TSI Business which costs $46,590 before on-roads.
The axing of the Ford Mondeo, Kia Optima and Subaru Liberty has thinned the amount of competition for the Octavia, while models like the Hyundai Sonata and Peugeot 508 are now available only in a single and more expensive trim level.
Circa-$40k pricing will put the Octavia 140TSI up against the less powerful, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder Mazda 6 Touring and hybrid Toyota Camry SL.
