2020 Skoda Octavia Wagon Spied With Minimal Superb-Inspired Camo

2020 Skoda Octavia Wagon Spied With Minimal Superb-Inspired Camo
About a week after the debut of the Superb's mild mid-life facelift, Skoda dared to roll out a thinly disguised all-new Octavia prototype wearing the skin of its slightly bigger brother. Naturally, this wasn't enough to fool us.

2020 Skoda Octavia Wagon Spied With Minimal Superb-Inspired Camo

All generations of the Octavia have been very successful, though the last one surprised us with its resilience in the face of the crossover invasion. Still, Skoda saw fit to move the design of the practical Combi/wagon further into the sporty territory, just to make sure we don't confuse it for a boring family car.

This prototype reveals many incremental upgrades that should convince many current Octavia owners to swap. For example, the hood is now a big clamshell, ending over much smaller fenders and a low, sporty 3D grille with the radar dome in the middle.

The sloped roof might suggest trunk space and rear headroom weren't the top priorities. But we know the new Octavia is supposed to be bigger, and the current Mk3 model is already a class leader, so expectations need to be reset. However, we can't make excuses for the lack of fixed roof rails or the narrower mirrors.

Powertrain-wise, the prototype we see here is FWD, though the revised platform will still allow AWD to be added to some models. Some engines will be carried over, like the 1.0 TSI and 1.5 TSI, while others will be all-new.

For example, the Greenline will have a new 1.5 TSI with 130 HP that uses a 12-volt electric system for normal car functions and a 48-volt system for the hybrid energy-recuperating green stuff. In addition, we predict not one but two plug-in versions.

One will have the 210 HP Golf GTE configuration and the other a 245 HP power setup that will either be added to the Octavia RS family or replace it to some degree. As for diesel, it should play a role. Rumors talk about a 1.5 TDI with AdBlue being under development, though it probably won't be ready in time for the launch.

Instead, the solo Octavia TDI will be a 150 HP 2.0-liter at first, with the more powerful version expected in about a year. The safe bet regarding its output would be 190 HP, though we'd love to imagine a 204 HP monster of an RS TDI.

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