Octavia (1996), Octavia Tour (2004) - 1U

MY (Model Year) changes:

MY1997:

This was the first model year.

MY1998:

No information.

MY1999:

• Laurin & Klement luxury model:
  • Leather carpet and upholstery.
  • Heated front seats.
  • ABS
  • ASR
  • Driver and passenger airbags, side airbags.
• 1.4 litre 60 PS (44 kW) entry level engine, developed by Škoda.
• The red illumination of the instrument panel is green from now.

MY2000:

• ESP is serial equipment for 1.8T 150 PS (110 kW) gasoline and 1.9 TDI 110 PS (81 kW) diesel engines.

MY2001:

(lasts only to 04.2001.)

• Facelift:
  • New front and rear bumpers.
  • New front grille.
  • New headlights.
  • "Brilliant effect" rear lights: index light is white with coloured bulb inside.
  • New side protection stripes.
  • Drag coefficient (cW) value decreased from 0,31 to 0,30.
  • The chassis is safer now, shows less crash deformation because of the design changes on the front.
  • New carpets and upholstery.
  • New exterior and interior colours.
  • Re-designed front seats to have more leg space for rear passengers.
  • The dashboard that was available at the highest (SLX) level only now also installed into the middle equipment level cars. The original wide-curved dashboard is still part of the lowest equipment level and the special models based on it.
  • LX, GLX and SLX equipment levels re-named to Classic, Comfort and Elegance.
  • Engine choice: from 60 PS (44 kW) to 150 PS (110 kW) in gasoline and 68 PS (50 kW), 90 PS (66 kW), 110 PS (81 kW) in diesel.
  • CAN drive instrument panel with new design: numbers are outside of the scale now and written by the curve on the speedometer and rev counter. Fuel gauge and coolant temperature gauge scale gets numbered.
  • 2nd and 3rd generation immobiliser installed.
• Octavia 4x4 Combi is available with 101 PS (74 kW) PD TDI engine, it's coupled with 6-speed manual gearbox.
• Octavia 4x4 Combi is also available in Laurin & Klement level, with 150 PS (110 kW) turbocharged engine.

MY2002:

(from 05.2001.)

• MBA brake assistant is available. MBA helps to achieve maximal braking power in emergency braking situations.
• Mobile telephone holder is removed from the armrest box to the centre console of the dashboard.
• Navigation system is able to calculate with actual traffic situations when planning a route.
• Multi-function steering wheel is available.
• CAN convenience system is implemented.

MY2003:

• Passenger airbag can be deactivated with the ignition key. The switch is located in the glove compartment. A warning light indicates the OFF state of passenger airbag.
• Octavia RS is available with Combi body.

MY2004:

• 1.9 PD-TDI 130 PS (96 kW) engine is available with 6-speed manual gearbox.

MY2005:

No information.

MY2006:

• "Symphony" radio CD player replaces the radio cassette player as standard equipment.

MY2007:

• "Symphony" CD player is capable of playing MP3 music.
• New metallic colours:
  • From the 27th week of 2006. Anthracite grey replaces Graphite grey.
  • From the 27th week of 2006. Cappuccino beige replaces Sahara beige.
  • From the 43rd week of 2006. Satin grey replaces Stone grey.

MY2008:

No information. I could not notice any changes.

MY2009:

No information. I could not notice any changes.

MY2010:

This is the last model year and Škoda made some changes:

• Steering wheel from Superb 2 (and Octavia 2) without the "chrome smile".
• Rounded side mirrors.
• Lock on glove compartment door.
• Gear shift knob from Elegance.
• New colour: Arctic Green metallic (8B8B).

MY2011:

Škoda Auto has not provided officially any information about possible changes. Since the model is about to retire, maybe it'll not be produced with MY2011 mark at all, even if the production stops only in MY2011.