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The design of the new _koda Octavia is attracting a growing number of admirers - particularly amongst expats living in the kingdom - with a touch more dynamism added to its timeless elegance and informal charm.
The range also boasts advanced technology, plenty of room for passengers and luggage, outstanding drive properties and, as always, provides excellent value for money.
These benefits, which have so far attracted over two million customers worldwide, make the Octavia amongst the most successful models of the _koda range.
Jeffrey Barrett, general manager, Automotive Division of Ahmed Zayani & Sons WLL, said: "The new 1.6lit MPI Octavia is extremely popular amongst the Egyptian expat community primarily because of its extended service interval (every 15,000 km), fuel economy and safety features. Also, the vehicle can be re-exported to Egypt at any time and draws minimum customs duty.
"The Skoda Octavia is very popular in India and recently we have seen keen interest in the product by the Indian expat community too.
"The Skoda Octavia retails at BD6,850 and considering the features it carries, it is excellent value for money."
The appearance of the car is now more sophisticated, the lines have become more elegant and the front and rear of the vehicle have been redesigned.
The new features and layout of the interior emphasise even more the feeling of comfort and safety. The Octavia now offers a completely new generation of three and four-spoke steering wheels, with radio and navigation systems available throughout the model range.
The instrument panel is a great example of progressive, elegant design, well arranged with soft, touch-friendly surfaces. White LED illumination provides an elegant contrast against the black instrument panel while the traditional green under-lighting of the rest of the electronic components creates a sound combination which does not act as a disturbance when driving.
The new materials and colours of the seats and the lining of the door panels correspond to the most modern trends, as do the new decors of the instrument panel for each of the trim levels.
The technology featured in the new Octavia is amongst the most advanced found in modern cars. The new Octavia is available with five petrol and three diesel engines, and a range of manual and automatic gearboxes.
The Octavia has undergone a modernisation that dealers believe has given the most successful _koda model even more self-confidence and a new character.
A number of components in the car exterior and interior now offer increased comfort and improvements in handling.
The greater ease of control is quite certainly helped by new headlights, wing mirrors with a larger area and fifth generation parking sensors.
In the interior there is a new instrument panel with clearly legible white scales and depending on the level of equipment, for example, new climatic and climatronic air conditioning control dials with an electronic link and integrated switches for heating the front seats. The rear seats can also be heated - in this case the easy-to-use controls are located on the rear wall of the 'Jumbo Box' on the central console.
Passengers in the front and back seats will now enjoy the ride even more thanks to the spacious interior, as well as the new audio systems, including top-quality Amundsen and Columbus multimedia systems with a colour touch-screen display. Thanks to the MDI (Media Device Interface), equipment like the iPod and USB discs can be controlled directly using the control elements for the car radio or a multifunctional steering wheel.
The comfort of travel is also increased by new upholstery and a new design for the central part of the seats, harmonised with the other interior elements, including the decorative strips.
The new headlights are significantly larger and more dominant. They now reach to the sides of the body and give the front of the Octavia model an even more impressive and dynamic appearance. Xenon lights with turning modules can be fitted on request.
The luggage space in the Octavia model is one of its biggest advantages. Its volume is 560 litres in the liftback version and 580 litres in the combi version, for cargo and luggage.
After the rear seats are folded down, the space is enlarged to a remarkable 1,420 litres (for the liftback) and 1,620 litres for the combi.
