Skoda has announced that the facelifted 2017 Octavia - revealed late last year - is on sale now, with a starting price of £17,055. The exterior changes on the Octavia are focused on the front end, where the car gets revised ‘split’ headlights that are now closer to the latest family look pioneered by the Skoda Kodiaq, and a neater lower bumper section with crisp horizontal lines designed to emphasise the car’s width. • Best family cars to buy now 10 The UK engine line-up will extend to a pair of petrol units and two diesels. The petrols are that 1.0-litre turbo with 114bhp and a 1.4-litre turbo producing 148bhp, while the diesels are a 1.6 and a 2.0 offering the same respective power figures. The Scout and vRS editions of the car get their own more powerful motors - a 180bhp 2.0-litre TDI on the 4x4 Scout is shared with the vRS, which is also available with a more powerful petrol motor. The turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder under the hottest Octavia's bonnet now produces 227bhp. No mechanical changes are listed for the regular Octavia, unlike the hot vRS model. The Octavia is still based on one of the longer versions of the VW Group’s MQB chassis, so while its wheelbase and overall dimensions are unchanged, it will still offer one of the largest cabins in the class. 10 The interior itself brings a major overhaul to the Octavia’s infotainment system - again influenced by the technology that’s being introduced on the Kodiaq. All of the systems offered - Swing and Balero, and the navigation-equipped Amundsen and Columbus - get capacitive touchscreens.

The range-topping Columbus’s display is now 9.2 inches, the largest screen ever seen in an Octavia; it offers a wireless hotspot and can be ordered with a SIM card module to share high-speed broadband across the car’s occupants. Later in 2017, the car is also expected to get the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instrument panel that we’ve seen on the VW Passat and various Audis. Features added to the Octavia line-up and spread across the range as a mix of standard-fit and optional items include a customised key that can store multiple driver preferences, a heated steering wheel, folding tables in the backs of the front seats and, in the estate, a removable torch in the boot. Ambient lighting is also added on top trims, while new cupholders are moulded to the shape of bottles allowing them to be opened with one hand. There are also new assistance systems, including a trailer assistant that will take over the steering when the car is reversing slowly while towing, and upgrades to the Octavia’s parking systems so they can now warn of oncoming traffic when reversing out of a space. The Octavia’s load bay - another of the car’s key selling points - remains pretty much unchanged. The hatchback offers 590 litres of space with the rear seats in place, although this can be extended to 1,580 litres by folding them down. The estate’s default capacity is 610 litres, rising to 1,740 litres; this car can also now have an electric powered tailgate as an option. 10 Order books for the new Octavia are open now, and prices have remained broadly in line with the pre-facelift model. Starting from £17,055 is the 1.0-litre TSI hatch in S trim with a manual gearbox - a DSG transmission is an extra £1,250. The 1.6-litre, 114bhp diesel starts from £19,145, also as a hatchback.