ŠKODA Octavia Soleil Ready to Shine

ŠKODA have been on the road since the late 1890’s, its heritage right there with the pioneers of motor motion. They’ve certainly come a long way since, their addition to the Volkswagen Group of vehicles in 2000, having been in joint partnership with them since 1991, accelerating their image and model production in equal measure.

I was impressed with their Octavia, and while I was not around for the first one in 1959, it would be safe to say that my sitting into the 1996 model, it left a positive impression that has lasted since.

Fast forward to 2019 and Ray Leddy, ŠKODA Ireland’s Head of Marketing & Product, is beaming with the introduction of their latest Octavia variant, the Soleil, derived from the ŠKODA brands association with the internationally celebrated Cirque du Soleil circus.

Ireland has certainly given the ŠKODA Octavia its vote of confidence, with 18,000 vehicles delivered to customers in the last five years. Its availability in hatchback and Combi estate, has also been successful, the brands strong residuals an indication of its popularity.

Mention Octavia and owners will very probably go the boot to unveil enough space for it to be declared an apartment in D4. This latest Octavia Soleil retains the Octavia’s generosity of space with 590 litres at your back.

Engine choice is from a turbo charged line up of TSI petrol engines including the 1.0 TSI 115bhp and a 1.6 TDI 115bhp, available manual and DSG automatic transmissions.

Tech, connectivity and infotainment is accessed via their large colour touch screen systems. The Soleil comes with the 8” Bolero unit with SmartLink featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allowing connectivity to the latest mobile devices.

Specification levels on the 2019 Octavia Soleil includes, LED headlights with AFS and headlight washers, half leather interior, heated seats, darkened rear SunSet glass and ŠKODA Care Connect all featuring as a package for the first time in the Octavia.

This latest Octavia wears the Soleil plaque located on its front wings, as it sits on 16” Velorum alloy wheels unique to it.  Prices start from €24,700 for the 1.0 TSI 115bhp, and our man Ray expects the ŠKODA Soleil to account for up to 90% of its Octavia sales to the end of the year.    

Ray further commented, “The Octavia Soleil is now available to test drive at your local ŠKODA dealer with vehicles available for 192 July delivery. To celebrate the launch of the Octavia Soleil, ŠKODA dealers will be providing 0% finance on all Soleil models up to the end of July. The Soleil is a limited-edition Octavia with limited stock, so early discussions with your local ŠKODA dealer is recommended”