Spied: Skoda Cheekily Disguises New Rapid SpaceBack as a Fabia Combi

While there are many questions surrounding the teaser photo of a new Rapid model that was released by Skoda earlier today, there's nothing of the sort with these spy shots, even though the Czechs and their German counterparts at the VW Group did try to fool us much in the same way they've done in the past with other vehicles Read more »

Which New Rapid Model is Skoda Teasing in This Picture?

Not to blast you with questions and mystery models today, but Skoda issued a cropped, teaser image of an upcoming, new edition of its fairly new Rapid compact car, which was originally launched in liftback (saloon) form last year.

The successful VW Group-owned carmaker from the Czech Republic posted the above photo showing the rear end of said Rapid on its Facebook page along with the following caption: "Wait a minute, could this be something completely new?"

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Skoda Rapid Gains Xenon Headlights in 2014 Model-Year Transition

The Skoda Rapid is not a car you buy with your heart, but it definitely appeals to the head. It doesn’t hurt the eye, having good proportions and clear lines, and a typical VW Group interior that places function over form. Now, the Czech automaker has updated the car for the new, 2014 model year, and the main addition is that instant kudos-builder - Xenon headlamps. Read more »

German Owner Reaches 1 Million Kilomter Mark in Skoda Fabia Diesel

Peter Kirchhoff from Sprockhövel near Wuppertal, Germany, has driven his 2000 Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDI 74 kW (101 PS) for 1 million kilometers (621,371 miles). As a true German, Kirchhoff meticulously planned the moment his Skoda’s odometer would show 999,999 kilometers so that it coincided with a trip to the Skoda Museum in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic. Read more »

New Skoda Octavia RS Spotted Out in the Open in Both Body Styles

Having driven many different Skoda Octavias over the years (even a first-gen vRS with the 5v/cylinder 1.8-liter turbo), I've grown in my own personal opinion from thinking it’s a cheaper VW Golf clone with few merits to now understanding its qualities and its appeal for others.

However, for me, the thing that made any Octavia cool was the fact that you could get it as an RS (vRS for those living in Britain). Even cooler was that from the very first generation onward, they also made it available as a hot estate, a real kudos-builder in Europe, where people just seem to like their kind.

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New President, New Car: Czech Republic’s Milos Zeman Is the First to Get the 2014 Skoda Superb

Miloš Zeman, the Czech Republic’s new president since March 2013, is the first to drive (or more likely, be driven in) the recently refreshed Skoda Superb. The Czech carmaker has offered the president a brand new Superb, which is the most luxurious and powerful car produced in the Czech Republic. Read more »

New Skoda Rapid Spaceback Allegedly Appears on Configurator

Earlier today, we shared the first photos of Skoda's new Octavia RS performance model that will be offered in Europe with a choice of diesel and gasoline engines, but it's not the only car we're expecting to launch this year from the VW Group's Czech subsidiary. Read more »

New Skoda Octavia RS Revealed, Offered With 217HP Petrol and 181HP Diesel Engines

The Skoda Octavia RS (dubbed vRS in Britain) has been a very eagerly anticipated car for 2013, and now it’s here, in all its subtle glory. It looks exactly like you would imagine it to, it has the 220 PS (217 hp) we were expecting it to have, and its exterior modifications over the regular Octavia are visible, but they are characteristically subtle, again, like you were expecting.

If you were anticipating it to reach 62 mph or 100 km/h in just under 7 seconds, your guess was spot on, as it does it only two tenths faster than that at 6.8 seconds. Top speed is 155 mph (248 km/h). These figures are for the 2.0-liter petrol engine, while the other (predictable) option, the 2.0-liter diesel with 184 PS (181 hp) is a bit slower, but a lot more economical. It deals with the benchmark sprint in 8.1 seconds, and its top speed is 145 mph or 232 km/h.

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Spaceback Illustrated: Skoda Rapid Realistically Rendered as a Station Wagon

While Skoda hasn't been extremely talkative about the future of the newly launched Rapid series that came to life with the notchback sedan model last summer, it has confirmed plans for a hatchback version. Another model believed to be under development is a longer and more spacious estate variant, rumored to carry the "Spaceback" moniker. Read more »

Skoda Rapid Estate or Possibly Next Gen Fabia Combi Spotted Virtually Undisguised

We always thought that an estate version of the Skoda Rapid was a very interesting proposition for its respective sector of the market, and we were expecting to see one very soon. Now, to be honest, we're not entirely sure that the car captured by the folks over at Nacho Fernández López’ blog is indeed the new Rapid estate or the next generation Fabia Combi.

The reason why we're leaving a question mark has to do as much with Skoda's one-style-fits all design strategy, as it has with the fact that this particular model featured a "Fabia" moniker on the tailgate. That's not to say Skoda may have placed the logo there simply to confuse us – which it did…

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VW Recalls 91,000 Vehicles in Japan Citing DSG Problems…Again

The reliability record of the VW Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) is taking a hit with a great deal of reports coming in from around the world for not behaving like they should, and dealers refusing to come up with a viable fix.

Apparently, these self-shifters just don’t cope with "hot and wet climate, extreme stop-and-go traffic as well as pollution typical of some Asian cities", says a report from Reuters, citing a company spokesman.

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Refreshed 2013 Skoda Superb from £18,555 in Britain

About two months before the facelifted for 2013 Skoda Superb liftback and Estate models go on sale in the United Kingdom on 17 July, the Czech automaker released pricing for its flagship model that starts from £18,555 (OTR) for the 1.4-litre TSI 123hp (125PS) S hatch and tops out at £34,430 for the 256hp (260PS) 3.6-liter V6 Estate with AWD and a DSG transmission. Read more »

Skoda Rapid Sport Concept Is Even More Aggressive in the Metal

Volkswagen has always tried to sell SEAT as its most sporting mainstream brand, but that hasn’t stopped the other group brand whose name begins with an “S” to inject a little bit of verve into its range with its line of vRS models. Now, Skoda has just revealed the Rapid Sport concept at this year’s GTI Meeting in Wörthersee, Austria. Read more »

Skoda Rapid Sport Concept Shows Us Its Behinds in New Gallery

Following yesterday’s release of the first rendering showing the Rapid Sport study that Skoda will display tomorrow at the 2013 Wörthersee Tour festival, three more sketches have surfaced on the Internet. Read more »

Skoda Planning New SUV Larger than the Yeti and 5-Door Rapid Hatchback

Skoda is likely to add a second SUV to its lineup, one that would be larger than the VW Tiguan-based Yeti. The second SUV is part of the VW-owned company’s plans to increase global sales by 50 percent over the next few years. Skoda’s target is to increase sales from just under a million last year to 1.5 million by 2018, when the VW Group wants to become the world’s largest carmaker.

A second SUV is seen as vital for the success of the brand's growth plan. While the Yeti is a successful model, the Czech carmaker believes there’s room for another, larger SUV. Although there are no details about the new SUV, it would likely be based on VW’s good-for-all MQB architecture.

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New Skoda Rapid Sport Concept Headed for Wörthersee

Skoda will bring a sporty interpretation of its newly launched Rapid sedan at the Wörthersee Tour tuning show this week. Dubbed the Skoda Rapid Sport, the study will show what a high-performance version of the compact sedan could look like.

As Skoda has only released a rendering so far, we have to take their word for granted when describing the car. Painted in the metallic colors “Corrida Red” and “Steel Grey”, the Rapid Sport rides on 19-inch alloy wheels that are painted in the same colors. The car has an aggressive front end with the redesigned bumper including a spoiler lip and a big air intake and the engine hood sporting two air vents.

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Skoda Details New Octavia Combi 4x4, Shares a Huge Gallery of Photos

Following the world premiere of the new Octavia Combi at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Skoda has released information about the 4x4 variants of its station wagon that are now fitted with an updated AWD system featuring the latest-generation Haldex 5 clutch.

Of the 124,500 Skoda Octavia estates sold last year in Europe, almost 20 percent were all-wheel drive versions, with the ratio being even higher in Scandinavian and Alpine countries (61 percent in Norway, 55 percent in Switzerland).

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VW Starts to Feel the Crisis: Q1 Profit Down almost 50 Percent

Although deliveries and market share are on the rise for the first quarter of 2013, Volkswagen Group posted a profit before tax of €2.7 billion ($3.53 billion), down from €4.2 billion ($5.5 billion) in the same period last year. Profit after tax was €1.9 billion ($2.48 billion), also down from €3.1 billion ($4.05 billion). Read more »

VW Group’s Offensive This Year Includes 60 New and Updated Models

Volkswagen Group wants to offset decreasing demand in Europe by rolling out 60 new and updated models before the end of this year. At the shareholders’ meeting in Hanover, Germany, VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said the company’s target remains unchanged – to reach the top of the automotive industry.

Europe’s largest carmaker is targeting higher sales and revenue this year with its revamped VW Golf and Skoda Octavia, plus the new Audi A3 Sedan, which targets especially the Chinese and U.S. markets. VW is hoping these new models will help make up for a slowdown in Europe, where demand is nearing the lowest point in 20 years.

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Scoop: New 2014 Skoda Octavia RS Trots Out Almost Undisguised

With the new iteration of Skoda's popular Octavia liftback and Combi (estate) already in the market, the Volkswagen Group's Czech division is now preparing the crown jewel of the series with the RS (vRS in Britain) performance models.

The first public appearance of the third-generation Octavia RS will take place at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, held from July 11 to 14, 2013, in the UK, but until then, we can show you the car through a very revealing set of spy pictures.

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