Skoda Octavia wins its third Red Dot Award for product design

The Skoda Octavia has once again received the renowned Red Dot Award for outstanding product design, marking its third such win. The car had won the award earlier in 2006 and 2017.

The all-new fourth generation Skoda Octavia impressed a jury of around 40 experts from across the world at the 65th edition of the Red Dot Award. This was also the Czech manufacturer's 14th Red Dot Award for its models. The official handover of the 2020 product design awards is scheduled to take place on June 22 during the Red Dot Gala event in Essen, Germany.

After winning the award, ChristianStrube, Skoda Board Member for Technical Development, said, “At Skoda we offer our customers outstanding value for money. This is reflected in our vehicles’ spaciousness and great everyday usability as well as a consistent design philosophy whose core elements are‘Crystalline’ and ‘Surprising’. Winning the Red Dot Award for the all-new Skoda Octavia is a very welcome confirmation of the great job our design team is doing."

Earlier this month, Skoda unveiled the all-new fourth generation Octavia by presenting the sporty RS version. This is the first RS with a hybrid powertrain. That is why the car is called Skoda Octavia RS iV, with the abbreviation iV that already distinguishes the electrified versions of the older sister Superb and the plug-in hybrid of the 204 HP Octavia, already available.

Skoda was scheduled to unveil the new generation Octavia RS iV at the Geneva Motor Show. But the event was cancelled in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

The 150 bhp 1.4 TSI and 115 bhp electric motor deliver a total power of 245 bhp and 400 Nm of torque: the transmission is the six-speed DSG automatic and the battery has a capacity of 13 kWh. According to preliminary data, the RS iV is able to travel up to 60 km in electric mode. Performance remains the centre of attention: the RS iV is in fact able to touch 225 kmph and progress from 0 to 100 kmph in 7.3 seconds.

See pics of the new Skoda Octavia RS iV here

The fourth generation Skoda Octavia is slightly larger and more spacious, while a lot going on in the interior with digitisation. It is slightly longer and wider than the previous generation. To put it in perspective: the Skoda Octavia is 41 cm longer than the platform-like Volkswagen Golf and 8 cm shorter than a Volkswagen Passat.

The Red Dot Award is among the most prestigious design accolades in the world. Composed of experts from around the globe, the jury brings together independent design professors, industry journalists and designers. This year, they judged each of around 6,500 submitted products live and on-site, based on criteria such as degree of innovation, quality of design, functionality, longevity and environmental impact. 2020 marks the 65th year in which the Red Dot Award is presented, as a global hallmark of outstanding product design.