Skoda introduced a facelift for the Octavia’s second generation in 2008 and kept the sales figures on top of the compact-segment charts.
While the automotive industry was on the brink of a collapse due to the world financial crisis, Skoda introduced the facelifted version for the Octavia. It was its best selling products, and the carmaker was ready to be hit by a big drop in sales. But the marketing department said that a facelift could smoothen the drop and the engineering team speed-up the facelift introduction.

There was a new front fascia for the Octavia. It featured bigger, swept-back headlights and a broader grille with chromed surroundings. The front bumper was modified as well and showed a wider grille at the bottom and two side-pods for the newly designed foglights.

Inside, Skoda increased the material’s quality and introduced a new infotainment system on the center stack. The interior was roomy, with plenty of room for five adults and one of the biggest trunks in the compact-segment. With all the seats up it provided 605 (21.4 cu-ft) liters of trunk space, which could have been extended up to 1655 liters (58.4 cu-ft).

Under the hood, Skoda installed a wide range of engines, similar to the ones offered on the sedan version. For selected versions, a 7-speed automatic (dual-clutch) gearbox was available at extra cost.