Skoda Octavia 1.8 SLXi Turbo

FIRST, some phonetics: Octavia is pronounced Oc-tar-via, not Oc-tay-via. And while we are on the subject, Skoda's other new generation car, the Fabia supermini, also gets an elongated vowel to make it Far-bia, not Fay-bia or Fa-bia. You won't catch any of Skoda UK's sales and marketing people lapsing into the clipped vernacular, nor are you likely to hear anything but an upmarket 'ar' from the manufacturer's franchised dealers, all of whom have been undergoing intensive training in how to sell to corporate buyers.

Skoda is determined to dramatically improve its share of the UK business car parc and it now has the Volkswagen Group products with which to achieve this. But it's going to take a lot more than websites like Fleet NewsNet drumming in the fact that Octavia is a fine car sharing a platform, engines, technology and reliability with Golf and Audi A3 before Skoda can shake off the dust of Estelle and Rapide and expect the marque to be one to be desired rather than unfairly derided.

What Skoda needs is backsides on the driving seats of its medium five-door hatchback and estate range, and plenty of time to allow the positive feedback to cut its way through British prejudice.

And a halo effect: enter the Octavia range-topper, the turbo-charged, 20-valve 1.8 SLXi - a 150bhp Skoda with leather upholstery, heated seats, alloys and 0-62mph acceleration in 8.5 seconds. It isn't cheap at ú17,299 on-the-road, but there's a fair chance it will cause enough of a stir to draw attention to the Octavia specification and price list, to which entry is ú11,499 for the LXi 1.6 complete with three years/unlimited mileage manufacturer's warranty, three years/45,000 miles free servicing and three years' AA roadside assistance with European cover.

The VW Group engine range comprises 1.6 (75bhp), 1.6 (101bhp), 1.8T (150bhp) and 2.0-litre (115bhp) petrol units, a 1.9 diesel SDi (68bhp), 1.9 TDi (90bhp) and 1.9 TDi (110bhp) units, the latter likely to be upgraded to the 115bhp pumpe duse. Trims are LX, GLX and SLX.