THIS year is the biggest in the 91-year history of Skoda selling cars in the UK, according to director Dermot Kelly. The much-talked about Octavia - the car which will finally bury the old Skoda jokes - will go on sale in Britain initially in hatchback form in June to be followed by an estate version in September.

The estate received its international debut at the show alongside the facelifted Felicia which was shown for the first time in both hatch and estate formats. In addition the company is moving into gas-powered vehicles and Kelly expects to have 15-20 gas-powered vans, Felicia estate and Octavia estate and hatchback demonstrators available in the third quarter of this year.

The Octavia straddles the lower medium and upper medium sectors and is likely to be launched with a choice of 1.6 101bhp and 1.8 150bhp petrol engines and a 1.9 TDi 90bhp engine, LX, GLX and SLX trim levels and prices from £11,000-£16,000.