(Mon 25 Jan 10)

Interesting things are going on at the lower end of the Skoda Octavia range. First of all, the 105bhp 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine (whose first Skoda application was in the Yeti) has been added to the line-up, giving the Octavia hatchback a 0-62mph time of 10.8 seconds - not bad for such a small unit, albeit turbocharged, in such a large car - and combined economy and CO2 emissions of 49.6mpg and 134g/km. The equivalent figures for the Octavia estate are inferior to these, but not by much.

The 1.2 TSI engine can be specified with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG transmission. And that brings us to the other piece of Octavia news, which is that the same DSG is also now available with the 105bhp (yes, again) 1.6 TDI CR turbo diesel engine. As with the 1.2 TSI, the 1.6 TDI comes in hatchback and estate body styles and in the S and SE trim levels, though unlike the TSI you can also have an Elegance version.

Prices for the 1.2 TSI range from £12,935 for the manual S hatch to £15,995 for the SE DSG estate. The 1.6 TDI DSG costs between £16,495 (S hatch) and £19,460 (Elegance estate).

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