» Get the best price from a Skoda dealer

Two cars start the ball rolling for Volkswagen's newly launched Czech-built model range. Skoda's Roomster is a small MPV-style family car positioned near the wild end of the quirky spectrum and the up-scale Octavia is located over on the mild side.

Both the Roomster and the Octavia had previously been announced as the ice-breakers in Australia (more here), but pricing and the composition of model variants had been a closely guarded secret -- until now.

The Roomster, which is built on a long wheelbase and offers versatile seating for up to five passengers, starts from $26,990 and offers three variants, a 1.6-litre petrol with five-speed manual transmission, the same car with a six-speed auto and a diesel variant with five-speed manual. All three variants are priced under $30,000.

Octavia comes in at just $10 under the $30,000 mark -- that's $29,990 for the entry-level Octavia Ambiente lift-back with the 1.9-litre TDI engine and five-speed manual transmission. The entire Octavia product line is bracketed within a $10,000 range, the top spec Octavia RS wagon slotting in at $39,490.

Octavia is available as a lift-back (hatch) or a wagon, in 'Ambiente', 'Elegance' and 'RS' levels of trim. Within these levels different drivetrain options apply.

The base Ambiente is only sold with a 1.9-litre TDI (turbodiesel) engine coupled to either a five-speed manual or a six-speed DSG transmission. An all-wheel drive variant is available in wagon form. This drivetrain option is also available in the Elegance wagon with the 2.0-litre TDI engine.

Octavia Elegance features two petrol engines and one turbodiesel. The 1.8 TFSI turbocharged petrol engine is matched to a six-speed manual and the 2.0-litre FSI naturally aspirated petrol engine is fitted as standard with the six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2.0-litre TDI turbodiesel engine fitted to the Elegance models is matched to either the standard six-speed manual transmission or an optional six-speed DSG transmission. As mentioned already, the wagon is also available in AWD form with the TDI engine driving through a six-speed manual transmission.

Topping the model range is the Octavia RS, which is sold in both lift-back and wagon versions with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine and six-speed manual combination.

All petrol engines are four-cylinder units with direct injection fuel delivery systems and the two turbodiesels (1.9 for Ambiente and 2.0 for Elegance) are also four-cylinder engines.

The Octavia Ambiente's 1.9-litre engine features common-rail induction and intercooling to produce 77kW of power at 4000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1900rpm.

For the Octavia Elegance, the base engine is the 1.8-litre TFSI petrol engine, boasting 118kW of power from 5000 to 6200rpm and 250Nm of torque from 1500 to 4200rpm.

In the same level of trim, the 2.0-litre TDI engine produces 103kW of power at 4000rpm and 320Nm of torque between 1750 and 2500rpm.

Naturally aspirated, the 2.0-litre FSI engine matched to the six-speed auto in the Octavia Elegance is good for 110kW of power at 6000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 3500rpm.

For the flagship Octavia RS, the 2.0-TFSI turbo direct-injection petrol engine develops 147kW of power through a range of engine speeds from 5100 to 5700rpm. Torque peaks at 280Nm between 1800 and 5000rpm.

Roomster offers two engines, a 1.6-litre petrol four and a 1.9-litre turbodiesel. The petrol engine is available with the standard five-speed manual or optional six-speed sequential shift automatic. For the diesel, the only transmission is a five-speed manual.

Power and torque figures for the two Roomster engine options are 77kW at 5700rpm/155Nm at 3500rpm (petrol) and 77kW at 4000rpm/240Nm at 1800rpm (diesel).

Standard features for the base grade Octavia Ambiente comprise electronic stability program, remote central locking, climate control, 15-inch alloy wheels with 195/65 tyres, electric windows, MP3-compatible CD audio system, multi-function leather-bound steering wheel and trip computer.

Moving up to the Octavia Elegance, the standard features fitted over the Ambiente specification are 16-inch alloy wheels, MP3-compatible six-stack CD audio system, auto-on/off headlight activation, rain-sensing wipers, electro-chromatic mirror and premium climate control.

The Octavia RS is based on the Elegance level, but adds 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/40 tyres, sports-tuned suspension, an alarm system and sports seats with sports instrumentation.

For Australia, Skoda reckons that the Roomster has but one competitor, Renault's Scenic. The Octavia may be cross-shopped against Mazda6 and Subaru Liberty, according to the company.

Pricing:
Roomster 1.6 petrol five-speed manual $26,990
Roomster 1.6 petrol six-speed Tiptronic automatic $29,290
Roomster 1.9 TDI diesel five-speed manual $28,990

Octavia Ambiente lift-back 1.9 TDI 5M $ 29,990
Octavia Ambiente lift-back 1.9 TDI 6A DSG $ 32,290
Octavia Elegance lift-back 1.8 TFSI 6M $ 30,990
Octavia Elegance lift-back 2.0 FSI 6A $ 33,290
Octavia Elegance lift-back 2.0 TDI 6M $ 33,490
Octavia Elegance lift-back 2.0 TDI 6A DSG $ 35,790
Octavia RS lift-back 2.0 TFSI 6M $ 37,490

Octavia Ambiente wagon 1.9 TDI 5M $ 31,990
Octavia Ambiente wagon 1.9 TDI 6A DSG $ 34,290
Octavia Ambiente wagon 1.9 TDI 5M 4X4 $ 35,490
Octavia Elegance wagon 1.8 TFSI 6M $ 32,990
Octavia Elegance wagon 2.0 FSI 6A $ 35,290
Octavia Elegance wagon 2.0 TDI 6M $ 35,490
Octavia Elegance wagon 2.0 TDI 6A DSG $ 37,790
Octavia Elegance wagon 2.0 TDI 6M 4X4 $ 38,990
Octavia RS wagon 2.0 TFSI 6M $ 39,490

The Carsales Network will publish our drive impressions of the Roomster and Octavia next week.

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