When Skoda started building cars under the Laurin & Klement banner in 1895, the focus was on exclusive cars for the wealthy. In time the cars would generally get smaller and cheaper and by the time Volkswagen bought Skoda in 1991, its cars were outdated with their styling and technical specification.
The arrival of the Golf-based Octavia in 1998 marked a turning point, but this wasn't to be a mere one-off, because the debut of the Polo-based Skoda Fabia in 2000 led to universal acclaim. The company has gone from strength to strength since then, with the excellent Skoda Superb, Yeti and Roomster.
