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Skoda up!grades with five-door Citigo

On this side of the Atlantic, one Volkswagen division's new product may not have a significant impact on those of another. That's because the German auto giant's brands are kept quite separate in North America. Less so, however, back in Europe, where a new VW is likely to reappear in due time as a Seat or Skoda.
Case in point: the new Up! city car, which is also sold overseas as the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. And, true to form, with the Volkswagen brand having enlarged its city car to a five-door, its Czech cousin has followed suit.
And so, starting in May (after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show), European buyers will be able to get their hands on a five-door Citigo, offering the same 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine (in either 60- or 75-horsepower guise) as the Up, Mii and three-door Citigo. Details in the press release after the jump.

Skoda Superb Combi Outdoor is Czech for "Allroad"

The Škoda Superb Combi has picked up on the "Allroad" habit of its flashier brother, Audi. As is to be expected, though, in Škoda guise, the design-package makeover as applied to the Superb Combi Outdoor isn't quite so flashy. The ride height and suspension are unchanged, and there are no steel undertrays installed fore and aft. But there is "robust synthetic paneling" that runs all around the lower rim of the car, as well as a revised font bumper with fog lamps and a larger lower intake.
This is said to enable the Combi Outdoor to "hold its own even beyond paved roads," but we'd take that with a few grains of whatever the Czech word for "salt" is. It is available now with any engine and drive layout in the range other than the GreenLine. Scroll down for a brief press release, and check out its angles in our gallery.

Skoda's popular Yeti headed for a facelift

One of our favorite European runabouts is officially due for an update. Skoda designers and engineers are hard at work refreshing the company's Yeti, and our spy photographers spotted the updated vehicle out for testing. A new front fascia looks to be part of the package, complete with larger air inlets and a redesigned grille similar to what we've seen on the Skoda Rapid. Designers have also reworked the small crossover's headlights up front, while the rear now wears new taillamp arrays and and fresh valance. None of the changes are Earth-moving by any means, but they should help keep the well-received Yeti competitive until the next-generation comes along.
So far, there's no solid word on exactly what engine options Skoda will put under the hood, though with a range of fresh powerplants behind a number of the company's other models, the manufacturer could easily spruce up the option sheet.