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Skoda Octavia Estate Review

Sam Worth
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What's good?

– Tidy interior
– Lots of space
– Economical engines

What's bad?

– Bland-looking
– Not many optional extras to add

What's the score?

7/10

Overview

The Skoda Octavia is a family hatchback, which is based on a VW Golf and Seat Leon, as they both share the same chassis and engines. But when it comes to styling, the Octavia isn’t a car that stands out, unless the taxi light is switched on.

What you’re paying for is a budget Golf, with a roomier body and less refinement. But is there anything wrong with that? Well, no, not really. There’s nothing wrong with cheaper, more practical Golf. If you want something a bit more exciting, then there’s the vRS model, which is the equivalent of a Golf GTI.

Drive

The Octavia offers two diesels, a 1.6-litre, and a 2.0-litre, and three petrol’s, a 1.0-litre, 1.5-litre, and a 2.0-litre TSI. Most of them being available with either a five or six-speed manual, and a DSG auto.

Performance from the 1.6-litre TDI I tested produces 144bhp with 184lb-ft, and 0-62mph in 10.1 seconds. Like I say, the Octavia isn’t built for performance, it’s for being a decent economical and practical car, which it is. You should get around 60mpg from it, with the help from the Eco driving mode. There’s also the Normal, Comfort, Sport, and Individual modes. It has a five-speed manual, which feels good and has precise gear changes. The gear stick does seem to stick up quite high, but not enough to ruin the feel of the drive. As for the seven-speed DSG auto, well, it’s one of the smoothest gearboxes around.

I personally wouldn’t go for the 1.6-litre TDI I had. Instead, I’d recommend the 1.0-litre 113bhp TSI, which may have more of a kick to it than you’d think. If you really want a diesel, get the 2.0-litre for decent fuel economy and an extra 37bhp to play with.

As for the ride quality, the Octavia is fine for everyday use and has a good driving position. The handling is alright, but it lacks the sporty fun feel the Seat Leon and Ford Focus both have.

Interior

The interior feels study, with dark grey materials scattered in areas. Nothing tremendously exciting. Am I complaining? Of course not. It’s half expected from a budget Golf, and to be honest, there’s nothing wrong with it.

Fixed to the dash is an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen which is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And it’s fair to say that the system itself works well. It has reasonably good graphics and I never found it complicated to use.

There’s a sensor under the screen which detects movement and brings up more info on the screen when you’re about to operate it and hides the info when you’ve finished fiddling. Neat. However, there’s one teeny-tiny issue. Whenever you touch the screen, regardless of those OCD-clean or greasy McDonald’s chips fingers of yours, it leaves fingerprint marks all over the screen, which can be a nuisance.

Let’s move onto what the Octavia is known for, practicality. You can no doubt say the Octavia is the champion in its class. Even though I reviewed the estate version, which has 610-litres with the seats up and 1,740-litres with them down. The hatchback body style still offers the best boot size space in its class, with 590-litres and 1,580-litres with the rear seat area. It’s not just the boot space, in the middle there’s a good amount of space for a long journey, too.

Verdict

The Octavia hatchback starts at £19,710 and £20,910 for the estate. As for the model I tested, the SE Technology, it starts at just under £24k. To sum the Octavia up, it’s a very practical and roomy car. The only drawback is it’s looks, as I wouldn’t call the design inspiring. However, there’s a new Octavia, that doesn’t feature its distinctive looking headlights and is available to buy now.