2018 Skoda Octavia facelift
When you think of an exciting and daring car company Skoda probably isn’t at the forefront of your thinking. Just look at the Skoda Octavia for example, this is a car that’s been around for what seems like an eternity. Although, the car in our photo is the 2018 facelifted version don’t expect Skoda to rock the boat because they’re just not daring enough. But why fix something if it’s not broken?
It’s at the front of the Octavia where you’ll see the biggest change. They’ve split the headlights and given it what we can describe as a bit of a strange look. However, there are LED daytime running lights and for the first time LED headlights. Turn your attention to the back and you’ll see that they’ve added new light here too.
When you sit inside this car you’ll find that it’s pretty much identical to the 2013 Octavia. In fact, the only real difference is on the facia where there’s now a one-piece glass screen where on the old car you had physical buttons down each side. The car we looked at for this short review includes the larger 8-inch touchscreen with in-built WiFi and sat nav. The top of the range cars have a 9-inch screen where the entry level cars have the 7-inch version. All have the usual Skoda operating system which works absolutely fine. It can hook up to your phone, the sat nav is nice and crisp and the graphics all look very good. The whole setup works very nicely even if you’re left with some really unpleasant finger marks. The only other key difference inside, and you’ll only notice this if you’re a real Skoda buff, are the ventilation controls. These are now surrounded and covered in shiny piano black plastic. It’s a small thing but it really does help to give this cabin a tiny lift and make it feel a little more modern. Elsewhere there’s no change whatsoever. You still get some cup holders in the central console as well as the optional phone holder. The door bins are large enough to fit a big bottle of water and the glovebox is a decent size too.
The model range is still pretty much the same. The entry level S is very well equipped coming with 16-inch alloy wheels, an 8-inch colour touchscreen with smartphone connectivity, LED daytime running lights and a DAB radio. The SE trim is probably the pick of the bunch as you get dual-zone climate control, a driver fatigue sensor, cruise control, parking sensors and some extra practical touches such as more storage and height adjustable seats with lumbar support. The SE Technology trim gives you sat nav where SEL trim gives you part-leather seats and full LED headlights. The Laurin and Klement trims provide added luxuries like full leather upholstery. The RS models get a raft of extra sporty styling and equipment.
It’s in the back seats where you realise just why the minicab trade absolutely love the Octavia. This is because it’s a relatively small car but the interior space is absolutely massive. You can really feel this spaciousness in the back seats where average sized adults will have loads of leg and head room. You can fit three people in the back, at a push, but you won’t be squabbling for foot room at all because whilst there is a high central transmission tunnel the foot-wells are actually very wide. There’s no armrest in the model we tested however there are easily reachable IsoFix points which is pretty good for child seats. The doors also open very wide so if you are looking for a small family hatchback then the Octavia should probably be a car that’s right at the top of your list.
Head around to the boot and it’s here that the Skoda Octavia really is in a class of its own because the boot is absolutely massive. Just to compare, there are 590 litres on offer here where a Volkswagen Golf will give you just 380 litres. Not only is the Octavia’s boot is just so much deeper than the Golf but there’s lots of clever little touches in here too. For example, if you lift up the boot floor then you can spec this car with a full size spare wheel where you just can’t really do this on most cars nowadays. If you need even more space then you can just fold down the rear seats. The only negative is that there is quite a step between the back of the seat and boot floor. However, this really is the only niggle in what is a hugely practical boot.
Choosing which engine you want in you Octavia is pretty straightforward. There’s a 1.0 litre 3-cylinder petrol and a 1.5 turbo. There’s also a 2.0 litre turbo petrol with a DSG automatic gearbox while for diesel lovers there’s a 1.6 and 2.0 litre – and it’s the 1.6 that we’d recommend. The VRS comes with a 2.0 litre petrol and two power outputs or a 2.0 litre diesel. The car we tested has the 1.0 litre TSI petrol engine which is a tiny little engine. It’s only got three cylinders and a power output of just under 115 brake horse power (bhp). This car can actually get from 0 to 62 miles per hour (mph) in 10 seconds which is pretty decent. The best thing about it though is that it will return, in the real world, in the high 40s and low 50s mpg-wise (miles per gallon). Another great thing about this engine is simply how quiet and refined it is. Three cylinder engines always carry a thrumming noise and has a very distinctive character for noise. However, in this car it’s just so quiet. While the petrol engines are all fun for some drivers running costs are the main priority. So, it’s the 1.6 diesel with the DSG automatic gearbox that’s the most frugal. Skoda claims this will get you 70 mpg and just 1.05 g/km (grams per kilometres) of Co2.
Handling-wise, the Skoda Octavia is absolutely fine, it’s not brilliant and it’s not awful either. Whilst this car may be based on the VW Golf and share the same mechanicals it has to be said that the Golf has slightly crisper steering and the chassis feels a little more agile and a tiny bit more fun to drive on a country road. The Octavia however feels a lot softer and a lot more as though Skoda has slackened everything off a little. This is absolutely fine as the steering steers well enough. It’s not brimming with feedback but it’s perfectly accurate and adequately up to the task. Again, the gearbox is perfectly fine and slips through gears as easily as you’d want it to. The brakes are “perfectly fine” and so the story goes on. The Octavia is up to the job and is how can we say….“perfectly fine”.
Unfortunately, the facelift hasn’t done anything to inject some excitement to the Octavia. However, if you were expecting it to then the Octavia probably isn’t the car for you. In the world of family hatchbacks this car is right at the top of the class in terms of value for money and dependability. Other cars may be more fun and flash but few are as capable. If you’re interested in new or used Skoda Octavia cars for sale then take a look at our wide selection by heading to DesperateSeller.co.uk today!
