What will they cost?

New, the Leon had the slight edge in purchase price over the Leon, even taking into account any Target Price discounts. Now, we’ve found that the two cars – being a similar age and in the same condition – are available for roughly the same forecourt price. Both are now at a very tempting price point and offer a lot of practicality and flexibility for the money.

Our two test cars were registered before the major road tax band changes in April 2017 and, as a result, it’s the Leon that will cost you slightly less in tax. However, all our figures suggest that these cars will cost a very similar amount to run and both have good reputations for reliability.

The Leon will require servicing every 12 months or 10,000 miles, with costs alternating between £160 and £270. You also need to factor in a new cambelt every five years or 80,000 miles – this costs in the region of £500 once you've allowed for a new water pump at the same time.

Servicing the Octavia is cheaper than it is for many rivals and there is a fixed-price used car scheme, under which you’ll currently pay £149 for a minor service (10,000 miles or every 12 months) and £269 for a major one (every 20,000 miles or 24 months).

One thing to bear in mind is that all diesel Octavia Scouts have a timing belt that needs to be replaced every four years at a Skoda dealer and, as with the Leon, it makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time.

It’s worth noting that, of our two test cars, it’s the Octavia that comes with more standard kit. While both get USB input, Bluetooth, a multi-function steering wheel and climate control, the Octavia also gets sat-nav, a DAB radio, automatic lights and wipers and lane-keep assist.