Skoda Octavia Estate review

Hands up if you're under the impression that Skodas look a tad dull? Well, you may have had a point, but with the latest version of the Skoda Octavia Estate, the company's certainly injected some visual pizzazz. We refer to the Octavia's controversial four-headlight, front-end design, and we'll leave you to work out if it's simply fabulous or a bit frumpy.

Beyond its face, the current Octavia Estate has stayed broadly the same since its launch back in 2012. That's not a negative though, because we've always rated it as one of the most practical budget estates out there.

There are plenty of rivals for you to consider, everything from the Seat Leon ST, and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer to the pricer Volkswagen Golf Estate. While they are all fine cars, they don't match the Octavia's load-lugging capabilities, plus the Octavia goes further than many rivals by offering an off-road focused all-wheel-drive Scout variant.

But is its supreme load-lugging ability reason enough to buy the Octavia Estate? Read on over the next few pages to find the answer, and we'll also let you know which engines and trims are best, and what options are worth adding.