Skoda Octavia Estate review

Skoda has carved itself out a comfy little niche over the past couple of decades. Its bargain-basement days are ancient history, and the Czech firm now has an enviable reputation for offering sensible, good-value cars that are generally far more capacious than their direct competitors. And what sums up that ethos better than the Skoda Octavia Estate.

It's a mainstay of the brand’s line-up and a model that has done much to lift the company’s image over the past few decades. In fact, the Octavia has become Skoda’s biggest seller, so it really is a big deal.

This latest incarnation sticks to the now-familiar formula of taking the underpinnings of the Volkswagen Golf, stretching the distance between the front and rear wheels to increase passenger space, and adding a bit more metal to the rump to make more room for luggage.

Buyers get to pick from a huge range of engines, including peppy yet frugal petrols, ultra-economical diesels and a plug-in hybrid that has a genuinely useful electric-only range and could also save you a packet on company car tax. There’s even a hot hatchback version called the Skoda Octavia vRS that we’ve given its own review – click on the link to read about that.

Of course, competition in the estate car class is fierce, with the list of direct rivals including the Ford Focus Estate, Toyota Corolla Touring Sports and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer. You might also be tempted by Skoda's larger Superb Estate, which isn’t a great deal more expensive.

So, how does the Skoda Octavia Estate stack up? Over the next few pages we’ll run you through what it's like to drive, how practical it is and how much it will cost you. And if at the end you decide it's the car for you, make sure you check out the deals available through our New Car Buying service.