Skoda Octavia vRS review

Even the very tall will have no trouble up front in the Skoda Octavia vRS, and that’s still the case if you’ve ticked the box for the optional panoramic sunroof. There’s plenty of storage, with door pockets big enough to take a 1.5-litre bottle of water, plus two big cupholders, a capacious cubby under the central armrest and a useful shelf in front of the gear selector that’s perfect for emptying your pockets into.

Rear seat space has long been an Octavia speciality, although rivals have started to encroach upon its territory. A Honda Civic Type R, for example, is almost as spacious, while the Cupra Leon and Ford Focus ST are both better for rear head and leg room. You’ll find the vRS does have a rather wide rear bench, helping three adults to sit side by side more easily. To aid comfort, a central rear armrest is standard.

That rear bench has a conventional 60/40 split, with the armrest hiding a ski hatch for long, thin items to poke through. Even with the back seat up, the Octavia’s boot is one of the biggest in the class, and it’s bigger still if you opt for the estate. We do wish a variable-height boot floor was available on the hatchback, though, because the extended loading bay is anything but flat.

Inevitably, boot space is reduced significantly in the iV by the hefty battery pack it requires. You’re still left with a big, if shallower, boot that has some useful underfloor storage for your cables, and the higher floor reduces the loading lip and means there’s no step up from the boot floor to the folded rear seats.

As standard on the Skoda Octavia vRS, there’s a 12v socket, a pair of flip-down bag hooks and a couple of fenced-off areas that will prevent your de-icer and other boot clutter from sliding around, plus an electrically operated tailgate. Meanwhile, options include a space-saver spare wheel that sits under the boot floor and gesture-controlled tailgate operation for hands-free access.