Passenger & boot space
How it copes with people and clutter
Front space
There’s plenty of space up front in the Skoda Octavia. A very tall driver will be able to get comfortable even with a head room-robbing panoramic glass roof fitted. Storage is better than in most rivals, too: each door pocket can take a 1.5-litre bottle of water and the cooled glovebox is big enough to keep your lunch fresh.
Behind the gearlever are two fixed cupholders that will keep your coffee-to-go secure and, ingeniously, can grip drinks bottles tightly enough that you can twist off the cap with one hand. In front of the gear selector is a handy tray that’s big enough for a large mobile phone to sit next to your house keys and wallet or purse.
A central armrest with two cupholders is standard on all models, and the rear door pockets are a decent size. Every model has a map pocket on the back of each front seat, along with a smaller smartphone pocket, plus sizeable rear door bins.
Seat folding and flexibility
In terms of its flexibility, the Octavia is pretty conventional by family car standards. The folding rear seats follow the usual 60/40 split arrangement (the Mercedes A-Class gets a more flexible 40/20/40 split).
We like the fact that they can be folded by levers in the boot, so you don’t have to open a side door before loading that bulky flat-pack furniture you’ve just bought.
