Review: Skoda Octavia

A few weeks ago I was given the wonderful opportunity to work with ŠKODA, who sent me a beautiful Octavia Estate for half term week.

ŠKODA have come a long, long way in recent years and their cars are very popular now throughout the UK car market.

This is the car we were sent:

The children were pretty pleased with the room they had in the back of the car – for two children in car seats there is plenty of space. I will say that this car is designed for a family of four rather than five as the middle seat in the back is quite small. Three car seats would be a struggle, though that seems to be quite the norm in any family car. I think as long as you were very clever about who got strapped in first you could probably manage to get all three in – think of it as a kind of logistical game!

We set off to nowhere in particular and tested out our new ride. The gear changes were smooth, the drive was so comfortable, the acceleration was gentle but quick. I really couldn’t fault the Octavia.

I did stall the car several times at traffic lights, testing out the auto start/stop function. That’s something that I didn’t get on with very well but I’m convinced that’s because I was getting into this fancy pants new car from a 7 year old automatic. With a bit of practice I’m sure it would’ve been fine. Truth be told, it’s all the more reason for me to buy a newer car (hint, hint husband).

The biggest draw to a car for me is how much space there is for me to utilise. The boot of this car was perfect.

Unfortunately, the dog was as excited as me about the size of the boot and jumped straight in with her dirty paws before I could capture the pristine view! I guess really that the dirt doesn’t detract from the point being made – look at the size of that space!

Inside the car was very clever – the build-in sat nav got me to my friend’s house without any wrong turns and we also went to digger land without having to stare at a tiny phone screen for directions. It made a welcome change.

Also, the kids got to choose their own music because I was in a good mood. Crystal clear display with as much information as you could possibly need about a CD (and more).

I made great use of the brilliant bluetooth hands free system, which of course makes life a lot easier. It was easy to link my phone to the car and the voice command feature was great – the car understood ‘northern’ perfectly.

The dual temperature controls were great on a long journey because I’m always freezing and Ted is always too warm, so it was perfect that we could choose our own temperature. ŠKODA also sent us a hot/cold cupboard that runs off the car’s power. It was too big to have it comfortably in between the boys but was perfect in the boot. We took a packed lunch to Diggerland with us and our food was perfectly chilled at lunch.

The rest of the interior was pretty snazzy, too! You really feel the luxury of the car as you’re driving, and more importantly you feel as though you and your family are as safe as can be in a sturdy, strong vehicle like this.

I would, of course, recommend this car to absolutely everyone I know (and anyone I don’t know!) but I think the biggest recommendation is via action rather than words. With this in mind, my husband and I actually went and part exchanged our car for a 2007 ŠKODA Octavia Estate the very next day! It isn’t nearly as fancy as the one we had for review purposes, but I know I’m going to love it.

For smaller families, or those without a mental dog, there’s also the ŠKODA Yeti, which I believe to be just as appealing!

Some quick stats for the Octavia:

Oh – and by the way … ŠKODA Octavia won Which? Best Family Car in 2014 AND 2015 – so it isn’t only me who loves it!

Disclaimer: We were sent this car free of charge for a week in return for our honest opinion.

*This post first appeared on Grumpyishmum.co.uk in December 2013.*