Skoda Octavia

Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic SE L First Edition estate
“As a car for the rigours of the everyday, the new Skoda Octavia is well-suited, thanks to great practicality and a comfortable ride.”
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Model reviewed: 1.4-litre petrol/electric plug-in hybrid vRS iV estate
Score: 7 / 10
“It’s difficult to ignore the fact that the Skoda Octavia vRS iV doesn’t quite feel like enough of a performance-focused hot hatch to warrant the vRS badge. The powertrain’s character and the extra weight highlight the difference, if anything, between a fast car and a fun one.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre petrol automatic vRS estate
Score: 8 / 10
“We’ve yet to try the hatchback variant, but the latest Skoda Octavia vRS seems set to remain a left-field choice in the hot hatch market. It’s nicely finished, very practical and, while it’s not cheap, it is solid value.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel estate 115hp SE Technology
Score: 10 / 10
“We knew there was a five-star Octavia within the range – and this entry-level 2.0 diesel estate is certainly one of the picks of the entire line-up. It may be a base model, but the level of standard kit is very generous, while the diesel motor is smooth, punchy and incredibly fuel-efficient.”
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Model reviewed: vRS iV plug-in hybrid
Score: 7 / 10
“Much like the rest of the latest Skoda Octavia range, the vRS iV is an appealing prospect. But approach it from both a practical and a performance angle, and it demands too many compromises. There’s a cheaper PHEV and enthusiasts will be better served by the conventional non-hybrid vRS.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
Score: 9 / 10
“The Octavia has been refined in all the right areas without compromising on space, practicality and its great all-round usability. It may cost a little more to buy, but Skoda has remained focused in delivering an accomplished, versatile hatchback that is fit to take on the best in class.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel manual SE L First Edition liftback
Score: 9 / 10
“Key rivals have tampered with their winning formulas, but the latest Skoda Octavia is a great example of how to hone an already-successful product and just give people more of what it does well.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 9 / 10
“As an all-round, do-it-all family car, the new Octavia Estate is difficult to fault. Skoda has worked exceptionally hard to ensure the newcomer feels more premium and sophisticated than ever – and it shows.”
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Model reviewed: 1.4-litre petrol/electric plug-in hybrid iV SE L hatchback
Score: 8 / 10
“Private buyers will still likely be better served by a petrol version, but if the sums work for you then the Skoda Octavia iV plug-in hybrid is a car that asks for no major compromise in return. Indeed, it’s actually a better car for having less power than the vRS, and much better value, too.”
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Model reviewed: 1.4-litre petrol/electric plug-in hybrid vRS iV estate
Score: 6 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia vRS iV has the performance but not the chassis to go with it. Neither the Octavia nor the vRS at its best.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre petrol automatic vRS estate
Score: 8 / 10
“If you want a new Golf GTI in load-hauling form, this is about as close as you’ll get.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
Score: 8 / 10
“The appeal of the Skoda Octavia Estate continues to centre on its outstanding versatility, cleverly packaged interior and overall roominess, rather than its performance, driving appeal or dynamics.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“The new Octavia brings an interior that no longer leaves Skoda’s mid-sized model feeling quite so obviously placed on the bottom rung of the Volkswagen Group product line-up, and the car has swapped some utilitarian charm for an ambience that’s more traditionally alluring.”
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Model reviewed: 1.5-litre petrol manual SE L hatchback
Score: 8 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia is an excellent tool-car, decently refined, and easier on the eye than ever. For most owners, it will therefore feel like a four-and-a-half-star car. And yet, if you enjoy driving and want to feel some level of involvement, it’s more of a three-star car. Let’s settle on something in between.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic SE L First Edition estate
Score: 8 / 10
“Yes, it’s rather plain from an enthusiast’s point of view, but as a smooth, practical and competitively priced box-ticker, it hits its brief very convincingly indeed.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic Estate
Score: 9 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia estate feels solid and reassuring on the road, and occupants feel well insulated from the outside world. It offers plenty of space for five adults, and the luggage compartment is cavernous.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre petrol automatic vRS estate
Score: 10 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia vRS Estate is a brilliant car, because the old one was brilliant and all the good stuff has been carried over. The biggest and riskiest changes (plug-in hybrid version, more powerful diesel) are yet to come, but it’s encouraging to see that the simplest version is still hitting home runs.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“Other than the frustrating infotainment system – frustrating enough to lop off an entire usability star on our verdict – Skoda has pulled it off once again. The Octavia is still a no-nonsense family hatch that rides well, is pleasant to drive, delivers good value and is still as roomy as it always has been.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 9 / 10
“Skoda has managed to build on everything that was great about the Octavia in the first place with this new model. It’s now even more practical, well-equipped and impressively efficient, too.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
Score: 9.4 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia hatchback is more spacious, efficient and handsome than ever.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 9.4 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia Estate is one of the most spacious family cars on sale, and it’s now more desirable than ever thanks to a more stylish design.”
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Model reviewed: vRS Estate range
Score: 8.8 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia vRS Estate offers great performance, technology, space and choice”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia Estate offers huge bang for buck if you want outright space and practicality. Just don’t expect it to excite you inside, or on country roads.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
Score: 8 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia is Tardis-like for families and comes with great engines. It’s not the most inspiring to look at inside, mind, nor particularly fun to drive.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic SE L estate
Score: 8 / 10
“Tot up the list of standard equipment in the Skoda Octavia SE L and you have a very good value proposition. However, it’s the humbler trim levels that really deliver.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic SE First Edition estate
“Overall, the new Octavia feels and drives like a winner, but with three SUVs now in the Skoda stable, it will face a far tougher task to retain its position as the brand’s UK top seller. It has all the credentials to succeed though.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
“The Skoda Octavia continues to be one of the most practical offerings on the market.”
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Model reviewed: Liftback range
Score: 8.6 / 10
“Stylish Skoda Octavia offers acres of room and bags of tech for Ford Focus money.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8.6 / 10
“Skoda’s Golf rival is now level-pegging with the Volkswagen.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre petrol automatic vRS estate
Score: 8 / 10
“The generous equipment list, smart interior and copious amount of space all mean that the Skoda Octavia vRS is a car for all reasons, so the fact it comes at such an affordable cost – both to buy and to run – feels like a real treat. It may be more of the same, then, but that’s no bad thing.”
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Model reviewed: 1.5-litre petrol manual SE L First Edition liftback
Score: 10 / 10
“Skoda has managed to retain the old car’s utility while adding smart looks and an interior that combines sense and style. By comparison with the new Golf, the Octavia actually feels slicker, more user-friendly, more stylish, more comfortable, better equipped and more practical, all while costing less.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel automatic SE L First Edition estate
Score: 8 / 10
“Price notwithstanding, the Skoda Octavia is a very impressive piece of kit. The perceived quality of the cabin is top of the class and the dynamics are good, with a fine ride and much-improved handling.”
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Model reviewed: 2.0-litre diesel manual SE Technology estate
Score: 7 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia SE Technology is your classic fleet special company car. It’s no-frills, like a Holiday Inn or a RyanAir flight. Only comfier. The one to go for if you’re spending any time on a motorway is the 2.0-litre turbodiesel. it’s not what you’d call muscular, but it is quite possibly the most economical car Top Gear has tested in 2020.”
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Model reviewed: Estate range
Score: 8 / 10
“You don’t need a crossover. You just don’t. An estate like the Skoda Octavia is cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, better to drive, more economical and just as practical as most of them.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 10 / 10
“The Skoda Octavia offers generous space for occupants and a massive boot that dwarfs most competitors from the class above. It’s far more than just a big box on wheels, though; its plush interior, cosseting ride and frugal engines make it a fantastic car for covering big distances in.”
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