Skoda Octavia Estate review

This generation Octavia courted controversy with its minimalist interior, which favours touch sensitive buttons and sliders over conventional knobs and buttons. The first thing to know is, none of that has changed post facelift.

There are no dedicated climate controls, for example. Changes to temperature, fan speed and air distribution all have to be made through the main infotainment display, which is now 13 inches across as standard. But it’s not alone here: both Volkswagen and Seat have adopted similar minimalist approaches.

And the Octavia has it better than a Golf Estate or Leon Estate, because Skoda has kept a strip of buttons for quick access to heated front/rear screens, plus climate, settings and drive mode menus. And as part of the facelift it's redesigned the menu structure so it's more intuitive and offers customisable, easy access shortcuts.

Build quality is as robust as you’d expect, although we did notice a vibration on the touchscreen that caused a bit of a rattle on rougher roads. This isn’t something we’ve seen on other Skodas of late, but it’s something to look out for.

What else is new?

This was already an attractive looking cabin, but Skoda has given it a slight refresh with updated upholstery, trim and door panel designs. It certainly feels more attractive than a Golf - with its acres of shiny black plastic which are designed to make the VW’s twin screens look like one - and more sophisticated too.

The 10.25in digital instrument cluster has also been subtly redesigned and there’s faster USB charging, while ChatGPT will soon be integrated into Skoda’s Digital Assistant, Laura, thus making her more intuitive and bringing the ability to answer general knowledge questions. Based on our experience elsewhere, we’re happy to wait.

Ok Laura, but is it practical?

Boot space remains 640 litres with the seats up (versus 600 in the hatch), or 1,700 litres with them folded down. That’s much more space than you get in a Focus Estate. More than you get in any other small estate, actually.

And because it’s a Skoda it has all the ‘Simply Clever’ features. For example, there are flip-out hooks in the boot to keep your shopping from sliding around, storage for umbrellas in the front doors, an ice-scraper under the fuel filler cap, small secondary pockets on the backs of the front seats specifically for your kids’ smartphones, and a USB-C port above the rear-view mirror for plugging in a dash cam.

Anything else I should know?

Yes, cars equipped with speed warning and lane keep assist automatically turn themselves on every time you start up, as per the law. Groan. However, you can turn these off with a few flicks of the scroller on the steering wheel and it’ll be muscle memory in no time. Good on Skoda for not burying the off switch in the touchscreen.