Skoda Octavia Estate boot space, practicality and safety

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• Huge boot remains a selling point
• Spacious for rear passengers too
• Lots of Simply Clever touches

How much space is there?

Overall room is the strongest point of the Skoda Octavia Estate. Passengers are treated to lots of head- and legroom front and rear, as well as a bright and airy cabin. The cabin design is conventional aside from the infotainment screen and touch-sensitive controls – and it’s well trimmed with tasteful materials that are well screwed together.

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The front seats are inviting and comfortable, and it’s easy to get into a good position regardless of your size. On top of this, those sitting in the back are very well catered for. There are phone storage pockets on the front seatbacks and are a raft of other comfort options, including the sleep package (two larger headrests and a blanket), retractable sun blinds and child safety locks that can be operated electrically from the driver’s seat.

Boot space and storage

The Octavia Estate has always been one of the most spacious vehicles in its class and often those a size above, particularly in terms of boot volume. This continues with the fourth-generation model, coming in at 640 litres with the rear seats in place and 1,700 litres with them folded; surpassing the BMW 5 Series Touring in the process. The boot has a false floor (not on iV plug-in hybrid versions, though), while the electric tailgate gains a Tip-To-Close function, meaning a gentle pull will make it close, rather than having to push a button. Finally – and this is a big one for parents – there are now sensors to operate the keyless open and close system in all four doors.

Practicality-wise the gargantuan rear legroom is unchanged in the plug-in hybrid iV, while the boot is slightly smaller as the space under the floor is taken up by the battery and a cable storage slot. In reality this isn’t the end of the world as the Octavia’s boot starts off so large anyway, so this reduction in volume means it’s merely average for this size of car, rather than compromised, dropping from 640/1,700 litres to 490/1,555 litres seats up/down.

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Something Skoda has been doing for years is including handy little objects in hidden areas – most notably an ice scraper in the fuel filler flap and umbrellas in the front doors. Well, the former now includes a tyre tread depth gauge and you can choose a snow brush for one of the doors instead of a brolly.

Is it easy to park?

While the Skoda Octavia Estate is one of the larger cars in the compact estate sector, it benefits from large windows and door mirrors to make it easy to judge your dimensions. Add in light steering and engines that respond quickly, and it’s pretty easy to manoeuvre.

Rear parking sensors are fitted as standard on all models, while moving to a higher-spec SE L sees front sensors added, too. If you want a rear-view camera, it’s only available as an option on the vRS.

Safety

• Lots of driver assistance included
• LED lights standard, optional matrix LEDs
• New tech protects cyclists and pedestrians

Euro NCAP tested the Skoda Octavia Estate in 2019, where it earned a full five-star rating. This score applies to all versions, too, since the standard estate was tested, and covers the iV plug-in and vRS variant – the Estate’s score also applies to the Octavia hatchback.

The Octavia comes with everything you might expect to find. LED lights are standard front and rear on all models and are bright enough to offer good visibility ahead, with the option to upgrade to adaptive Matrix LED units. Other gadgets include a head-up display for the first time, as well as adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitors.

Here’s a full run-down of the Skoda Octavia Estate’s safety kit:

• Collision Avoidance Assist – steers around pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles to avoid a collision
• Turn Assist – detects oncoming traffic when turning left at a junction
• Exit Warning system – warns if a vehicle or a cyclist is approaching from behind when a car door is open
• Local Traffic Warning function – automatically warns of hold-ups in the immediate area
• Area View system – 360-degree overhead camera
• Side Assist blind spot warning
• Predictive Cruise Control – uses camera and sat-nav data to adjust the cruise control speed, works down to a full stop, even on cars with a manual gearbox
• Crew Protect Assist – prepares the car for a head-on or rear-end collision, or even a roll, by tensioning the front seat belts, and closing the windows and panoramic roof
• Multi-Collision Brake – stops the vehicle after a collision to prevent rolling

WATCH: Skoda Octavia Euro NCAP crash test video