The Octavia shares components and engineering expertise with the Audi A3/A4, SEAT Toledo and VW Golf/Bora – which should put pay to any stale old jokes about the Skoda marque. The Czech car maker has hurtled up-market with these keenly-priced and well built medium hatchbacks and estates, which are essentially Volkswagens in all but name. These are family holdalls not status symbols.

In the image department, Octavia is a big step up for traditional Skoda buyers – but are the badge and the clever advertising enough to confer kudos in the car park?

Parkers top buying tips

As with all used purchases, do remember to get a car history check. It might just save you from an unpleasant surprise later down the line. Also, don’t forget you can use our valuation tool to get an idea of how much you should be paying for a car. You can also check our reviews section for more information about the cars you are interested in.