• Lots of room for passengers
• Large boot with big hatchback opening
• Packed with clever touches

How much space is there?

The Skoda Octavia has traditionally offered almost as much space as a Volkswagen Passat space for less money than a Volkswagen Golf, and this fourth-generation model is no exception. This means a generous rear seat area, which you don’t always get in the family car class, as well as plenty of space for the driver and passenger up front.

For example, no direct rival comes close to the amount of knee room you’ll find in the back of an Octavia. In our testing we’ve confirmed a six-footer can sit behind another six-footer without any issues, and although shoulder room is tight for three across the back it is still more comfortable than non-SUV alternatives. Air vents, storage and USB C charging are all present and correct.

Being a Skoda, the Octavia is also packed full of ‘Simply Clever’ touches. To name just a few of these Skoda gives you an umbrella hidden in the door – just like on a Rolls-Royce – and there are optional winged head restraints in the rear that help passengers sleep comfortably by keeping their head propped up. New for the facelift is an optional storage box that can be added on to the back of the centre console.

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Boot space and storage

The luggage area is also the largest of all its comparably-priced rivals. The Octavia hatchback offers 600 litres of boot space with the seats up, and 1,555 litres with them folded. To put that into perspective, these numbers compare well with 640 and 1,700 litres available in the Octavia Estate. The VW Golf hatchback offers a modest 381 and 1,237 litres, for further context. The rear seats fold with a 60:40 split.

The cabin is well stocked with storage, too. There’s a large glove box, a hidden smaller box below the steering wheel on the side of the door, generous door bins and a centre console cubby. The front cupholders can be converted to a phone holder thanks to a slotted accessory, though the facelift also brings standard wireless phone charging beneath the infotainment screen that’s three times as powerful as before. At the same time a cooling system has been added that aims to stop your phone overheating – something we have experienced when testing the pre-facelift Octavia.

Is it easy to park?

The Skoda Octavia looks like a full-sized saloon out on the road, but it feels agreeably compact when you’re driving it. The view forward is good, although we have found the wide pillars sometimes obscure visibility in town driving.

Front and rear parking sensors are available across the range, while a rear-view camera is offered on most models. For the facelift there are improved automatic parking systems; opt for the DSG automatic and you won’t even need to touch the pedals while the Octavia slots itself into a space. Full remote parking is also due to become available later on.

View dimensions on our Skoda Octavia specs page

Safety

• Latest increases standard safety kit
• All models get LED headlights
• Five-star Euro NCAP rating

Skoda offers a large amount of modern safety assistance technology in the Octavia, with more now standard across the range – although this is in part due to the removal of the most basic trim level after the facelift. Features of particular note include the optional head-up display and smooth-acting adaptive cruise control, while standard anti-collision technology now includes Turn Assist, which stops you pulling out in front on-coming traffic.

All facelifted models get brighter LED headlights, with second-generation adaptive Matrix LED headlights fitted on higher-specification cars. Matrix LEDs typically improve night driving by varying the main beam to maximise visibility at all times – hopefully without dazzling on-coming traffic. We haven’t tested the new version yet but have spent plenty of time driving pre-facelift Octavias with this technology fitted. It works well.

There’s a driver’s knee airbag in addition to the more common front, side and curtain items. There are three Isofix points, two on each of the outer rear seats, one on the front passenger seat – though this isn’t always compatible with larger forward facing child seats in our experience due to the headrest.

Fundamentally, the Octavia is every bit as well equipped beyond the essentials as its VW Golf cousin. Skoda also makes it easy to tweak the active safety assistance via a menu that’s accessed by a button in the steering wheel. Here you can turn off the sometimes twitchy lane-keeping assist and the new EU-mandated speed limited exceeded warning. Skoda’s take on this is relatively subtle anyway, with a muted chime rather than the loud alarm deployed by some rivals we’ve tested.

Watch: Skoda Octavia Euro NCAP crash test video