By Paul Gover.
Family motoring can be surprisingly enjoyable in the Skoda Octavia.
If you go all the way for the RS wagon, a car that picks up its roots from the benchmark Volkswagen Golf 8, the surprise grows and grows.
The Octavia wagon is really practical for family use, yet matches or betters a wide range of hot hatches including the Honda Civic RS and Hyundai i30N on the days when you want to have some fun.
Priced from $49,090 before on-roads, the Czech family hauler even undercuts the Golf GTI on price while delivering all sorts of excellent benefits for driving of any kind. The basic bottom line for the Octavia is an attractive $30,390 for the hatch and, at that price, it’s a surprise that more people are not considering the under-appreciated cousin in the Volkswagen family.
Skoda even reports fairly quick delivery times and many cars in stock at dealerships, where brands including Kia and Toyota have waiting lists that run into 2022 for their most-popular models.
The downside to the Skoda is remarkably small, mostly that it does not have the high-rider SUV body that’s so, so popular in 2021.
It can also be very noisy on some surfaces, which is down to grippy Bridgestone tyres that rumble and roar, and it takes time to learn your way around a cockpit that picks up the Golf’s latest infotainment system and switch strategy. It’s not bad, just different, although some people will find the way it operates – with almost everything including a confusing climate control package – operating through the classy touchscreen in the centre of the dash.
If you’re looking for old-school knobs to adjust the temperature or fan speed then don’t go looking in an Octavia.
Renewal of the Octavia range has brought a step-change in class and qualify for the car, which has always delivered more interior space and tail-end flexibility than expected. It’s one of those ’surprise and delight’ cars that shocks people – in a good way – when they decide to dip into a Skoda showroom.
The cabin in the RS wagon is fully loaded with a giant display screen, a flexible and adjustable instrument layout – complete with heads-up display – and seats which are comfortable and supportive. There are electric assists for the seats, powerful LED headlights with automatic adjustment, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
There is good news for families in the safety package, which starts at 10 airbags and runs to all the latest driving aids and automatic assistance. For people who enjoy driving, like me, it is relatively easy to mute the intrusive lane-assistance system for the steering.
The power pack for the RS is responsive from low revs, with a top-end turbo charge. The numbers from the engine are not huge, at 180 kiloWatts and 370 Newton-metres, but more than good enough for economical highway cruising and cross-country fun.
The engine sound is surprisingly un-Volkswagen, more like a Subaru WRX at times, with a syncopated chunk that could be affected by a system tuned for a bit of aural entertainment. Thankfully, there is almost none of the childish pop-bang exhaust antics of some compact performance cars – looking at you, Mercedes-AMG A45 and Audi RS3 – that get annoying very quickly.
There is a seven-speed DSG gearbox and front-wheel drive, with paddles for manual shifts, that works unobtrusively with swift shifts and a focus on high-gear economy.
Compared with an SUV, the Octavia wagon is easier to load – because it sits closer to the ground – and is very flexible and well finished. It can do anything an SUV can do in the ‘burbs and on the school run.
So, bottom line, the all-new Skoda Octavia is a car that deserves more attention and affection in Australia. When you go all-in for the RS wagon it just gets better.
SKODA OCTAVIA RS WAGON
Position: compact performance wagon
Price: from $49,090
Engine: 2.0-litre petrol turbo
Power: 180kW/370Nm
Transmission: 7-speed DSG, front-wheel drive
Safety: 5-star ANCAP
Plus: practical and enjoyable
Minus: noisy tyres, under-appreciated brand
THE TICK: yes
Score: 8.5/10
