Review: Skoda Octavia 1.6 TDI SE L

Not much has changed in the new Octavia, which is good. Shame about one of the changes that has happened though.

The Octavia is Skoda’s most popular model in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. This roomy front-wheel drive five-seater is about as sensible and easy to use a thing as you could ever hope to find in a Golf-sized package.

It may not set your trousers on fire with rampant desire, but for many, efficiency in the daily grind will be more than enough to endear us to it. To add extra sugar to the proposition, the Octavia has just received some small amends to its infotainment and equipment levels, and to its look inside and out, building on the model’s major revamp of 2013.

You get the same two-format range of hatchback or estate powered by the familiar choice of 1.0-litre and 1.4-litre TSI petrol engines, or 1.6-litre/2.0-litre TDI diesels. Livelier units will be appearing a bit later when the new jacked-up Scout and sport vRS models arrive.

The usual S, SE, SE Technology, SE L and Laurent & Klement spec levels carry on as before, with prices starting at £17,055. Every one of the new Octavias receives the latest infotainment system, bringing not just a smarter touchscreen but also new Apple CarPlay and Android Auto software right down to entry-level cars.

Even so, it’s likely that most UK buyers will consider SE as the realistic entry level. We’d actually recommend SE Technology as it comes with a good sat-nav and wi-fi hotspot capacity. Laurent & Klement range-toppers get an uprated 9.2in display and Canton sound system.

If it’s space you’re after, this Skoda is actually better than a Golf, thanks to the extra 50mm of length it offers between its front and rear wheels, and the extra 20mm of width it has between its rear wheels. Admittedly, this process of enbiggening has made the Octavia a more sober drive than the Golf. It will hum all day along any motorway you to put it on, generating very little stress (or, it must be said) much in the way of affection along the way.

You might be emotionally challenged by the most obvious stying change, however, and that is the bisection of the headlights. The idea is presumably to add some visual excitement, but its main achievement is to give the front end a fussily unbalanced look, in the same way that a similar exercise blighted Mercedes-Benz's W212 E-Class.

A quietly restrained re-drawing of the dashboard has been far more successful. It had to happen to accommodate the glossy new infotainment display, which loses many of its old buttons in favour of a decently intuitive and nicely responsive on-screen menu system.

The 113bhp 1.6-litre TDI and 148bhp 1.4-litre TSI we tried out were predictablly sanitary in use, providing discreet, friendly and slightly bland tractability. The 1.6 diesel should have been given a 6^th gear for the motorway, while the turbo petrol never really feels like it’s providing the advertised power.

The ultimate Octavia would probably have the optional adaptive dampers and larger touchscreen, but then if you ticked those boxes you’d be damaging the core blend of value and practicality. As it stands, it’s hard to imagine a more easy-going or more nailed-down tool for long-trip hackery. Best of all, if you’re sitting inside one you don’t have to look (and wince) at its lights.

Skoda Octavia 1.6 TDI SE

Price £22,485;
Engine 4cyl, 1598cc, turbocharged, diesel
Power 113bhp at 3250rpm
Torque 184lb ft at 1500rpm
Gearbox Five-speed manual
Kerb weight 1230kg
Top speed 126mph
0-62mph 10.1sec
Economy (combined) 67.3mpg
CO2/BIK tax band 109g/km, 21%
Rivals Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra

Tony Middlehurst is a writer for AutoCar.