Skoda Octavia

Those wanting inspired design or radical developments should look elsewhere. But buyers seeking a finely built and refined car will love the Octavia. Its many practical touches, spacious cabin and upmarket feel are at odds with the expected bargain pricing policy. A strong and worthy addition to the family market.

It was the car that truly transformed Skoda, and the model that set the precedent for the company's amazing resurgence over the past five years. So it's fair to say that the current Octavia will be a hard act to follow.

And here's the machine the Czech manufacturer hopes will prove a worthy successor to its much-lauded VW Golf-based predecessor: the all-new Octavia, which goes on sale in July. Skoda has taken no chances with this model. It's bigger, bolder and more sharply styled, but the traditional virtues of quality build, a refined and well made cabin and an inoffensive profile still ring true.

Underneath, the Golf MkV platform promises to deliver excellent dynamics and a decent ride. With prices expected to remain similar to current ones, the Octavia looks like it will be great value for money, too - although UK buyers will have to wait until the summer to discover exact costs and trim levels.

One thing's for sure, though - fans of the outgoing Octavia will not be disappointed. The newcomer has an upmarket, quality feel, and looks contem- porary and modern. At the front is a grille similar to that of the larger Superb, and a bulbous bonnet ridge. The rear end is conservative, but the smart C-shaped lamps are a neat touch.

Inside, engineers have applied a sense of function over form. The cabin is fairly plain, and the colours and fabrics of our test car were uninspiring - but you can almost forgive the dullness for the number of practical features. All models get coat hooks integrated into the B-pillars plus on-board tyre pressure monitors, while there's impressive storage capacity in the front.

Passenger room is greatly increased, too, with far better headroom and much more rear legroom. The Octavia's trademark huge boot is also bigger, with an amazing 560 litres of space with the rear seats up, or an estate-rivalling 1,350 litres with them folded.

We tried the 1.6-litre FSI - expected to be the best-selling petrol model. The 115bhp engine has already won praise in the Golf for its refinement, and in the Octavia it delivers an even more serene driving experience. In town, the car is near-silent, while even at speed there's little engine noise. The ride quality is as good as we expected, refusing to be unsettled except by really poor surfaces. And the electric power-steering works well with the chassis, delivering remarkable feedback.

Performance isn't great, yet it's swift enough. There's a reasonable amount of poke at low revs, but it lacks urgency at the top end. A more muscular 150bhp 2.0-litre FSI plus a 140bhp 2.0 diesel will hit showrooms in the autumn. Until then, though, the 1.6 FSI is our pick of the range.

The new Octavia brings nothing dynamic or exciting to the market, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. What it does is take the merits of the outgoing model and expand them into a bigger and better package - and given how successful the old car was, it's sure to be a winning formula.