Skoda Octavia - Practicality, comfort and boot space

In addition to the Octavia’s cavernous interior space, Skoda offers its ‘Simply Clever’ practical features which help ease the regular day-to-day issues motorists have to face. Little details such as an ice scraper located in the fuel filler cap, a ticket holder on the driver’s side A-pillar, an umbrella stored in the driver’s door and a handy AdBlue nozzle for diesel-powered cars, all make life just that bit easier.

There’s plenty of storage in the cabin, with the individual door bins capable of holding a 1.5-litre drinks bottle and the front central ‘jumbo box’ also available for keeping assorted items.

There’s a total of five USB-C ports in the Octavia – two positioned in the centre console, two in the rear and a final charging port located in the rear-view mirror, for those who want to top-up their dash camera battery. 

Size

The fourth-generation Octavia leaves a larger footprint than the previous model, with the hatchback being 19mm longer and the estate growing 22mm in length. Both cars are 15mm wider, too. 

Overall dimensions for the Octavia hatch are 4,689mm (length), 1,829mm (width, excluding mirrors) and 1,470mm (height). In comparison, the Volkswagen Golf is noticeably smaller at 4,396mm long and 1,789mm wide (excluding mirrors), although it stands a touch taller at 1,491mm.

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Leg room, head room & passenger space

Interior space is superb and the driver and front passenger won’t be left wanting for any extra room, while rear-seat passengers are equally well-catered for with impressive levels of knee, leg and headroom on offer. If you've only got two passengers in the back, then the centre-seat backrest folds down to reveal an armrest kitted out with a pair of cup-holders.

Boot

The Octavia’s boot is a thing of wonder, competing with cars from the class above and offering huge practicality. Overall capacity has risen by 10 litres to 600 litres, which is a considerable 220 litres more than you’ll find in the Golf. If you fold the rear seats there’s a 1,555-litre load bay with a useful flat floor, which helps when loading awkward items.

However if you do need even boot space than the regular hatch, there is an Octavia estate. It boasts a huge 640-litre load capacity with all five seats in place, and 1,700 litres of cargo space when you fold the rear seats down.

Towing

The Octavia’s practical appeal continues with its decent towing capability. The entry-level 1.0 TSI has a braked trailer towing capacity of 1,300kg, while the more powerful versions have a maximum towing weight of 1,500kg to 1,600kg.