Skoda Octavia review - Reliability and Safety

Skoda has a strong reputation not only for building reliable cars, but also for offering a first-class dealer experience. The brand consistently places well in our Driver Power satisfaction survey, while the Octavia itself has scored strong results in the past as one of the top compact hatchbacks in our rundown.

In our 2019 poll, the Octavia finished a solid 28th out of 100 cars, with only 12.4% of owners reporting a fault with their vehicle. Customer feedback also resulted in Skoda being voted 5th out of the 30 best UK manufacturers. Again, reliability was highly praised, as was practicality and running costs.

To round off its list of achievements, customers also voted the Skoda dealer network into 10th place - the best result of any VW group firm.

The Octavia has a five-star Euro NCAP rating earned in 2019. The Octavia 1.5 TSI estate model was used in the testing procedure, but the safety score also applies to the hatch. Standard safety kit on the Skoda includes tiredness recognition and seven airbags, but adaptive cruise and blind spot recognition are costly options.

Crew Protection Assistant is offered as a £445 safety option, working to prime the seatbelt tensioners and close the windows to prepare for an accident if the car senses an impact is imminent. Although we’re not sure the system will be to everyone’s liking, and even the brochure suggests ‘sporty drivers may like to desensitise the system’.

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There are up to nine airbags plus anti-lock brakes and anti-skid technology, and an automated parking system is available to reduce the likelihood of low-speed manoeuvring bumps.

Warranty

There’s nothing exciting to shout about on the warranty front, but given the Octavia’s reliability record that probably won’t be a cause for concern. You get the standard Skoda three-year/60,000-mile cover – but breakdown cover is included for that entire period too. If you want extended cover, you can purchase a five-year/100,000-mile package, but it costs over £500 for the two extra years.

Servicing

Skoda offers two servicing regimes for the Octavia. Private buyers are likely to opt for the standard schedule of 10,000-mile/12-month service intervals. High-mileage or business users might prefer a flexible plan based on the car’s onboard monitoring systems, which can stretch service intervals out to 20,000 miles or two years.

There’s a fixed rate service plan available for around £475 for three years.