Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 TDI 2020 review

Skoda has aimed to make the fourth iteration of its best-seller even more versatile, refined and upmarket . Has it succeeded? Selling practical cars in significant volumes at reasonable prices is what Skoda does best. Nowhere is this more evident than with the modern-day Octavia, which has gathered more than 6.5 million sales worldwide across three model generations since being introduced to the Czech car maker’s line-up back in 1996.Over that time, the Octavia has regularly accounted for up to a third of production at Skoda’s Mladá Boleslav factory in the Czech Republic and a good deal of its profits as well – all of which leaves the new fourth-generation model with quite a lot to live up to. Well aware of what’s at stake, Skoda has defiantly risen to the challenge. Despite the ever-growing number of SUV models in the brand’s line-up, it’s clear that the Octavia still demands a great deal of respect among those holding the development budget purse strings. And it’s fully reflected in the attention to detail and depth of engineering displayed by the new model.Up close, there’s an appealing richness to the Octavia’s design that hints at greater maturity than with any of its predecessors. This is reflected in elements such as its bold new chrome grille, angular headlights, heavily contoured bonnet and deeply etched flanks, plus in Skoda’s claim that the car is up to 14% more aerodynamically efficient than its predecessor. As it has for the past 23 years, the Octavia offers a choice of two bodystyles: a liftback or an estate, as tested here. Both will be available from the start of UK sales, which has now been delayed until the second half of 2020, due to the transport restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but we expect the new Octavia Estate to start from about £22,000, with the variant driven here likely to come in at around £26,000.Underneath its sharply drawn exterior, the Octavia retains the versatile MQB platform that it first adopted in 2012 and is now used extensively across the Volkswagen Group – albeit in a lightly modified form, with added rigidity and stiffness to its hot-formed steel-and-aluminium structure.The Octavia retains the 2686mm wheelbase of the car it replaces but, in a move aimed at providing greater interior accommodation and more load-carrying space, the estate has grown moderately; length is up by 22mm to 4689mm, width is extended by 15mm to 1829mm and height has risen by 3mm to 1468mm.The retention of the MQB platform means many of the hard points of the third-generation Octavia are also carried over to the new model, as is the electromechanical steering system and the suspension, which uses a combination of MacPherson struts up front and either a torsion beam or multi-link arrangement at the rear, depending on the model, but all with detail changes aimed at making the car more comfortable.Overall, there are four different chassis options, including the top-of-the-line Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) with Driving Mode Select system fitted to our test car. Together with a general 10mm lowering in ride height, this brings adaptive damping and a range of different driving modes that allow you to alter the characteristics of the steering, damping and throttle mapping.Yet while the mechanical basis remains much the same, Skoda has mirrored the developments brought to the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf, alongside which the Mk4 Octavia was conceived, by providing the car with a reworked electric architecture. With this comes more advanced active safety systems, including optional adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance with level two autonomous functions, as well as matrix LED headlights.In a bid to provide the new car with the same broad appeal as previous iterations of the Octavia, Skoda is offering a wide range of powertrains. These include two turbocharged petrol units, a single diesel in three different states of tune, a compressed natural gas (CNG) powerplant, a pair of mild hybrids and, in keeping with recent developments at the company, a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid. They come mated to a standard six-speed manual or optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and front-wheel drive or optional four-wheel drive on selected models.The variant driven here, the front-wheel-drive 2.0 TDI, uses the latest evolution of the Volkswagen Group’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which now powers all diesel Octavia models, with 148bhp and 265lb ft of torque. Among its developments are new pistons and conrods – both of which are aimed at providing it with added refinement. In addition, there are two catalytic converters featuring a twin-dosing urea injection system that’s claimed to reduce NOx emissions by up to 80% compared with earlier incarnations of the engine, providing it with Euro 6d-Temp compatibility. Inside, the Octavia has taken a clear step upmarket and in doing so exposed itself to a whole new group of potential customers who seek premium brand values, equipment and technology.Whether this will alienate its existing buyer base remains to be seen. However, the shift in emphasis is quite marked, as exemplified by the decision to provide the Octavia with expensive-looking chrome trim elements and optional ambient lighting throughout the cabin.