BIGGER ASPIRATIONS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Skoda's fourth generation Octavia Estate continues to go large. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 56

Skoda Octavia Estate got a lot bigger in its third generation guise and became larger still in this more sophisticated MK4 model form. It's still great value for money, equipment levels are strong and it now holds up to 640-litres without having to fold the back seats. That's more than most pricier Passat-segment station wagon models.

Backgroundword count: 127

Do you really need a small estate car? The whole purpose of an estate car is its easy load lugging ability and to choose a small one is a bit like choosing a slow supercar or an ugly coupe; it pretty much defeats the initial point. But if you want a new car, you've to keep to a budget and fancy a station wagon over an SUV, going for a decently-sized Mondeo or Passat-class estate costs serious money these days. Which you might think would leave you needing to look at a late, low mileage decently-sized estate rather than something new. Before you do that though, check out the car we're looking into here, the latest MK4 version of Skoda's Octavia Estate. It might just surprise you.

Driving Experienceword count: 239

The powerplant range here has a familiar look if you're familiar with Skoda's borrowed Wolfsburg-sourced engineware. Volume sales are based around the brand's usual 1.5 TSI EVO 150PS petrol powerplant, which gets the brand's 'e-TECH'-branded 48-volt mild hybrid engine tech when mated to DSG auto transmission. Below that, there's an entry-level 1.0-litre three cylinder 110PS petrol unit, which in DSG auto form, also gets that mild hybrid technology. There's also a 2.0-litre TDI 150PS diesel engine, only available in DSG auto form. The top vRS sporting model offers two conventional units, a 245PS 2.0-litre TSI petrol powerplant and a 200PS version of that 2.0 TDI diesel, the latter available with the option of 4WD. Like its predecessor, this MK4 Octavia uses the Volkswagen Group's MQB front wheel drive and All-Wheel Drive platform, but in this case the revised version of it that recently debuted on the new-era MK8 Volkswagen Golf. Whatever flavour of Octavia you happen to prefer, it'll come with a fresh generation of drive assist technology. Previously, the optional 'ACC' 'Adaptive Cruise Control' system (now standard) merely braked and accelerated the car based around a pre-set speed. Now, it uses the car's front camera system, GPS data and a host of sensors to drive the car predictively. So when 'ACC' is set, the car knows in advance about bends, roundabouts and upcoming traffic flow, plus this Skoda will adapt itself to speed limits as you enter them.

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