• Huge boot remains a selling point
• Spacious for rear passengers too
• Lots of Simply Clever touches

How much space is there?

There’s a vast amount of passenger space in the Skoda Octavia Estate, especially for a car of its size, and that remains its strongest selling point. None of our testers had any complaint about the about of head, leg, or shoulder room in the front, so pretty much anyone should be able to get comfortable.

It’s a similar story in the back. Our tallest testers had sufficient room behind their own driving position, helped by the particularly generous legroom – from the crop of rivals, only the Peugeot 308SW runs it close. The Octavia Estate also accommodates three adults in the back more comfortably than any comparable car. That’s all true of the Octavia hatchback, but the Estate’s longer roof creates some useful extra headroom as well.

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Back seat passengers won’t feel like their sat in a wheelie bin, either – that’s the impression you can get in the likes of the Kia Ceed Sportswagon and Toyota Corolla Touring Sports. There’s loads of Skoda’s Simply Clever features available including phone pockets on the back of the front seats, a tablet holder, retractable sunblinds and a neat storage tray that attaches to the back of the centre console.

Boot space and storage

The Octavia Estate has always been the most practical option in its market sector and the current model is no exception, with 640 litres of load space with the rear seats in place. That’s more than the much bigger Audi A6 Avant, let alone any of the Octavia Estate’s direct rivals – the Ford Focus Estate has 575 litres, the Vauxhall Astra Sport Tourer musters 597 litres.

Fold the back seat down and there’s 1,700 litres of space, or enough to fit a small wardrobe. The boot has a false floor to make it level with the seats backs when they’re folded. But they don’t fold completely flat, which might matter if you need to carry anything that’s long or delicate. There’s a small loading lip to get past, as well. Some models have a fold-down front passenger seat – useful for really long loads – and you’ll find an extra storage area under the boot floor that’s a useful place to put things you need to keep in the car.

That space can also swallow the load covers when you’re not using them. Skoda offers a large range of accessories to enhance the load space, stopping things moving around while you drive or simply improving organisation. We’ve tested a lot of them and found they’re as well put together as the rest of the car, and thoroughly thought through.

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The Tip-To-Close function on the electrically closing boot lid (where fitted) shuts it with a mere tug, making life easier it you would struggle to reach the button. In-cabin storage is good, too, including plenty of useful cubbies (some hidden) and large door bins.

Is it easy to park?

The Skoda Octavia Estate is one of the larger cars in the compact estate sector, at 4.7 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. But it’s still not that big in the grand scheme and benefits from large windows and door mirrors that make it easy to judge where its extremities are. Add in light steering and it’s pretty easy to manoeuvre. Rear parking sensors are fitted to all models, SE L and higher trim levels also have front sensors. Cameras are available as well, including a 360-degree system.

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Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP rating
• Lots of driver assistance tech included
• New tech protects cyclists and pedestrians

Car safety experts Euro NCAP awarded a full five-star rating to the Skoda Octavia range when it was assessed in 2019. It garnered a strong set of marks in each area of safety that’s put to the test and, while the procedures have got tougher since, it should protect you and your family very well in a crash.

All models have seven airbags and LED headlights, advanced Matrix LED adaptive headlights are available high-grade trims. A load of active driver assistance systems are fitted as well including (depending on model):

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Traffic sign recognition
• Exit Warning system – warns if anything is approaching from behind when a door is opened
• Side Assist – blind spot monitoring
• Cross traffic alert
• Collision Avoidance Assist – steers the car around obstacles in an emergency
• Predictive Cruise Control – uses cameras and sat-nav data to adjust the adaptive cruise control
• Lane-keeping assist
• SOS call button

A number of these systems – including the driver attention monitor and speed limit warning – can be turned off via a shortcut button on the infotainment system. We like how easy it is to do, as they can be somewhat overbearing.

Three sets of Isofix child seat mounts are fitted to the front passenger seat and outer rear seats.

WATCH: Skoda Octavia Euro NCAP crash test video