If you want a premium-feeling car with a huge boot but don’t want to pay over the odds for a badge that’s going to impress the neighbours, the new Skoda Octavia’s looking like an excellent choice. It’s more stylish and more spacious than ever, which means it’s going to tick a lot of boxes for a lot of buyers. If you need more room there's the Skoda Octavia Estate.

If you don't need a car quite so huge as the Skoda Octavia, you should also look at the new SEAT Leon and Volkswagen Golf. Both share platforms and engines with the Skoda Octavia, so they're very similar.

There are loads of very good non-Volkswagen Group alternatives, too. The Ford Focus is an ever-popular choice with stylish looks (and it's more fun to drive than the Octavia), while the likes of the Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra represent excellent value for money. You could also consider bigger alternatives like the Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport or Ford Mondeo – or even premium models like the BMW 3 Series.

Inside, the Skoda Octavia feels just as posh as the more expensive Volkswagen Golf and a step above cars like the Vauxhall Astra or Peugeot 308. The range-topping Skoda Octavia SE L is particularly plush, with standard kit including microsuede upholstery and a padded dash panel. You get chrome air vent surrounds, too, and fancy silver square inserts on the dash.

All Skoda Octavia models feel like they're built to last. It's too new to know for sure what it will be like for creaks and rattles a few years down the line, but the old model aged well so we suspect this one will do so too. The Skoda Octavia should have no issues coping with family life.

Apart from the early Skoda Octavia SE First Edition, all models feature a 10-inch media system perched (as is the trend) high up on the dashboard. Its positioning actually makes it very easy and safe to glance at on the move, but the same can't be said for the irritating lack of buttons to navigate it.

It's purely a touchscreen system, while there's a touch-sensitive slider below to adjust the volume. As we hinted at above, adjusting the climate control settings requires fiddling around with the infotainment - there are some handy shortcut buttons below but not a simple dial or button for adjusting the temperature. 

It's something which we found quite annoying at first but, with time, you'll soon get used to its quirks. At least its graphics are sharp and it responds quickly to inputs, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring is standard across the range. This makes up for the lack of standard navigation on all but top-spec Skoda Octavia SE L models – you can just use Google Maps via your phone instead.

You really could swing the proverbial cat in the Skoda Octavia, there's that much space on offer. 

The boot is massive compared to rivals like the Ford Focus and Mazda 3 – there's enough room for up to 600 litres of luggage, which is even bigger than a Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport or Ford Mondeo (two cars which are more expensive and technically sit in the class above). It's worth noting that, if you buy the plug-in hybrid Skoda Octavia iV, this drops to 450 litres – the batteries and electrical gubbins eat into boot space, unfortunately.

The rear seats can split 60/40 and are dropped easily using levers in the boot, leaving up to 1,555 litres of space (1405 litres for the iV hatch). The sheer length of the Skoda Octavia compared to rivals makes it the perfect choice for IKEA trips – it will happily gobble up a Billy bookcase or three.

With the rear seats left up, there's plenty of space for rear-seat passengers. That's providing you're not expecting to transport three adults side-by-side (in which case, the middle seat is a little on the narrow side and there's a lump in the floor eating into foot space). Head and legroom are both generous and you'll find enough storage for your knick-knacks – there's an armrest with cupholders and pockets on the back of the front seats.

If you're expecting a compromise, you certainly won't find it in the front. There's loads of space up front, including surprisingly big door pockets and a generously large (and cooled) glove box.  You'll find a useful mobile phone tray in front of the gear lever and some conveniently positioned cup holders. If you need even more space, check out the Skoda Octavia Estate.

Of course, the main reason the Skoda Octavia is so practical is that its exterior dimensions are so much larger than rivals. It measures 4689mm long, 1994mm wide (1829mm not including door mirrors) and 1470mm high.

Whether you're after petrol, diesel or hybrid power, there's an engine to suit every buyer in the Skoda Octavia.

The range kicks off with a 1.0-litre petrol which produces a fairly conservative 110PS. This might be a little out of its depth on the motorway (although a six-speed manual gearbox helps here), but it's perfectly powerful enough for day-to-day town driving. Buy an Octavia with this engine and the DSG automatic transmission and you'll also get mild-hybrid technology to help you save fuel.

You'll find a lot more Skoda Octavia 1.5-litre petrols on the market. This provides a healthy 150PS and is available with a manual or automatic transmission (the latter, again, brings mild-hybrid tech with it). It suits the car really well with enough performance for motorway driving, while the running costs will be pretty reasonable, too.

Of course, a lot of people buy Skoda Octavias to cover a lot of motorway miles. If that's you, we'd recommend the 2.0-litre TDI, which is available with 115PS or 150PS. The 115PS model is fine but we'd recommend the 150PS version if it's in budget – that extra grunt makes it much more relaxing to drive, especially with a full complement of passengers.

Then there's the plug-in hybrid model badged the Skoda Octavia iV. This combines a 1.4-litre petrol engine with a big battery pack and an electric motor, producing a total of 245PS. That like quite a lot of power but, with the weight of the batteries, it takes 7.7 seconds to accelerate from 0-62mph. Quick but not shove-you-back-in-your-seat rapid.

If you want a quick Octavia, wait for one of the new Skoda Octavia vRS models. For the first time, it's offered with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid power – each one with 200PS or more. 

As the Skoda Octavia majors on comfort, it's no surprise to see that its move upmarket has seen an improvement in refinement. It's not quite as civilised as something like a BMW 3 Series, but it's really not that far off.

Avoid the optional 18-inch or 19-inch alloy wheels and you'll notice very little road noise making its way into the cabin. Wind noise is slightly more noticeable, but it's no worse than rivals – and certainly nothing that can't be drowned out by the radio.

The most refined Skoda Octavia is the plug-in hybrid Skoda Octavia iV. When it's fully charged, you can select E-mode and it mimics an electric vehicle for as long as possible. That means you can bimble around town without the sound of a petrol engine kicking in for the ultimate in refinement. The mild-hybrid e-TEC models are impressive in this regard, too – while they can't travel under electric power, they will turn the engine off and let you coast silently to a halt. 

Euro NCAP handed the Skoda Octavia a maximum five-star rating when it was crash-tested in 2019, including impressive 92% scores for adult occupants and 88% for children.

There's plenty of driver-assist technology available in the Skoda Octavia but, unfortunately, very little of it is provided as standard. Blind spot detection was standard on the SE L First Edition, for example, but is a costly extra on the SE L (and isn't even on available on the SE). Travel Assist (with traffic sign recognition, adaptive lane assist, predictive adaptive cruise, traffic jam assist and – on DSG models – emergency assist) is only available as an option on the hot vRS model.

At £45, the driver fatigue sensor represents good value for money if you're buying the car new, while the optional reversing camera is a desirable but pricey feature, on the options list at £595.   

As a brand, Skoda generally performs very well for reliability. It was named one of the most reliable car manufacturers in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, while the last-generation Skoda Octavia was one of the most reliable cars. While the latest Skoda Octavia is still a very new model, we're yet to hear of any issues – and would be surprised if it turned out to be a liability.

The Skoda Octavia's full range of insurance groups are yet to be confirmed but a Skoda Octavia SE First Edition with the 1.0 TSI petrol engine falls into a very reasonable group 12, while the 1.5 is group 15. Plug-in hybrid and diesel models are a little more to insure, being placed into groups 15 to 21.

An insurance company quoted us £286.54 to insure a 40-year-old teacher living in Lincolnshire, travelling 10,000 miles a year and seeking fully-comprehensive cover.

After the first year (which is lumped into the on-the-road price and taken care of by the first owner), you'll pay a flat rate of £150 a year VED on a petrol or diesel Skoda Octavia. Hybrid models (including the mild-hybrid e-TEC and plug-in hybrid iV) qualify for a £10 discount.

That's the same as rivals, unless you consider a purely electric alternative like a Volkswagen ID.3 or Nissan Leaf. These won't cost a penny to tax.

For the time being, the new Skoda Octavia skips the basic S model with the range instead starting with the Skoda Octavia SE trim level. Standard kit includes 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and a chrome grille surround. Inside, you'll find cloth seats (height-adjustable in the front), a leather steering wheel and gearshift lever and aluminium decorative inserts. 

Your entertainment needs are catered for with a 10-inch touchscreen media system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), while cruise control and parking sensors are also standard. Early SE First Edition models, sold for a brief period when the latest Skoda Octavia first went on sale, also featured a 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit (and a smaller 8.25-inch central infotainment display). 

Upgrade to the Skoda Octavia SE L for 17-inch alloy wheels, some extra chrome exterior highlights (namely the window surrounds and a strip in the lower front bumper), rear privacy glass, headlight washers and electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors. 

Inside, there's microsuede upholstery, heated seats in the front, chrome air vent surrounds and shiny haptic decorative dash inserts. Navigation is standard as part of the 10-inch media display including online infotainment (for one year). The Skoda Octavia SE L comes with front parking sensors (as well as rear), adaptive cruise control, selectable drive modes and keyless entry/start.

If you see a Skoda Octavia SE L First Edition on the market, this is similarly equipped but with the addition of an electrically adjustable driver's seat (including lumbar support), LED interior lighting and blind-spot detection.