Skoda Octavia Estate Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

There are fewer reasons than ever to discount the Skoda Octavia Estate. It’s incredibly practical, has a plusher interior than ever before and will be very affordable to buy and run.

The 1.5-litre petrol will suit a lot of buyers, but look for a 2.0-litre diesel if you cover lots of miles. If you mainly drive around town and have access to off-road parking with electricity, consider the plug-in hybrid iV model as a used option.

The Skoda Octavia Estate's trim line-up is relatively simple. There's the entry-level SE Technology (or SE for used buyers), SE L, Sportline, or the dedicated vRS hot version. We'd go SE L for the best blend of attributes.

The latest SEAT Leon Estate is closely related to the Skoda Octavia Estate. It might be a more stylish choice, but it’s not as practical. There's the Volkswagen Golf Estate too and the excellent, hybrid-only Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, although it's not as practical as the Octavia. Otherwise, you could consider the Skoda Octavia Estate an alternative to the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, Kia Ceed, Ford Focus Estate and Peugeot 308 SW. 

But given its size, it is also up against bigger alternatives like the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer, Ford Mondeo Estate if you're buying used, and even the Skoda Superb Estate or Volkswagen Passat Estate as new or used choices. We'd even say, given the value for money, you could consider it against the likes of the BMW 3 Series Touring or Audi A4 Avant. It may not have the badge prestige but you'll be getting a lot more car and equipment for the money.

You'll find more squishy finishes in the Octavia than in a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra Estate. It feels just as posh as the pricier Volkswagen Golf, especially if you buy an SE L model.  Standard kit on the range-topper (this side of a vRS) includes microsuede upholstery and a padded dash panel. You get chrome air vent surrounds, too, and fancy silver square inserts on the dash.

All Octavia Estate models feel like they're built to last. 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.

All new Skoda Octavia Estate models come with a 13-inch media system, handily perched on the dash for minimal distraction when driving. Prior to the 2024 update, the infotainment screen was a 10-inch item as standard but still decent for the quality of its graphics. What's is distracting, though, is both the earlier and newer systems' reliance on touch to operate. Rather than a volume knob, there's a touch slider below the media system, although the driver can get around that by using the dial on the steering wheel instead.

There are some useful shortcut buttons below the infotainment screen, although you have to use the touchscreen display to adjust things like the temperature of the climate control. Annoyingly, this can't be done via 'Laura', the otherwise very helpful voice-controlled personal assistant feature.

While the system takes a little bit of getting used to, in our experience, you'll soon get to grips with its menu layout while the graphics are sharp and it responds quickly. All models come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, which is great for accessing apps from your phone. All Octavia Estates now come with sat-nav, where previously you had to look to the SE L for this as standard.

Let's not beat about the bush: the Skoda Octavia Estate's boot is huge. Even with all the seats in use, it can lug up to 640-litres of luggage. That's more than the Volkswagen Golf Estate (which manages 611-litres), Ford Focus Estate (575-litres) and Toyota Corolla Touring Sports (595-litres). It's bigger than you'd get in an SUV alternative like the Skoda Karoq, too.

The Skoda Octavia Estate's boot is even more impressive than these numbers suggest, too. Access is easy, with a usefully square opening. SE L models come with an adjustable boot floor, which means you can lessen the drop over the boot lip (and keep a handy underfloor storage area). This trim also brings with it power operated tailgate opening.

Dropping the rear seats takes seconds (using useful levers in the boot), leaving a relatively flat boot floor which is ideal for IKEA trips (other Swedish flat pack furniture shops are available...) or runs to the local tip.

Boot aside, the Octavia Estate is a very spacious car. There's enough room in the front for the tallest of drivers (and passengers) to get comfortable over a long journey, while there are loads of very generous storage areas for keeping your bits and bobs in order. The door bins are surprisingly large, for example, while the cupholders in front of the gear lever are easily accessible.

Rear-seat passengers ought to be pretty cheerful, too. Maybe not in the middle seat (it's quite tight and there's a lump in the floor where you'd want to rest your feet), but certainly two growing teenagers will be relatively happy back there. There's plenty of head and legroom, while decent visibility ought to reduce travel sickness. 

The Skoda Octavia Estate is available with a wide range of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines, kicking off with a 1.5-litre petrol producing 116PS. 

Don't dismiss this because of its diminutive size – even in a car the size of the Octavia Estate, it's punchy enough for a 116PS car. Opt for the DSG automatic gearbox and this adds mild-hybrid technology which allows the car to coast to a stop while the engine harvests energy.

We reckon most people are best opting for the 1.5-litre petrol, which provides 150PS and is available with a manual or DSG gearbox (the latter, again, with mild-hybrid tech). It suits the car really well with plenty of performance for out-of-town driving, while it won't break the bank in terms of running costs.

Of course, a lot of people buy Octavias to cover a lot of motorway miles. If that's you, we'd recommend the 2.0-litre TDI, which is available with 116PS or 150PS - the latter with a DSG auto and the former with a six-speed manual transmission.

There was the plug-in hybrid model badged the Skoda Octavia iV Estate, which is no longer offered in as a new car. This combines a 1.4-litre petrol engine with a big battery pack and an electric motor, producing a total of 245PS, making it one of the most powerful Octavia Estates on offer. Skoda also offered a 1.0-litre 115PS turbo petrol as a budget choice, which is decent but not the best version of the car.

If you want serious performance, the hot Octavia vRS tops the range. As you'd expect of a car with 265PS, it's rapid and fun to drive, yet still sensible enough to work as an everyday family estate.

The Octavia's move upmarket has seen a noticeable improvement in refinement. The cabin is almost as soothingly quiet as the bigger Superb Estate, with very little wind or road noise being audible over the radio.

If you buy a diesel Octavia Estate, you'll notice the usual distinctive rumble when the engine's cold. But once up to temperature (and up to speed), it settles down into a gentle idle.

With its ability to complete short journeys under electric power alone, the plug-in hybrid Skoda Octavia iV Estate is likely to be the most refined choice for used buyers. It will happily dart around town without the petrol engine kicking in at all, making it very relaxing to drive. When the engine is required, you'll barely notice it kicking in.   

Fundamentally, the Skoda Octavia Estate is a very safe car. Euro NCAP awarded it a maximum five-star rating when it was crash-tested in 2019, including impressive 92% scores for adult occupants and 88% for children.

Previously, quite a lot of desirable safety kit had to be added from the Octavia's options list. However, from the 2024 facelift, Skoda now includes a driver fatigue alert, front assist, lane and turn assist functions, traffic sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors, and all this alongside seven airbags.

The SE L adds lane assist plus and electrically worked child locks for the rear doors, while the SportLine has a reversing camera. You can also opt for the Assisted Driving Package Plus that brings a self-parking function, adaptive cruise control, and lane assist plus.

Insurance groups for the Skoda Octavia Estate range from group 14 to 22 (out of a maximum of 50). As is usually the case, it's worth shopping around for car insurance, but we doubt any Octavia Estate will be ruinous to insure unless you're a particularly young or inexperienced driver.

The first year's car tax will be taken care of by the initial owner as it's lumped into the on-the-road price. It's based on CO2 emissions, with most Octavia Estate models falling into the £440 bracket, with only a couple of the higher emitting models tipping into the next bracket that pays £540 per year for the first year.

After the first year, you'll pay a flat rate of £195. You'd have to work very hard to push the price of the Octavia Estate beyond £40,000, so you don't really have to worry about the additional luxury car levy.

The most basic Skoda Octavia Estate iwas the SE. It's actually anything but basic... standard equipment 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. 

It had a basic 10-inch touchscreen media system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), as well as cruise control and rear parking sensors. Hunt out one of the early SE First Edition models and they came with a smaller 8.25-inch infotainment display and a 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit in place of conventional dials. The SE First Edition was also sold with slightly different 16-inch alloy wheels (Velorum design rather than the Twister Aero alloys).

With new Skoda Octavia Estate models from the 2024 facelift, the SE Technology is now the starting point to the range and comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated front seats with lumbar adjustment, a 13-inch infotainment touchscreen, and the 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital dash. There's also wireless charging for you phone, voice control, cruise control, air conditioning, keyless ignition, and all-round parking sensors.

The SE L builds on this with 17-inch alloy wheels, dynamic indicators, rear privacy glass, ambient cabin lighting, and lane assist plus safety tech. It also has adaptive cruise control, drive mode selection, powered tailgate, heated windscreen, and a variable height boot floor.

Step up to the SportLine and you get 18-inch wheels, metallic paint, gloss black roof rails, sports front seats and part fabric-part faux leather upholstery, and reversing camera.

The vRS has its own trim specification that has everything the SportLine offers plus 19-inch wheels, full LED matric headlights, unique exterior styling and interior upholstery cloth, piped-in engine sound for the cabin, blind spot detection, and an electronic limited slip differential.