MODEL ON TEST: SE L 2.0 TDI DSG AUTOMATIC – MILEAGE – 19,296

Good ol’ software and its periodic update requiring ways. It can and does seem to resolve most things with modern cars, ‘things’ such as slamming the brakes on for no reason, which seems like pretty serious stuff. Yet a simple update by plugging the car into a computer for a while fixes it. And that’s exactly been the case with our Octavia. Fresh back from Skoda following an update and its first service, I can confirm that the car drove absolutely faultlessly for the remaining time in my care. I sincerely hope that this will be the case for whoever takes the car on after Skoda moves it on. I’m talking more in the past tense as the Skoda has already left me, but we did share one last day together after coming back from the workshop before it went back to Skoda.

But how was my nine months with the Octavia? A few core bullet points immediately come to mind. The economy of the blue machine, the highly useable performance and the fact that it always had something left in reserve if you need to push on. Added to those, it’s a practical estate with good ride comfort, and a low boot opening to make my photography job easier. The effortless way it took us to Center Parcs in Belgium for Christmas, the low road noise, and that weird piece of interior trim that I mentioned in last month’s report. And speaking of that trim, whilst the Octavia was away, the courtesy car was an Enyaq with a similar design inside, except the trim in that was textured and therefore far more pleasant to the touch. I promise you that this made all the difference to the ambience.

Sticking with reflection, it was good to have another stint at an Octavia estate after running a near identical Race Blue Octavia Estate back in 2021. Apart from the braking debacle, it’s been good to
be given the chance to have a rematch and experience what is a very easy and pleasant car to pass the miles in. As I said in previous reports, its ’middle ground’ execution made it such a likeable car. It didn’t show off, it had nothing to prove, it just got on with things rather well.

The level of customisation in the settings menus is also something that I have shouted about, though I dare say most people won’t be bothered by being able to adjust the sensitivity of the automatic headlights or choosing to have the parcel shelf retract or not when opening the boot. But there are people like me who are very much into that level of pickiness, and I say thanks to Skoda for humouring me.

Do you remember that we had to call out Skoda Assist a few months back for a flat battery? Well, we didn’t have to call them again and the Skoda never failed to start, so clearly, I had
left something on or open to drain the vaults. It all worked out though as giving Skoda Assist a whirl was such a positive experience, from their efficiency, thoroughness and for not treating me like the muppet I am for causing the battery to go flat in the first place.

Oh and it totally slipped my mind to tell you that the Skoda made a television appearance whilst with us. My friend Martyn was on Wales’ version of The Voice, ‘Y Llais.’ He’s been my mate since first year of high school and is a talented musician. He helps me out on photoshoots and he made it onto Y Llais and they did a profile on him, filming him helping me out. The Octavia featured, Y Llais, Episode 3.

I do wonder if this will be the last report I write for a diesel-powered car, such is the fast pace of models
that are disappearing from the price lists that would traditionally feature a diesel powertrain. This month it’s the Volkswagen Golf that is gone, what will be next? It would certainly be fitting that my first long term car with Diesel&EcoCar was a Race Blue diesel Skoda, that the last one should be a Race Blue diesel Skoda. I’m not a big fan of change, but ten years after the first one and the shift, or leap we’ve experienced with hybrids and electrification, it does feel like the world has moved on. Old school but very much fitting a purpose still. I’m so glad we still have the likes of the Skoda Octavia in diesel estate form and I very much hope that they continue for as long as possible

SIMON THOMPSON

WHAT’S HOT: The Octavia. For still being itself in a new world that could make it feel lost.

WHAT’S NOT: Our time with the car wasn’t faultless.

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF OUR LONG-TERM REPORTS ON THE SKODA OCTAVIA

FACTS & FIGURES

PRICE (NEW): £37,070

PRICE (NOW): £37,785

PRICE (AS TESTED): £41,025

PRICE (DEALER TRADE-IN): £23,500

PRICE (DEALER FORECOURT): £25,300

COLOUR: Race Blue metallic

BUILT IN: Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic

CODENAME: NX

GENERATION: 4 Facelift

PLATFORM: MQB Evo

BODYSTYLE: 5-door estate, 5-seats

LAYOUT: Front-wheel drive

POWERPLANT: 1,968cc, 4-cylinder, 16-valve, turbocharged diesel with stop-start technology

GEARBOX: 7-speed twin-clutch automatic

MAX POWER: 110kW/148bhp/150ps

MAX TORQUE 266lb ft/360Nm

TOP SPEED: 139mph

0-62mph: 8.6secs

CO2 EMISSIONS: 121g/km

ECONOMY (COMBINED): 61.4mpg

ECONOMY (ONTEST): 60.1mpg

FUEL TANK: 48 litres

RANGE: 648 miles

INSURANCE GROUP: 22

BIK RATE: (2026/2027 TAX YEAR) 31%

SIZE: (LENGTH/WIDTH WITH MIRRORS/HEIGHT/ WHEELBASE) 4,698/2,003/1,468/2,686mm

BOOT SPACE: (MIN/MAX) 640/1,700 litres

KERB WEIGHT: 1,477kg

MAX TOWING WEIGHT: 1,600kg

EURO NCAP RATING: Five stars (pre-facelift)

SPARE WHEEL: (FULL-SIZE/SPACESAVER/RUN-FLAT/ SELF-SEALING/REPAIR KIT) No/£200/no/no/yes 

WARRANTY: 3 years/60,000 miles

DATE ARRIVED: 22nd September 2025

COSTS: First service (£310)

FAULTS: Fixed with a software update, the pre-collision system was over sensitive