Skoda Octavia Estate – Plug-in Hybrid
By Ian Strachan.
The Skoda Octavia is one of those cars that seems to have been around for a long time, and has transformed itself without us noticing.
Through a series of gradual improvements, this Skoda has turned into a very classy and desirable car. Now it comes as a Plug-in Hybrid with an 85kw electric motor couple to its excellent 1.4 petrol engine, giving you better economy and lower emissions.
For safety reasons an e-noise generator mimics the engine noise when in electric drive up to 30 miles an hour.
I tested the Skoda Octavia Estate Plug-in Hybrid in SE L specification. This Octavia is everything you could want in a car of this size – high specification, good looking lines and a cavernous loadspace. Performance is excellent with more than enough power when you need it.
This Octavia moves Skoda about as far from its past as it’s possible to get. This is a very competent, well built, well-specified, great performing offering in the medium car segment and it’s every bit as good as other mainstream competitors. This car drives and handles superbly.
The first thing you notice about the Octavia Estate is its smart appearance, with its sweeping headlights and deep front bumper and grille. Despite being an estate it has a purposeful, robust look to it, even though lines are smooth and rounded.
Inside, the Octavia is roomy and pleasant with lots of features including good quality trim materials and touch screen instrumentation. My test car came with high quality leather upholstery (£250 option).
There are lots of storage spaces including a good size illuminated glovebox and central storage under the armrest. The door bins are a good size. Load space is very impressive, with plug-in equipment and cables stowed under the boot floor. Luggage space can be increased further by folding the rear seats.
The 1.4 litre engine, helped by its electric motor, develops an impressive 204 PS and is very pleasant to drive. It’s a smooth and extremely responsive unit, giving you a 0-60 mph time of around seven and a half seconds and a top speed, where legal, of 136 mph. At motorway speeds it cruises effortlessly. It’s linked to a stepless six-speed DSG automatic gearbox.
Handling is surefooted. The Octavia corners flat and confidently and there’s a good feel to the powered steering.
Specification levels are high. Standard equipment on my test car included 17-inch alloy wheels, remote central locking, front heated seats, all-round electric windows and door mirrors, multi-function steering wheel, DAB radio with wireless smart link for Apple CarPlay, satellite navigation via a 10 inch touchscreen, front and rear parking sensors with manoeuvre assist, lane keeping assist, rear privacy glass, adaptive cruise control, driving mode and hybrid drive selection, hill hold and a very good dual-zone air conditioning system.
As well as leather upholstery my test car was fitted with a range of options including metallic paint (£660), electric front seats with memory and auto-dimming electric door mirrors with blind spot detection (£1,020), and heated steering wheel and windscreen ((£510).
The Octavia Estate Plug-in Hybrid in SE L spec comes at £35,880 on the road. Any residual prejudices about buying a Skoda should have long since gone, and this well-specified car is a very good buy and a great drive. I was sad to see it go.
