Skoda Octavia Hatchback 2004 - Present

Skoda have come a long way from the jokes in school playgrounds in the 1980s and early 90s. they have been teamed up with Volkswagen for a long time now and this association has brought forth a great range of cars that are only compromised by the badge on the front, and then only if you want to feel compromised.

A taxi drivers favourite the Octavia offers sensational performance fuel economy and reliability that would drive you round the planet 10 times with regular maintenance. The engines are made by VW and range between 1.4 to 1.6 with another 1.6 FSI and 2.0 FSI in the petrol versions. There are two diesels 1.9 and 2.0. There are six speed gearboxes available on the 2.0 versions five speed otherwise. The lower end of the engines is a little slow but they're propelling a lot of car for such a small unit. The cream of the crop are the diesel engines with top speeds at around 130 mph, sub 10 seconds 0-60 and fuel figures around 50 mpg. The power is evenly distributed through the rev range and they pull like an ox, giving confidence overtaking anywhere necessary.

The car handles well, continuing to benefit from the VW input. It shares chassis with the Golf but has more bodywork on top of that making it heavier and obviously more roomy. It doesn't offer the lively cornering of the Golf or the Seat Leon that also shares the Golf chassis but the cornering is still pretty keen. The suspension is set softer but is well damped and always feels controlled.

The Skoda Octavia has long had a good reputation which is richly deserved, it does everything that you'd expect it to really well. It offers the owners a really good level of value for money and a reliability that is the envy of many car makers.

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