The spacious Škoda Octavia estate car won the 2021 Auto Express magazine Estate Car of the Year title. The boot area is sizeable and, if you drop the rear seats into the floor, you end up with a truly enormous load space, which is ideal for loading up bedding and feed.
Details
Seats: 5
Engine: 1968cc (Diesel)
Towing capacity: 1,600kg
Power: 148 bhp
Gearbox : DSG auto
0-60mph: 8.6secs
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Top speed: 139mph
Economy: 63.2mpg
CO2: 117g/km
Economy
Excellent. Despite being a sizeable car, as long as you stick with a diesel engine, this Škoda Octavia is seriously economical. Even the petrol versions are pretty good, too. If you go easily, you’ll crack 60mpg.
The Skoda Octavia we tested has a towing limit of 1,600kg, but the 4×4 model boosts this to two tonnes
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Towing ability
Good. With a towing limit of 1,600kgs, this particular Škoda Octavia would easily manage, for example, an Equi-Trek Apollo horse box with a 15hh horse on board. We used that model for our 2022 towing guide. If you like the look of this car but needed additional towing flexibility, you can fork out an additional £1,500 (we would) and go for the 4×4 model. This bumps-up your towing limit to a useful two tonnes.
Performance
Good. The 2.0 litre diesel engine feels really punchy. The power arrives at low revs, which means the car pulls away effortlessly even with the loaded horse box attached. It comes with an automatic gearbox as standard. You can either let the gearbox work on its own or you can have some fun and switch the ratios by using paddles behind the steering wheel. All-wheeldrive is an option.
With the seats folded down, the boot capacity is 1,740 litres
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Boot space
Škoda has earned a great reputation for building solid, family friendly cars that are also versatile. The Octavia Estate one of those cars that manages to easily fit the bill as a daily commuter, school bus, holiday express and weekend workhorse. The big bonus is the bootspace. Even with the rear seats in place it is still a very useful 640 litres, however flop theminto the floor and it rises to a staggering 1,740 litres. It will easily cope with all of your tack orholiday luggage. Taking rubbish to the tip or collecting your feed was never so easy!
The SE L trim includes an infotainment system with satnav, DAB radio and Bluetooth
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Value for money
Good. It’s not cheap but standard equipment is decent and has the sort of stuff that horseowners will find are really handy. How about a storage area within the front doors forumbrellas, lashing hooks in the load area and, flip open the fuel flap to reveal an ice scraper. TheSE L trim adds sat nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors withmanoeuvre assist, cruise control and heated front seats. There’s also a 12v socket in the bootand there are roof rails. You can release the boot lid electronically from inside the car. A rearview camera is positioned in the boot lid handle, which is handy for hitching up.
Verdict
The Škoda Octavia Estate car is good to drive, economical, well equipped and with a vast load area. The all-wheel drive model will tow 2000kgs, but even the slightly cheaper version shown here is an extremely capable towing vehicle. Terrific all-rounder.
Graham Courtney has road tested in excess of 2,000 cars in his career so far. He writes for a number of magazines and newspapers that require a motoring expert and coming from a farming community, he’s well placed to advise equestrians seeking a towing vehicle.
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