Review of the new Skoda Octavia 1.4 16v S

When attending a manufacturer press launch, there's often a certain order to things. Car journalists are, by and large, like naughty schoolchildren and must be strictly managed in order to prevent them wandering off, touching things they shouldn't and getting intoxicated. The fretful car manufacturers like to ease them into their product range gently. Drive the top of the range sports model and after that the less powerful models will inevitably seem disappointing, so it tends to work in reverse. I got into the Skoda Octavia 1.4 expecting it to be about as much fun as a thumb in the eye.

After all, 80bhp didn't seem a whole lot of motive power with which to propel all this new Czech build quality up the road. If getting snaked at the lights makes your blood boil, you should choose a zippier motor from the Octavia line up but the 1.4-litre 16v powerplant offers excellent fuel economy and is a more satisfying engine to drive than the rather unfulfilling 1.9TDI diesel. This all aluminium 16-valve engine will get the Octavia to 60mph in just over 15 seconds and on to a top speed of 106mph. It goes about its business in a generally refined manner and, when driven sedately, will return a combined fuel figure of 40.4mpg.

It's a genuinely relaxed engine that suits the Octavia very well. Far from being the sort of reluctant lump that you feel inclined to thrash until the valves bounce, you instead get in tune with the Octavia 1.4 and life seems to take on a more unhurried pace. Everybody else suddenly appears tense, nervous and stressed. There are no flashy transmissions offered, just a simple, light action five-speed manual shift.

"This genuinely relaxed engine suits the Octavia very well"

It's hard to get overly bamboozled by the sales proposition either. Just one trim level and body style is offered, the five-door S, priced at around £11,500. There's no SE, Elegance or any other trim options or an estate bodyshell available. So what does your money get you? Quite a lot as it happens. Skoda have long campaigned on the basis of offering a good deal of car for your money and the latest Octavia is no exception. A good deal bigger than most of its direct rivals it offers a decent complement of safety kit. ISOFIX child seat fixings, twin front and side airbags, anti-lock brakes, a front passenger seat airbag deactivation switch and five three-point seat belts are all fitted as standard. Electric front windows, electrically operated/heated door mirrors and a CD stereo won't remind passengers they're in the entry level car.

Launched in 1998, the original Octavia sold more than a million units. If you parked every Skoda Octavia ever built end to end they'd form a queue that ran from the Mlada Boleslav plant in the Czech Republic all the way to London. That's a lot of Skodas, a whole heap of satisfied customers and a big burden of expectation placed upon the broad shoulders of the latest car. Fortunately it's well up to the task.

Rather unsurprisingly given its Volkswagen Group parentage, the Octavia runs on the latest Golf chassis but opts for a more comfort-oriented bias in keeping with its target market. Given that Skoda buyers tend to be a little more mature than those who favour Volkswagen and Audi products, that makes a lot of sense. The conservative styling and the high quality but low key interior will also appeal to those who no longer feel the need to be the centre of attention.

The rear overhang has been extended a little further to give the Octavia more of a 'three box' profile. Like its predecessor, it boasts a practical hatchback rather than the boot its stub-tailed lines may suggest. The old Octavia was renowned for possessing one of the biggest payloads in class but the latest car comprehensively trumps it, available capacity going up by 36 litres to 560 litres with the rear seats in place. Bear in mind that this dwarfs what's on offer from a BMW 5 Series, a Jaguar S-TYPE, a Mercedes E Class or a Volvo S80 and you'll get some idea how huge it is back there. The Golf doesn't even compare. Fold the rear seats flat and you'll then get a yawning 1350 litres of available room. Not a car for the agoraphobic in other words.

Passenger room is similarly generous - and that's important since the prodigious luggage space of the original Octavia required rear seat passengers to pay in kind. The wheelbase of the latest model has been teased out by another 66mm, endowing it with admirable rear legroom even when the front seats are occupied by long limbed adults. Rear headroom is better than the swooping roofline would suggest, helped in no small part by a slightly more generous seat back recline than in many such cars. The fascia won't surprise too many, again being a development of the old car's styling themes. The 'venetian blind' air vents and the no nonsense switchgear are recurrent themes but the quality has been improved still further. Whereas the old Octavia's dash was very well screwed together but made of noticeably cheaper materials than the Golf, the expensively slush-moulded finishes of the current Octavia bear comparison with the best in class. True, there's no soft touch damping in the grab handles but even Volkswagen and Skoda brand managers need something to get all protective and bickery over.

The 1.4 1.6v S is far from the brightest light in the Octavia range but it's a very likeable slow burner. Better than likeable - for Skoda at least - is the fact that it's also eminently buyable. That £11,500 price tag weighs in at about the same price as a mid-spec Ford Firesta 1.4 and the Skoda just seems a couple of classes removed from the average supermini. It's not the car if you're perpetually in a hurry but for those for who relish the journey, the slow road is, in this instance at least, well worth the detour.

TOP 5 OCTAVIA DEALS

The results below show the top OCTAVIA deals on buyacar

Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI SE 5dr Hatchback
Price £13,210 Click for a Octavia Review	Save £1,230
Skoda Octavia 1.4 16V S 5dr Hatchback
Price £11,257 Click for a Octavia Review	Save £983
Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI S 5dr Hatchback
Price £12,329 Click for a Octavia Review	Save £1,121
Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI Elegance 5dr Estate
Price £14,978 Click for a Octavia Review	Save £1,437
Skoda Octavia 1.4 TSI Elegance 5dr Hatchback
Price £14,166 Click for a Octavia Review	Save £1,349