Forget what Jeremy Clarkson likes to pin to his 'Cool Wall'. The Skoda brand has to be one of the coolest marques around right now. The reason? It's all about confidence. Sporting the Skoda logo says a lot about how self assured you are. You don't need a Volkswagen or an Audi badge to prop up your self confidence. You know value when you see it and appreciate quality. Value and quality combined with space and engineering are what make the latest Octavia such a compelling proposition.

You'd be excused for thinking the latest car is merely a facelift of the previous car. Skoda and their customers were happy with the styling of the old MK1 model and despite the current car being all-new from the ground up, the lines are evolutionary. The grille is that little bit more pronounced and the wheelarches look more architecturally sculpted but otherwise you won't need to clock the badge on its behind to figure out that it's an Octavia.

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. Beaten to that particular punch by the Touran, the Octavia nevertheless 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.

"Fold the rear seats flat and you'll then get a yawning 1350 litres of available space. Not a car for the agoraphobic in other words"

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 1,350 litres of available room. Not a car for the agoraphobic in other words and if you opt for the estate that seats folded capacity increases to 1,620 litres.

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 Octavia drives pretty much as you'd expect - assured, comfortable but nothing too sporting. The old vRS models were something of an anomaly in many regards - sporting hatches that never quite came off as convincingly as their SEAT cousins. These days, even the more comfort biased chassis are so competent that it takes a genuinely ham-fisted development to result in a car that's no fun to drive. The latest Octavia benefits from Volkswagen's quest to endow the Golf chassis with Ford Focus-style driving manners. Even with the wick turned down a good few notches, it can't help but feel extremely capable when stitching a series of bends together.

The steering feels like a good hydraulically assisted set-up but is in fact electro-mechanically assisted. Many of the early versions of this steering set-up felt unacceptably artificial but the Octavia's helm feels meaty and rewarding at speed, reverting to fingertip light at parking speeds. Impressive stuff. The gearchange is light and positive and the multi-link rear suspension keeps the sort of bump and thump that often afflicts cars with more rudimentary torsion beam setups at bay.

Engine-wise, prepare to be faced with a 75bhp 1.4-litre, a 115bhp 1.6-litre FSI, a 150bhp 2.0-litre FSI, a 160bhp 1.8 T FSI and the 200bhp 2.0-litre turbo powerplant found in the vRS if you choose petrol power. Opt for diesel and there's a 105bhp 1.9-litre entry-level TDI, a torquey 140bhp TDI and a 170bhp TDI acting as the flagship diesel engine in the vRS TDI. If you prefer your Octavia to be the bit nimbler, the 115bhp 1.6-litre FSI engine represents probably the best balance between poise and power. Of course, the 2.0-litre TDI 140 diesel is the car that many will be drawn to as it also offers a version of the VW Group's fantastic DSG dual clutch gearbox, albeit without the F1-style paddle shift. Another option are the 4x4 Octavia Estate models which give improved traction without sacrificing interior space and if you want to go further, there are always the Scout derivatives which emphasise their offroad capabilities more strongly.

With eight trim levels offered - Classic, Ambiente, Sport, Elegance, 4x4, Scout, vRS and L&K- at prices that undercut the Volkswagen Golf by around £1,000 model for model, the Octavia looks a very strong entrant. In many respects, it betters its more illustrious sibling and makes many of its rivals simultaneously appear shoddy and old. If you don't believe in sacrificing value for money at the altar of brand equity, the Octavia could very well represent the perfect set of wheels.

TOP 5 OCTAVIA DEALS

The results below show the top OCTAVIA deals on buyacar

	Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI PD Scout 4x4 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £311	Saving £2,220	Price £18,000
	Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI PD Laurin + Klement 5dr DSG Estate
	ETR	Mthly £355	Saving £2,483	Price £19,567
	Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI PD Classic 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £220	Saving £1,313	Price £12,437
	Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI PD Elegance 5dr DSG Estate
	ETR	Mthly £307	Saving £2,088	Price £17,167
	Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI PD Ambiente 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £245	Saving £1,577	Price £14,043

typical 10.74% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000