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He was already the model student at Skoda, but after a certain time a facelift simply has to be done. Here it is: The Skoda Octavia no longer looks out of two concentrated looking eyes with a long line of songs, but has now got a four-eye face. You may or may not like that - that hasn't changed the quality of the Czech compact. Quite the opposite: the fine-tuning of the chassis allows the Octavia to completely catch up with the Group's brother Golf - with more exterior length and wheelbase. But also at approximately the same price. What does the Czech have on and, above all, in the can?
Design - The Octavia with glasses
The Skoda Octavia got a facelift - nobody can deny that. At first glance, the redesign of the front catches the eye. And the first impression wasn't exactly the best: If the Czech was previously considered to be straightforward, the front was now clearly more polarizing. But one thing should already be said: In Natura, everything is half as wild. You still have to get used to the four-eyed face, but at the time you managed to do that with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Once you have seen the redesign live, it doesn't open up as much anymore - you quickly get used to it. The fact is that the recognition value has increased and family membership is growing. Finally, the current one also drives Skoda Kodiaq with a four-eye face, albeit more subtle. The more contoured grille, which is complemented by a bead on the corresponding fender, also provides more self-confidence. And otherwise? Not everything stays the same, but not much happened to the rest of the body. So the side view is still straight and simple. Nothing much happened at the rear either: the most obvious are the darkened taillights with a new interior.
Interior - Columbus spaceship
There is hardly a Skoda that would not please with too much space. Sure, the Citigo corresponds to its corporate siblings, but offers more than just the bare minimum for a small car. So it is with Octavia, Basically, the Czech is counted among the compact class, but proliferates with an outer length of 4,67 m and a wheelbase of 2,68 m. That is ten or seven centimeters more than one Golf Variant throws in the weighing pan. The occupants naturally benefited from this. Lack of space is a foreign word at the front and back.
If the sitting position in the driver's seat is adjusted, someone can even sit behind me in a decent way. Even on long journeys. The smaller the front seated, the more generous the space in the rear is of course. There is also no reason to complain when it comes to operation: everything can be easily reached and has a pleasant feel. Sure, here and there the plastics used could be a bit more valuable, such as on the inner door handle, but somehow the, albeit small, price advantage of the Octavia over its Wolfsburg competitor has to be explained. It's also nice that the Czech likes it with lots of useful shelves. In addition to the obligatory (and cooled) glove compartment, there is a shelf in the center console, which is supplemented by numerous other storage options. The compartment below the climate control is particularly interesting because it finally offers the option of inductive charging. And the cup holders in the center console have also integrated a “simply clever” trick: their special design means that 0,5 liter bottles sit comfortably tight so that they can be opened with one hand while driving.
The trunk, however, is not all about cleverness. No, his thing is different: sheer size. 610 liters are waiting to be filled with all kinds of cargo. If you pull the lever left and right, the respective rear seat backrest nimbly folds forward and expands the loading compartment to 1.740 liters. The Czech station wagon does not stand in the way of taking lifestyle goods such as mountain bikes with you, a visit to the furniture store or the move of your best friend.
Incidentally, the new navigation system Columbus knows the way to the new friend's apartment. With its 9,2 inch screen size, it is the eye-catcher on the dashboard and appeals with its brilliant display. Integrated are not only an absolutely catchy handling, but in addition to navigation also Bluetooth telephony or digital radio reception DAB. At the same time, it integrates the smartphone perfectly via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay and cleverly mirrors the surface of the respective end device on the infotainment display. The nuances of Apple CarPlay are better, but that hardly matters. Rather, that infotainment has lost its controls. The volume can only be adjusted using two digital buttons. This is neither quick nor accurate. But there is a roller on the valance, with which the volume can be adjusted quickly and intuitively. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to the zoom of the navigation map: If you want to take a closer look at a point, you have to make the familiar two-finger smartphone gesture. It's distracting while driving.
Driving impressions - change of character
At this point, some may think that it will have been the changes to the facelift. After all, a lot has already happened: the new exterior, the new infotainment - is actually enough. Especially since the Skoda Octavia was not one of the cars that were difficult to drive. And yet: driving comfort has not been the strength of the not so compact Czech. Here, however, the developers have sharply filed and almost reversed its character.
If the predecessor sometimes stumbled somewhat awkwardly over bumps, the current model completely shelves this habit. The test car, equipped with the DCC adjustable undercarriage, skillfully ironed out the negligence of the road builders in all modes. Even in sport mode, the design filters out coarse bumps and makes this characteristic absolutely suitable for everyday use. She could use a little more pepper. Normal, on the other hand, fits best for the daily trip to the children's menu, shopping or to the office. Comfort, on the other hand, is too cozy for my taste and lets the station wagon swing from time to time. Nevertheless: the step towards comfort was the right one.
The DCC is also accompanied by the adjustment of the steering and the accelerator characteristic. The reset forces in the steering wheel increase significantly with Sport mode, while they are hardly noticeable in Comfort. If you would like to have a mixture of everything, simply choose individual mode and screw your personal setup together. However, it does not necessarily have to be the DCC chassis. The conventional spring-damper set-up should also meet high demands and save a few dollars from the sensitive household budget.
The 2.0 TDI with 150 hp, all-wheel drive and DSG gearbox was available for the engines. The unit brings its 340 Nm at 1.700 rpm to the crankshaft, making it pleasantly powerful. It remains to be seen whether the 4 × 4 drive is really necessary here. However, the usage profile of the potential buyer also decides this. However, it was not felt on the dry roads of Portugal that the TDI had to deal with traction problems. The seven-speed DSG is also a pleasant variant of the six-speed manual gearbox. It sorts the gears completely inconspicuously, but sometimes tends to jerky when starting off. Otherwise it selects the gears well and gives little cause for criticism. This can also be said about consumption. During a leisurely but not overly reserved ride, the on-board computer displayed 5,6 liters. If you step through the gas more often, the value turns to 6,5 liters on average. The Octavia will consume much more if you use its potential of 210 km / h top speed and an acceleration of 8,4 seconds for the standard sprint permanently, but that is not to be criticized.
Conclusion - optimization with character
You may think what you want from the design, the new Skoda Octavia does not lack its character and independence. But that's a subjective impression that has nothing to do with the new talent. There is, for example, the impressively good suspension comfort or the great infotainment. What has also remained is the considerable amount of space and the sophistication of the Group's components. Only the price is not as hot as it used to be: 32.750 euros are already tearing a considerable hole in the family budget.
