Auto Express – August 07, 2019

44 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS KiaCeedSportswagonvsrivals

MODELTESTED:Skoda Octavia Estate1.5 TSI150 SE Drive

PRICE:£22,765 ENGINE:1.5-litre4cyl, 148bhp

AFTERyetanotherwinatourNewCarAwards
(Issue1,583),theSkodaOctaviaisourEstateCar
oftheYear.We’retestingthe1.5TSImanualinmid-
specSEDrivetrim(ourpicturesshowSportline),
whichcosts£22,765,soiscompetitivelypriced.

Design &

engineering

ONEofthemostinterestingbut
imperceptibletechnologicalfeaturesof
theSkodaOctaviaEstatecentresaroundthe
1.5-litrefour-cylinderturbochargedpetrol
enginethatwe’retestinghere.
There’snothingunusualaboutitsoutputof
148bhpand250Nmoftorque.Thesefiguresare
similartoitsrivals–thelattermorethaneither,
whiletheOctaviaweighsless,at1,227kg.
InsteadthetechfocusesontheActiveCylinder
Technology(ACT)systemthatshutsdowntwooffour
cylinderswhenyou’reonlylightlyontheaccelerator
between1,400and4,000rpm,whichhelpsboost
economy.Theswitchbetweentwoandfour-cylinder
modeisn’tnoticeable,sodoesn’taffectrefinement.
ThisisasharedVWGroupengine,andinsome
situationswhenmatedtoaDSGgearboxitcaneven
switchtheengineoffwhencoasting.HeretheSkoda
usesasix-speedmanualthough,whileitsMQB
chassisisalsoacommonVWGroupproduct.
Inside,theOctaviahasamoreuprightfeelthan
eventheRenault’scabinanditsportrait-oriented
centreconsole,butqualityisgood.TheSkoda’s
interiorfeelssolidandpractical,butwithoutharming
quality;theOctaviagivesthebestimpression.
SEDrivetrimgetsagoodlevelofkit.Itdoesn’t
quitematchtheKiawithitemslikeareversing
camera(£380)orAEB(£320),butitdoesgetparking
sensors,climateandcruisecontrol,sat-nav,Apple
CarPlayandAndroidAuto,soithasabaselevelof
equipmentthatyoudon’treallyneedtoaddto.
Therearemoresafetyandconveniencefeatures
youcanspecifytomaketheOctaviaeasiertolive
with,butextrassuchasleatherandadigitaldash
aren’tavailable–thelatterdoescomeasanoption
onsometrimlevels,butnothereonSEDrive.

Driving

THEOctaviaoffersthebestbalance
ofperformance,handlingandride
comfortofthesethree.Itwasthe
quickestfrom0-60mph,at8.7seconds,
whichisplentyfastenoughforthiskindofcar,
whileitbackedthisupwithgoodflexibility
thankstoitshighesttorqueoutput.
Itbalancescomfortandcompliancewithbody
controlandcomposure,too,soitservesup
themostrelaxedrideaswellasthemost
grip,whichisagreatcombination.
Thesteeringisalsothemostpreciseduetothat
grip,soitinspiresmoreconfidenceifyouneedor
wanttodriveaseriesofbendsthatbitquicker.
The1.5TSIengineisrefined–youdon’tnoticeit
cuttingoutinACTmode,anditrevssmoothlyonfull
throttle.It’sabitnoisierathigherrevs,butcertainly
noworsethanitsrivalsbecausethepercussionfrom
underthebonnetisfairlywellsuppressed.
Italsohasthenicestmanualgearbox,althoughwe
havereportedonjudderingissueswiththisengine/

Testers’ notes

“It’sashametheVirtualCockpitisonlyanoptionon

SELtrimandabove.Someextraswe’dconsiderare

heatedseats(£255)andadaptivedampers;they’re

pricey,at£880,butimprovecomfort.”

Sam NaylorSenior reviewer

andgearbox(Issue1,586).It’slightandeasyintown,

helpedbythecar’sfinevisibility.Ofthethree,itgives

thebestbalanceoftheattributesacarlikethisneeds.

Practicality

THEOctavia’sbootis15litresdownon

theKia’s,butthesquarertailgatemeans

it’sjustasusable;wedon’tthinkyou’ll

noticethatextraspacewiththeseatsupin

99.9percentofcases.Withtheseatsdown,

theSkodaoffersmoretotalspace,at1,740litres

comparedwith1,694litresintheKia.TheRenault

lagsbehind,with521and1,433litreswiththe

seatsupanddownrespectively.

Giventhatthesecarswillhavetocopewithfamily

life,there’smoretopracticalitythanjustsheerboot

space.TheOctaviaoffersmassesoflegroomin

therear,too,andplentyofheadroom.Butthereare

alsosomeveryclevertouchesandoptions–little

featuressuchasabuilt-inicescraperinthefillerflap.

Storageisgreatinthefrontsothecabinis

practical,withamorespaciousfeelandplentyof

trinketareas.ThisiswhyitequalstheKiahere.

Ownership

ASwithKia,Skodaisacompanythat

usuallyputsinagreatperformancein

ourDriverPowerownersatisfaction

survey,butitcouldn’tquitematchthe

Koreanbrandinourmostrecentstudy.

Ittookfifthoverall,andeighthinthedealer

section,withSkodarankedsecondforboot

spaceandpracticalitybyowners,plusfourthfor

reliabilityandbuildquality.Kiacamethirdinboth

ofthesecategoriesbywayofcomparison,while

Renaultrankedjust25thand24threspectively,

highlightingitsmuchpoorerresult.

TheSkodadoesn’tgetasmuchstandard

safetytechastheKiathough,withautonomous

brakingonlyavailableasa£320option.Youcan

alsoaddlane-keepassistfor£460.Still,theOctavia

scoredafullfive-starEuroNCAPrating.

Running costs

THESkoda,KiaandRenaultreturned

37.8,36.4and36.2mpgrespectively,which

meansanannualfuelcostover12,000miles

of£1,859,£1,930and£1,941,sotherewon’tbe

muchbetweenallthreeatthepumps.

Skoda’s£342two-yearservicingpackageworks

outat£171ayearinmaintenance,whiletheRenault’s

annualservicingcostscomeinat£150.However,

it’stheKia’s£429three-yearup-frontmaintenance

packagethatworksoutcheapest,at£143peryear.

ȎȎ4L 4 L

score

4.0

ȽȽ4L 4 L

score

3.9

ȱȱ4L 4 L

score

4.5

ȗȗ4L 4 L

score

4.1

ȗȗ4L 4 L

score

4.1

Octavia offers the most rear head and legroom of these three

Squarebootissmaller than the Kia’s,but it’snolesspractical

Skoda Octa

Czech load-lugger sets the benchmark

Running costs

37.8mpg (ontest)

£64 fill-up/£145 or 28% tax

Practicality

Boot(seats up/down)

610/1,740litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

48.1/35.4/9.3m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

8.7seconds/134mph