Skoda Octavia, three months on - vehicle review

I wrote about my motivation to fix myself up with a new car in January 2024, then shared my very first driving impressions just after picking it up.

On 23 June 2024 the car's odometer hit 5,000 kilometres, which means it took me exactly 90 days to cover it, but my Skoda app tells me on 54 days (i.e. 60% of the period) the car sat idle in my garage.

Besides, 80% of the current mileage was reached in long-distance travels:
- from Poznań where I picked up the car to Warsaw (300 kilometres),
- to Sieradz to my in-laws (400 kilometrs there and back),
- to Kraków (600 kilometres there and back),
- to Wisła and to Czech Republic a few times (1,200 kilometres there, around and back in total),
- to Wisła again (800 kilometres there and back),
- to the seaside (700 kilometres there and back).

I am undeniably impressed with how spacious the car is. Four tall adults can travel in superior comfort, the boot is capacious as hell and does not compare to any SUV. I do not regret the surcharge for the double floor, coming in useful when carrying heavy and large pieces of furniture. The wisdom of Skoda designers who have equipped the car in plenty of functional stuff has taken my fancy too. I have not managed to check out only one of them - the heated windscreen, as I was reluctant to park the brand-new car in the open air for a frosty night in late March, while having a garage at my disposal.

I have not made full use of the engine's dynamics, primarily since first 3,000 kilometres are still the period of running-in, but also due to environmental reasons and minding the safety of other road users. Maximum torque is available from 1,500 rpm and for smooth driving you need revolutions below 2,000 per minute. For outside-town travels, the gearbox does a perfect job. The sixth fear can by upshifted safely at the speed of 85 km/h and if you decide to cruise at such speed, fuel consumption below 4 litres per kilometres is within reach. 2,000 rpm on sixth gear are reached at the speed of 115 km/h, which means slow motorway driving is economical too.

In terms of fuel consumption, it averaged out between 5.0 and 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres over the period in review, with record-low 4.4 on my way to Wisła on Corpus Christi. I drove 100 km/h on tempomat, somewhat uphill, with aircon on half of my journey. Had I driven the other way(a but downhill), with no aircon, the car could have consumed less than 4 litres.

Octavia IV (I managed to order a pre-face-lift one, some PLN 20,000 cheaper than a post-lift version) is two generations younger than my Megane. One feels the difference in terms of noise inside (the old Renault is much louder) and in how it is spiked with electronics, which may irritate and at times goes bonkers. Despite those small drawbacks I am generally satisfied with the new vehicle and I hope it will serve me and my family for several years (I target two decades in use).