2013 Škoda Octavia TSi Wagon – Car Review – Who Knew A Škoda Would Be This Much Fun!

A big thank you to the team at Gazley Škoda Wellington located at 35-41 Kent Terrace for allowing us the use of the brand new Škoda Octavia Wagon TSi for this Road Tested Review. Drop in anytime to check out their complete range of new and used Škodas.

First impressions

This is the 3rd generation Octavia and surprisingly the front and rear aesthetics of the car has definitely toned up a lot from the 2nd gen. The interior is quite sharp, spacious and comfortable; integrating a 5.8” touch screen multimedia interface that allows you to view the vehicle status and fuel efficiency of the car whilst Bluetooth streaming music from your smartphone. The Octavia has taken a big step forward in combining eye catching euro styling, useful gadgets, excellent power and fuel efficiency with affordability.

The Test Drive

The element of surprise is the first phrase that comes to mind. Seriously though, this Skoda’s has a fair bit of grunt in second gear! I’m really impressed with how VW I mean Skoda has produced such an amazing engine; paired up with VW infamous 7 speed DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) the Octavia goes from naught to 100km/hr in 7.5sec. The gear changes are very smooth and precise, making it an even more enjoyable drive. Definitely a comfortable long distance tourer, as overtaking cars will be breeze and excellent fuel economy for a petrol! In terms of handling, it’s no race car, but for a car of this size and driving comfort; there isn’t a lot of body roll, a medium feel suspension setup. 

A little disappointed that Bi-Xenon lights and LED DRL’s are a $2500 optional extra! But hey, that’s how they can keep their prices down! The Octavia Elegance has fog lights fitted standard, and use the park lights as daytime driving lamps.

Multifunction steering wheel seems to be a common standard feature, but such a handy tool to have especially having the hands free option to answer calls, navigate through radio stations and most obvious; volume control. It’s really the little things on this car that make it a comfortable ride. The white LED speedo is very classy, a lot better than the amber speedo’s you usually find with other cars.

The Electric Tailgate (Std on the Elegance Model) Absolutely the best feature on the car! The Octavia wagon has the largest boot space of its class. Such handy features to have, imagine walking back to the car with your pram and the trolley full to the brim of groceries, hit the tailgate release button on the key fob, tailgate opens, load your groceries, pram and other miscellaneous items, press the button on the tail gate to close it, jump in start the car and off you go. I find that this feature benefits families the best, usually some women struggle with closing the tailgate at times, I have experienced this first hand, my wife! Either it’s too high to reach to close the tailgate, or too heavy to pull down and close, and even managing to close it, it doesn’t close/lock properly meaning you’re losing precious time and asserting more effort that needed.

What it’s up against

What do we think ?

Overall an excellent car, affordable without breaking the bank, bang for your buck with the elegance model as you get the main gadgets to make it a family feel car. Plenty of power at the wheels and accommodating fuel efficiency. Definitely a great car in my books.

Rating – Chevron rating  out 4 of 5

2013 Škoda Octavia Wagon TSi 132KW Elegance