Skoda Octavia Estate (2017-2020) - Reliability & safety

Two of the greatest attributes of the Skoda Octavia Estate are its reliability and safety, and the latter can be further enhanced with a number of extra systems from the options list. Customer satisfaction has historically been a Skoda strong point and there’s no reason to suggest that will change in the future.

Skoda Octavia Estate reliability

Among mass-market manufacturers Skoda can be justifiably proud of itself, as it has developed a richly-deserved reputation for customer satisfaction. The Skoda Octavia was rated highly for reliability in our 2019 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey of cars currently on sale in the UK. Of the owners who responded, 12.4% reported experiencing a problem with their car at least once, with transmission issues the most likely.

18

Safety

When Euro NCAP performed crash tests on the Octavia in 2013 they found it worthy of their full five-star rating. It should be said that some rivals are equally rated; the Ford Focus Estate, Kia Ceed SW and Volkswagen Golf Estate all scored five stars as well.

The Octavia received specific scores of 93% for adult protection and 86% for child protection, no doubt assisted by the standard ISOFIX child-seat anchor points in the rear seats. The inclusion of seven airbags, electronic stability control and a system that applies the brakes automatically after a crash to prevent secondary collisions, should bring further reassurance. SE models and above also feature Driver Fatigue Assist, a system that monitors your reactions and aims to prevent you falling asleep at the wheel.

Standard on SE L specification and optional for the SE is Front Assist, which uses sensors to detect obstructions in the road ahead and automatically applies the brakes to avoid hitting them. We think this is an option well worth paying for. A lane-keeping assistance system can also be ordered, as can adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert.