Skoda Octavia 110TSI Ambition
PLAYING GOLF IN JEANS AND A PLAIN T-SHIRT
MORE metal for the money may as well be Skoda’s credo. Octavia is the largest car in our 12-deep field, and its raw square-footage is the Czech’s strongest asset. It’s a highlights package of clever design, but is it the full quid?
At $25,290 for the dual-clutch version, the base Octavia Ambition might be just $50 cheaper than the most affordable VW Golf, but it gets the more powerful 110kw/250nm 1.4 turbo from the up-spec Golf Highline. The two cars share closely related interpretations of VW’S MQB architecture, so at face value you’d be right to think of the almost mediumsized Skoda as something of a bargain. Delve deeper, however, and the smattering of Skoda distinction never quite does enough to surpass the underlying impression that the Octavia has been deliberately de-contented to be not as good as a Golf.
This latest iteration ups the ante over the previous Ambition, which was a true poverty pack. Plastic still dominates interior surfaces, but it’s blended with unusually upmarket inclusions like radar cruise control, AEB and idle-stop, plus Skoda’s requisite surprise-and-delight by way of a chilled glovebox, a moveable wastebin in the driver’s door pocket and the latest smartphone connectivity. It has also gained a reversing camera.
It’s a similar story with the back-seat package. There is acres of legroom and headroom, map lights, rear air vents, cavernous storage and rear side airbags – taking the Skoda’s airbag tally to nine – but it doesn’t get a centre-rear armrest.
From the outside, it’s a fairly austere thing (though an optional $3400 Sports Pack makes a big difference). Octavia’s proportions are inherently handsome and robust, but you’re unlikely to catch anybody admiring it in a car park.
Once in the hot seat, Octavia’s dynamic ability is best described as adequate. It rarely puts a foot wrong, but lacks the Golf’s involvement and balance. Its ride is busy and unsettled, as though it’s constantly jostling with irregularities that cars like the Civic easily iron out.
Steering is lifeless at straight ahead and there’s little connection between the dull front-end and torsion-beam rear. It doesn’t encourage you to push on in the same way the Golf does, thanks in part to the VW’S more sophisticated, more capable multi-link tail.
Step-off lag hampers the seven-speed DSG gearbox, but once slotted in, there’s enough turbo torque to light up the traction control, and occasionally provoke Superb-style axle tramp. It’s quick, and on the move the drivetrain is effortless.
Brisk as it is, the Octavia is also exceptionally fuel-efficient and, despite requiring premium fuel, should cost as little to run as it does to own. Yet it’s a shame Skoda hasn’t been able to go the whole hog and challenge the status quo. Unlike the rapid and rewarding Octavia RS, this entry-level variant seems destined to forever feel like a cheaper version of somebody else’s stuff. It can’t match the detail refinement of a Golf VII.
Still, the mix of class-beating practicality and relatively generous level of spec best embodies Skoda’s no-nonsense, utilitarian character. The Octavia Ambition is plain, but it feels bombproof and will appeal to pragmatists who simply want space, economy and the sense of strength that Skoda champions.