There’s enough torque for easy-going flexibility in everyday driving

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no obvious reason why this might be, but the surprisingly serious Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres fitted to our diesel test car are unlikely to have done it any harm. These tyres also help give the chassis plenty of grip, and along with the reasonably even weight distribution, it means the Octavia will cover ground quickly if you need it to.

However, don’t expect it to feel cut from the same cloth as, say, an Audi A4 Avant on S line suspension. On this car’s passive suspension, it doesn’t take too much commitment to unearth a thoroughly unsporting degree of f loat and body roll, although the former is more noticeable than the latter.

Even without the DCC adaptive dampers, you wouldn’t accuse the Octavia of coming up short on rolling comfort or refinement.

Compared with its Mqb-based VW Group siblings, the Skoda feels notably more softly sprung. There’s an appealing pliancy to the manner in which it smooths over most compressions taken at speed, even if particularly deep dips can cause it momentarily to run out of travel and compress onto its bump stops.

The slightly firmer and more closely monitored Sport mode that DCC would inevitably bring would probably come in handy in such instances, but our testers agreed that the Octavia’s primary ride was f luid enough, when driven in a more relaxed fashion, to make DCC seem like an attractive option rather than an absolute necessity.

Progress at town speeds is also comfortable. The majority of ruts and bumps fail to send perilously forceful impacts in through the cabin, which is decently insulated against suspension thump, too. Coupled with seats that are nicely

Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0 TDI (35deg C, dry)

Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 2.0 Hybrid (9deg C, dry) cushioned yet not lacking in support and decent all-round visibility, the Octavia makes for an eminently usable and comfortable daily driver.

Cabin refinement is good as well, even if the engine can come across as a shade gruff under load. With our road test microphone in hand, we recorded cabin noise at 69db at 70mph – 1db louder than we measured in the Mk8 Golf 1.5 ETSI 150 a few weeks back.

Skoda is introducing the Octavia with a couple of First Edition models that pack in plenty of on-board technology and wider equipment for long-time Octavia fans who want the new car – and who won’t be put off by a slightly high price. Our test car was one such example, with its adaptive cruise control, heated seats, padded dashboard – and its near-£30k before-options price.

You can expect most Octavias to be less generously equipped, with SE Technology trim (priced from £22,195) likely to lead the sales mix. These cars will get Virtual Cockpit instruments and Skoda’s 10.0in Columbus touchscreen infotainment. They won’t get some of our test car’s driver assistance and active safety systems as standard – and the upper-level tune of the 2.0-litre diesel engine is denied them, too. Even so, that’s still strong value for money.

And the even better news is that you can clearly expect very strong fuel economy from your Octavia diesel, if our testing is anything to go by. Even in 148bhp tune and rolling on optional 18in wheels, our test car averaged better than 50mpg across the full gamut of road and track testing (which is rare indeed for a diesel of this size), and it topped an indicated 70mpg on our touring efficiency test (which is almost unknown for such a big car).