What do you make of a station wagon that has design features that include the make and model of the car inside the headlights? This is just one surprise that the Skoda Octavia Wagon has in store for its owners – pleasant surprises all of them. It’s a Skoda, Jim, but not as we knew them back in the early 1980s when they were tinny little buggies that were the poor family’s equivalent of a VW Beetle (this writer should know – my parents owned one). It’s a lot better than that.

The Skoda Octavia Wagon is about twice the size of the tiny Skoda my folks used to own. This is truly a family car that won’t have to be replaced when Child Number Three comes along, the reason why our family Skoda was moved along. In many ways, the Skoda Octavia Wagon is the car they should have bought next – if a 2009 Skoda Octavia Wagon could be transported back in time to 1982 (what they actually got was a Mitsubishi Sigma station wagon). The Skoda Octavia Wagon has room for a family of Mum, Dad and three kids, with room in the back for all the shopping and/or the dog – or even a couple of smaller hay bales.

I remember being fascinated as a child with the trip computer and the air vents in that old car that replaced the original dinky-wee Skoda. The Skoda Octavia Wagon, however, has a lot more features for a driver to play with. Electric windows front and rear are just the start – the air conditioning (dual zone in the 1.8 TSI and 2.0 TDI; semi-automatic in the 1.6 litre) that chills the glove compartment and the compartment in the centre rear armrest, the electrically adjustable front seats, the driver’s seat memory function, a 12-V socket in the cargo space, the 8-speaker CD system with a auxiliary input jack for MP3s(not that we had any CDs in the early 80s, let alone the 6 CDs that would fit in the stacker in the 1.8 and the 2.0 – and MP3 weren’t even dreamed of), cruise control and the digital multi-function trip computer give you plenty to play with. The rear reading lights, the whopping front and rear door pockets and the concealed drawer under the front seat would also have been much appreciated on all those long drives we did.

One option many family drivers would want to add to the Skoda Octavia Wagon is the rear parking sensors or even front parking sensors. Who hasn’t accidentally bumped a bike or had a close call with a wheelbarrow or tree while backing down the drive? Not to mention the unthinkable risk of small children where they shouldn’t be. Other Skoda Octavia Wagon options include an electric sunroof, satellite navigation, heated front seats and front fog lights.

In any family vehicle, safety features are important, and the Skoda Octavia Wagon comes up to scratch in this department with height adjustable whiplash-preventing headrests in the front, dual front, side and curtain airbags (six in total), three-point rear seatbelts and an active safety package incorporating EBD, ABS and ASR (Anti-Slip Regulator).

OK, now to get to what half of you really want to know: what does the Skoda Octavia Wagon look like and how does the engine perform? Well, to look at, the Skoda Octavia Wagon has refined and up-to-date lines that look clean and tailored, presenting a well-finished and complete look. The body coloured mirrors, wraparound bumpers and door handles add to rather than detracting from the lines, and even the roof rails that come as standard on all Skoda Octavia Wagons look subtle and “right” rather than an optional afterthought stuck on at the last minute. And those optional fog lights certainly look pretty snappy.

Under the bonnet, the Skoda Octavia Wagon has either a 1.6, a 1.8 TSI or a 2.0 TDI engine. The biggest and best of these powerhouses, the 2.0 TDI is a turbocharged diesel engine that comes coupled to a six-speed manual or tiptronic transmission, which has a top power figure of 103 kW at 4000 rpm and an even more impressive torque peak of 320 Nm in the 1750–2500 range: perfect for pulling the caravan. The 1.8 TSI petrol engine has more power (118 kW at 4500–6200 rpm) but less torque (250 Nm at 1500–4500 rpm). The smaller (and cheaper) 1.6 litre runs on 95 octane petrol (the 1.8 uses 98 octane) and is capable of a respectable 75 kW at 5600 rpm and 148 Nm at 3800 rpm. The 1.8 comes with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed tiptronic transmission, while the 1.6 pairs up with a manual 5-speed or an automatic 6-speed.

The current model series includes the:

• Skoda Octavia Wagon 1.6
• Skoda Octavia Wagon 1.8 TSI
• Skoda Octavia Wagon 2.0 TDI

For any more information on the Skoda Octavia Wagon, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Skoda dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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