The advantage of a modular platform, is that you can release all the cars on that platform at an incredible rate.
In short: 2020 is going to be the year of the MQB Evo. We're going to see the new Audi A3, the new Seat Leon and this Skoda Octavia Combi.
All of those cars are built on the same platform as the new Golf, which we saw at the very end of 2019.
There's a drawback to that modular strategy however. All of those cars need an own personality, otherwise they'll cannibalize each other.
In Skoda's case, the distinctive word is space. A lot of space. Where its brothers start with the hatchback, Skoda starts with its Combi. The wagon.
It's longer, wider and higher than its predecessor, so it's even more spacious. You've got 640 litres to play with when the seats are up.
That's as much as an E-Class Estate. So it's truly, very big. It's nice and square and it's filled with all kinds of handy hooks.
There's even a divider there and space underneath the floor. And it's a flat floor as well. If that's not enough, you can also fold down the seats.
You've got even more space then, and if you still need more, you might need to think to get rid of some stuff.
On the rear seat, the difference with its predecessor isn't as big. It's on the exact same wheelbase as well.
I have to say, there's just as much headroom and legroom as before. Also, my knees still don't touch the seat in front of me and my head...
doesn't touch the ceiling. So unless you're taller than 1.90 m., it's still very good. And why change a winning team, right?
If we move to the front, we can see that Skoda has made some steps. The materials are a lot better, which means it now has a fresher look.
Not a budget-look like it used to have. However, it clearly shares some parts with the new Golf. Take the digital instrument cluster for example,
which looks very good and is very quick. You can do lots of things with it as well, from satnav to classical dials.
Very nice, just like the 10-inch multimedia system. It's a nice and quick system, but there's a lot in it.
They work with some kind of a slider to operate the volume, and I don't really care for it. I prefer physical buttons.
The same goes for the airconditioning. However, I do like it better than the system in the Golf. In the Golf, you need the screen for everything.
The touchbar is directly underneath the screen as well, so you might accidentally use it when you're resting your hand.
This doesn't have that, because it has a lip on which you can rest your hand. Also, it always has the temperature-settings on the touchscreen.
So it's still not ideal ergonomically speaking, but it's already better than in the Golf. Let's find how it drives then.
This new Skoda Octavia still uses the old MQB-platform, found in its predecessor, but it's now called MQB Evo.
I have to say, you can feel the improvements in this Octavia better than you can feel the improvements in the Golf.
It's still a car which primarily focuses on comfort, but where the predecessor could feel a tad spongy when you would speed up,
and kind of lose track, this one doesn't have that. There's more control and the damping of wheel movements is much smoother.
So if you're driving on bad surfaces at speed, it won't feel like you're pushing the car over the limit. And that's good for the refinement.
So it's not bad at all. Again, it's clearly aimed at comfort. If you go through corners at speed, the car likes to heave and hang.
If you brake hard, the nose dives down, and it'll raise quite high when you accelerate.
Because of that however, it's a very comfortable car for longer distances. It's smooth and it heaves nicely, without losing any handling.
That's still alright, a lot better than its predecessor. The steering is better as well. Still very light, but just better.
It's just a nicer car to drive, even at higher speeds.
The engines then. It's nice and clear, because there's only one engine available right now. There's more on the way, but this is the 1.5-litre TSI...
producing 150 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque. It has cylinder deactivation, which works up to a relatively high speed.
So up to 80 to 100 km/h, the middle two cylinders shut down. Very nice for the fuel consumption.
More importantly, you have 250 Nm of torque. It's available from 1.500 RPM, so it sets off from the basement easily.
After that, it's relatively rapid. It's connected to a manual 6-speed, which shifts lightly, but decisive.
It does everything very well, really.
Up to now, it's only good grades for the Octavia. And when we look at trim levels, it continues that trend.
You can't choose from a lot, only the First Edition is available. It will cost you €34.790 and it will get you satnav,
heated seats, keyless entry, an electrically operated bootlid. Everything you should be able to expect from a car in 2020,
and everything you really need. Just like the Skoda Octavia as a whole.