Skoda Octavia - Interior, design and technology

The facelifted Skoda Octavia has revised daytime running lights, a sharper looking front bumper, fresh tail lights with animations, and some new alloy wheel designs and colour options to choose from.

The facelift also saw some trim level and engine changes. The base model is now SE Technology, which has 16-inch alloys - great for comfort - LED lights, umbrellas in the front doors, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 13-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging, dual-zone air-con, keyless start, and heated front seats.

Mid-range SE L specification includes bigger 17-inch alloys, adaptive cruise control and front parking sensors, while SportLine models get 18-inch alloy wheels, metallic paint, a black spoiler, tinted windows, chrome exhaust pipes and sports seats.

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What is the Skoda Octavia like inside?

The fourth-generation Skoda Octavia took a noticeable leap forward in design over its predecessor when it was released, with the old car’s worthy but slightly dull design replaced with something much more contemporary. 

The horizontal dashboard arrangement – it does away with its predecessor’s monolithic central dashboard layout – is dominated by a large touchscreen display, with a few key short-cut buttons, such as shortcuts to the climate-control menu and driver-assist functions, located below the infotainment screen.

Unfortunately, this means that the climate controls are primarily operated through the touchscreen. While it’s a logical set-up for its type, we’d still prefer to have physical buttons to work these functions.

What is the interior quality like?

The knurled thumbwheels on the two-spoke steering wheel, the slender chrome-finished door handles, and the soft materials that cover the dashboard all add up to make the Octavia’s understated and neatly laid-out cabin feel a cut above almost anything else in the class. 

It’s got the edge over the Volkswagen Golf, with only one or two alternatives, such as the Peugeot 308, able to deliver a similar sense of occasion. The buttons on the dashboard feel well damped, and the overall architecture looks sturdy. Even the font on the digital driver’s display is understated and classy.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

All versions of the facelifted Skoda Octavia have a 13-inch touchscreen. It’s very similar to the system fitted to the VW Golf, but it comes with unique Skoda graphics and colours. 

Over-the-air updates keep the infotainment system up to date with the latest navigation and traffic data for the standard sat-nav system, and also allows Skoda to introduce firmware revisions. The screen responds quickly to touches, and its interface is largely straightforward and easy to work out. Also included is wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a standard wireless charging pad.

There’s no volume knob, with a slider function located beneath the screen allowing you to adjust the level. This works okay; at least you can tap the slider to a point for your desired volume.

There are also no physical climate dials, with the dual-zone temperature controls integrated into the bottom of the touchscreen. There are pre-set climate-controlled commands to warm your feet or cool your face, but you can also set everything up as desired in a dedicated climate settings menu on the screen. Overall, having some of the climate controls on permanent display at the bottom of the screen is a positive step, but we’d prefer a few more analogue controls, such as the smart dials that feature on the Skoda Superb and Skoda Kodiaq.