A COUPLE of weeks back we had a diesel estate version of the latest ŠKODA Octavia in for test and I thought this would make for a very interesting comparison with my own SEAT Leon ST Ecomotive.
After all, both are from the Volkswagen Group family and underpinned by the same MQB platform. However, SEAT and ŠKODA go about producing their mid-sized estates very differently.
On the outside, although the latest Octavia has a touch of the early noughties Audi about it, with all the sharp slashes along the flanks and the distinctive lights, I believe the Leon to be the more youthful and attractive of the two cars.
Move inside and there’s little to differentiate in terms of quality between the SEAT and Skoda.
The Octavia is bigger and feels it, with more legroom and a bigger boot (587 versus 610 litres).
It’s not just space that makes for a great interior, its useful standard equipment and both cars please and annoy in equal measure.
Like the SEAT, the Octavia had a CD player – although they are both inconveniently located in the glovebox!
