Occupying the Octavia

Angela Pisanu reports from behind the wheel of the cleanest and most fuel-efficient Škoda Octavia yet, the GreenLine III 1.6 TDI

The Škoda Octavia is a popular car. More than 205,000 Octavias have been sold in the UK, making it the second biggest-selling model in the country after the Fabia. Globally, more than 3.7 million Octavias have been produced, making it the biggest-selling Škoda over the course of the company’s 117 years.

Last year I drove the Octavia 1.6 TDI and was very impressed with its performance, fuel consumption (official figure 74.3mpg) and low emissions of 99g/km CO2. But these figures have been improved even further with the introduction of the new GreenLine III hatch model. Powered by a 108bhp version of the 1.6-litre TDI engine, its official fuel consumption figure is an impressive 88.3mpg on the combined cycle, and has CO2 emissions of just 85g/km. This makes it the cleanest and most efficient Octavia ever produced. I managed a real world figure of 66.2mpg without driving particularly green-footed, which I was impressed with.
   
Low running costs
The Octavia GreenLine’s BiK rating of 13 per cent and VED Band A means running costs will be kept low. This, together with its reasonable price-tag of £20,150, should draw attention from company car drivers. But the savings from improved fuel economy and emissions isn’t all this model can boast about; it promises more power too, up 5bhp from the non-GreenLine version.
   
The Octavia GreenLine performs well. The 10.6 seconds it takes to get from 0-62mph is done so confidently and smoothly, it holds the road well, and has light yet precise steering. 

Spacious and practical
Despite being wider and longer than its predecessor, the latest model is up to 102kg lighter thanks to lightweight engineering, improved body design, and a careful selection of materials.

The car’s handsome yet simple exterior looks good without being pretentious. The interior is stylish and practical with ample leg room and comfy seats. It has a touchscreen infotainment systems as standard which includes car stereo, navigation system and trip computer.
   
The boot space is a decent 590 litres, which is five litres bigger than the previous model. With the back seats folded down, space grows to a maximum of 1,580 litres – an increase of 125 litres over the previous models.
   
Looks wise, the only hints that this is a super efficient model is GreenLine badging on the front grille and rear, while inside there is a GreenLine logo on the gearstick.
   
The list of accident-avoiding features of the Octavia GreenLine is impressive and has helped it achieve five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests. It includes lane assistant – which keeps the Octavia on track, automatic braking (in an accident), fatigue detection, and adaptive cruise assist – which automatically maintains a pre-set distance to the car ahead.
   
I appreciated the Octavia’s new Intelligent Light Assistant, which turns the high beams on and off automatically. As soon as oncoming traffic is detected, it turns the beams off and back on when the car has passed. This is a great safety feature and does away with the tedium of having to switch the beams on and off when driving in the dark.
   
The low running costs, high safety features, solid performance and reasonable price-tag means that the Octavia GreenLine should get attention from the fleet market.

Indeed, this year the Octavia has scooped Best Estate Car title from both the Fleet News Awards and Fleet World Honours.

Škoda Octavia GreenLine III
ENGINE: 1,598cc, four-cylinder diesel
CO2: 85g/km
MPG (combined): 88.3
VED: Band A, £0
BIK: 13%
PRICE (OTR): £20,150 (including VAT)