2020 Skoda Octavia RS 245 review - Long-term owner

Multimedia and safety technology: 9/10

Having owned a few VW Group products, both the safety tech and infotainment system have been quite familiar to myself. 

That being said, the tech is excellent even when compared to the newer (more problem-prone) MK4 Octavia range. I've rarely had any issues with the infotainment display, while the wired CarPlay connectivity never skips a beat. The 9.2" infotainment display is paired with a sharp 10.25" digital drivers display, both of which pretty quickly for a system that was updated many years ago. Only bug bear is CarPlay doesn't feed through GPS directions to the driver display, something available in the more recent generation.

On this specific 2020 model, I have Travel Assist, Lane Assist, Blind Spot Monitor, Adaptive Cruise and Emergency Brake Assist, leading the car to travel semi-autonomously on those long slogs across town on the M1. It all works brilliantly, though it can be confused with roadwork zones and poor line markings.

Practicality: 10/10

If I could rate the practicality of this car beyond a 10/10, I would - it's simply the most practical, brilliant interior of any vehicle I've ever had. 

There's all the space you come to except from a wagon (heaps of head and shoulder space across the rear bench, loads of leg room front and rear, a super practically shaped boot).

Then there's everything to delight you, such as the two-sided boot liner that means you can hose out the floor after a beach day, or the numerous tie-down hooks and standard netting that keeps your groceries secure. 

We inspected quite a few SUVs, and yet none of them came close to the space we have in the Octavia.

It's simply a brilliant machine and I wish more families took advantage of the space a wagon.

Driving: 8/10

Trading up from a Polo GTI, we were keen for another sporty vehicle with a load more practicality. On that front, the RS 245 delivers in spades - heaps of punch off the line, loads of torque in the middle bands for overtaking on highways, and very reasonable efficiency around town (currently averaging 8L/100km in our long-term average). 

Picking this car up second-hand, the standard 19" rims had already been swapped out for the 18" rims featured here and I believe the ride has improved as a result of this - something to consider if you picked one up.

Only issues I've really had with the driving experience of this vehicle have been in regards to road noise (still coarse on most freeways or highways, even with Pilot Sport 4s on the car), and some typical DSG lag when crawling at low speed with the stop-start system flicked on (I usually have it off in traffic).

Running costs: 7/10

Is this as cheap as a Camry Hybrid to run? Definitely not. It's an excellent quality vehicle and the servicing requirements match this. That being said, Skoda dealers have fixed-price servicing and you're often fairly aware of what you'd be looking at in advance.

Fuel economy has been great (currently averaging 8L/100km), insurance is reasonable in the current environment and overall running costs are very reasonable overall.

Reliability: 9/10

Only major issue I've had occur so far has was a ripped-off oil sump after hitting a particularly nasty pothole on the Mornington Peninsula. Aside from this, nothing has so far gone wrong or had any failures.