Skoda Octavia vs Ford Focus

What's the difference?

While other brands may have a higher profile, the quality of this Octavia RS proves Skoda deserves a greater share of the limelight. If you’re thinking about a primo mid-size sedan, or wagon, or even a medium SUV, this car combines satisfying performance with low-to-the-ground dynamics, immense practicality, top-shelf safety and solid value-for-money. It’s nicely put together using quality materials and the ownership package is class competitive. Do yourself a favour and add it to your new-car shopping list.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Ten years ago, the idea that the higher-riding version of a hatchback would be a good city car would have been laughable. The Focus Active is pitched as a kind of SUV with its different low-grip driving modes, which you'll never touch if you stick to the city.

The Ford Focus is genuinely a brilliant car, no matter where you take it. The Active takes a terrific chassis, tweaks it for comfort but, ironically, doesn't lose much of the speed.

The current Octavia complies with Skoda’s sharp and angular approach to exterior design, with cool, jagged LED headlight clusters sitting either side of a blacked-out octagonal grille.

A brand signature is the bonnet shutting low and flush over the front guards to create a broad hood panel with longitudinal character lines running down its length. Similar creases flow confidently along the car’s flanks with 19-inch alloys filling the wheel wells nicely.

A smoothly tapering turret ends with a steeply raked rear screen on the sedan and wagon with angular LED tail-lights following a similar pattern to the headlights.

As well as the black grille, car-spotters should look out for the RS’s black finish on the window frame surrounds, roof rails (wagon only) wing mirrors and tailpipes as well as red brake calipers and RS sports bumpers front and rear.

Always a subjective call, but I for one think this car looks distinctive and contemporary while avoiding unnecessary flashiness.

Inside, the treatment is relatively reserved, with a grey through to black colour palette and high-quality materials, including soft-touch surfaces around the dash, doors and console, as well as ‘mouse fur’ and faux carbon sections on the upper dash.

The sports front seats are trimmed in a combination of synthetic leather and synthetic suede with quilted panels in the centre of the cushion and backrest. They feel as good as they look and are easy to get in and out of. Red contrast stitching throughout the interior dials up the racy tone.  

A sizeable central media touchscreen sits proud of the dash with the VW Group’s ‘Virtual Cockpit’ ahead of the driver configurable through multiple set-ups. And a smattering of dark chrome and brushed metal highlights (including on the pedals) finish off a beautifully executed interior.  

For a fairly conservative hatchback, the Focus came under fire for what some termed its derivative styling. I quite like it, and not just because the styling work was led by an Australian. The front end is very much family Ford, as long as it's the European arm of the family, fitting in with its smaller sibling, the Fiesta. The Active scores the usual black cladding, higher ride height and smaller diameter wheels, in exchange for more compliant, higher-profile tyres. All of that takes nothing away from a design that I think looks pretty good.

The cabin is well put together, with just that oddly angled touchscreen causing me a bit of a twitch. The design is a fairly steady Ford interior with a lot of switchgear shared with the Fiesta, but it's all quite nice. The materials feel mostly pleasant  and the hardwearing fabric on the seats feels right for this kind of car.

Practicality is an area where Skoda comes into its own. At every turn the brand’s design and engineering teams have obviously kept day-to-day usability in mind with thoughtful tweaks to make life easier.

Some have become low-key famous like an umbrella slotted into the driver’s door (Rolls-Royce-style) and a small lidded rubbish bin in the driver’s door pocket.

But over and above that, the Octavia’s efficient packaging means in a car measuring just on 4.7m long there’s heaps of room up front for the driver and passenger, with lots of handy storage options. 

Aside from generous door pockets there’s a box between the seats with a padded lid (adjustable for height and length when in use as an armrest), a 15W wireless charging pad (with ventilation from below to keep devices cool), a big glove box (with pen holder), multiple cupholders, a cupholder insert able to hold a phone and/or some coins, numerous oddments trays and a sunglasses compartment overhead (not fitted with optional panoramic sunroof).

And in the back, sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm height, there’s tons of leg and headroom with more practical design thinking on display.

For example, map pockets on the back of the front seats have a phone-sized slot stitched into them. There are pull up shades for each window, big bins in the doors with plenty of room for bottles and more, a pull-down centre armrest with fold-out cupholders (plus some oddments space), adjustable climate control vents plus a box on the floor for extra bottles and ‘stuff’ (removable if you need foot room for a centre passenger).

Power and connectivity runs to five USB-C sockets (two front, two rear and one near the rear-view mirror for dashcam duty) plus a 12-volt outlet in the boot. 

Speaking of which, head to the boot and the ‘plenty of room’ theme continues. With the 60/40 split folding rear seat upright there’s 600 litres of space in the sedan and 640 litres in the wagon. Lower the backrest and that number increases to 1555 and 1700 litres, respectively. That’s plenty, and more than the Mazda6.

The sedan and wagon feature anchor points for securing loose loads, extra storage bays behind the rear wheel wells, there’s a ski-port door behind the rear armrest, load divider rails in the sedan, remote release handles for the rear seat, bag hooks, a luggage net… the lot. 

The powered tailgate includes hands-free opening, there’s a space-saver spare under the floor and towing capacity for a braked trailer is 1600kg (750kg unbraked).

The Focus is quite roomy compared to other cars in its class. The rear seat has good leg and headroom, with the feeling of space accentuated by large windows. Annoyingly, though, all that work put into making the rear a nice place to be is ruined by a lack of amenities like cupholders, USB ports or an armrest. 

Front-seat passengers fare better with two cupholders, a roomy space at the base of the console for a phone and a wireless-charging pad. The front seats are very comfortable, too.

The boot starts at a fairly average 375 litres - clearly sacrificed for rear-seat space - and maxes out at 1320 litres with the seats down. While you have to lift things over the loading lip and down into the boot, it's one of the more sensibly shaped load areas, with straight up and down sides. Ironically, the smaller Puma has a noticeably larger boot.

The Focus Active wears a $30,990 sticker but the several people I know who  bought one haven't paid that much, so Ford dealers are obviously keen to do deals. Even at that price, it's got a fair bit of stuff. The Active has 17-inch wheels, a six-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, auto LED headlights, LED fog lights, sat nav, auto wipers, wireless hotspot, powered and heated folding door mirrors, wireless phone charging, a big safety package and a space-saver spare.

Ford's SYNC3 comes up on the 8.0-inch screen perched on the dashboard, which weirdly feels like it's facing away from you slightly. It has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, DAB+ and also looks after various functions in the car.

The panoramic sunroof is a stiff $2000 and includes an annoying perforated cover rather than a solid one.

The Octavia RS is designated ‘195TSI’ which relates to the power output of its 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine driving the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.

It’s a fourth-generation evolution of the Volkswagen Group’s long-serving ‘EA888’ engine series, an iron block/alloy head unit featuring direct-injection and variable valve timing to produce (you guessed it) 195kW and 370Nm.

Ford does an excellent range of small turbo engines. The "normal" Focus range (such as it is, now the wagon has disappeared from the market) comes with a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Bucking the SUV-this-size trend (yes, I know it's not really an SUV), this punchy little unit delivers an impressive 134kW and 240Nm. They're both very decent numbers for such a small engine.

The big numbers continue with the transmission boasting eight gears, a number you don't often find in a hatchback. It's a traditional torque-converter auto, too, so those of you who have bad memories of Ford's old PowerShift twin clutches should worry no more.

Power goes to the front wheels only and you'll get from 0 to 100km/h in 8.7 seconds.

The Octavia RS’s official fuel consumption figure on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 7.0L/100km, the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine emitting 159g/km of CO2 in the process (wagon 160g/km).

A start/stop function is standard and on a launch drive program through rural Victoria, covering several hundred kilometres’ worth of urban, B-road and freeway running we saw a (dash-indicated) figure of 6.9L/100km. With a 50-litre fuel tank on board, the RS’s theoretical range is around 715km.

In the city, expect an average in the high 8.0 range, which isn’t out of order for a 1.5-tonne sedan (1.6-tonne wagon).

Ford's official testing for the big window sticker delivered a 6.4L/100km result on the combined cycle. In my time with the Focus, I got 7.2L/100km indicated on the dashboard, which is a pretty solid result given the Focus spent a good deal of the time on suburban or urban roads.

With its 52-litre tank, you'll cover around 800km if you manage the official figure, or just over 700km on my figures.

Skoda claims 0-100km/h acceleration in 6.4 seconds for the Octavia RS sedan and 6.5sec for the wagon and it feels willing with solid mid-range punch available. 

Peak power comes on stream up high (5250-6500rpm) but maximum pulling power is on tap from 1600-4500rpm, which is spot-on for urban running, easy highway cruising and safe overtaking.

A sports exhaust dials up a rorty note when pushing on and the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission proved quick and smooth on a launch drive covering mainly rural B-roads and some freeway sections.

Steering wheel-mounted paddles add extra involvement when you’re in the mood to push through some twisty stuff and select ratios manually.

Speaking of corners, suspension is by struts at the front and a multi-link arrangement (unique to the RS grade) at the rear, with an electronically controlled limited slip differential and ‘Dynamic Chassis Control’ standard. Ride height is 15mm lower than the standard Octavia.

DCC is Skoda code for an adaptive damper set-up and the system offers a ‘Comfort’ mode to help manage bumps, although it adds an air of floatiness on the open road. As the name implies, ‘Sport’ buttons everything down and road imperfections immediately make their presence felt. ‘Normal’ is surprisingly comfortable without upsetting the car’s balance and overall compliance. 

Standard rubber is 225/40 Bridgestone Potenza S005, providing a good grip vs comfort compromise, and the electrically assisted progressive rate rack and pinion steering is accurate, providing good road feel without being too sharp or ‘pointy’. Braking is by ventilated discs all around and the pedal is strong and progressive.

Under the heading of miscellaneous observations, engine, wind and road noise are modest, the grippy sports front seats remained comfortable over several hours behind the wheel, plus a relatively tight 10.4m turning circle and standard 360-degree camera view system make parking easy.  

Despite the very mild off-road pretensions, if it's a comfortable city ride you're after, the Active is the Focus to have. While the ST-Line isn't uncomfortable - not by a long way - the Active's more compliant tyres and higher ride height (30mm at the front and 34mm at the rear) iron out the bigger bumps without sacrificing much of the sportier car's impressive dynamic prowess, even with the low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The cracking 1.5-litre turbo is responsive and well-matched to the eight-speed auto. The big torque number pushes you along the road and makes overtaking much less dramatic than a 1.5-litre three-cylinder has any right to. 

Ford's trademark Euro-tuned quick steering is also along for the ride, making darting in and out of gaps a quick roll of the wrist, which has the added benefit of meaning you rarely have to take your hands off the wheel for twirling. That darting is aided and abetted by the engine and gearbox, with the turbo seemingly keeping the boost flowing with little lag. It's almost like they planned it that way.

You have good vision in all directions, which almost renders the fact that the blind-spot monitoring is optional acceptable. Almost. It's very easy to get around in, easy to park and, just as importantly, easy to get in and out of. Compared to, say, a Toyota Corolla, the rear doors are very accommodating. 

The Active has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB (low speed with pedestrian avoidance and highway speeds), forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, speed-sign recognition and active lane-keep assist.

Annoyingly - and I can't for the life of me work out why this is a thing - despite some advanced safety features in the base package, you have to pay $1250 extra for blind-spot monitoring, reverse cross traffic alert and reverse AEB, which are part of the Driver Assistance Pack. No, Ford is not the only company to do this.

The back seat has two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.

The Focus scored five ANCAP stars in August 2019.

The Octavia is covered by Skoda’s seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is ahead of the mainstream five-year warranty pack, although a little short of some, like MG and Mitsubishi at 10 years.

Service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km and a four-year/60,000km service pack will set you back $2000, with 12 months’ roadside assistance topped up for another year after each trip to an authorised workshop.

That $500 per service charge is a solid amount but not outrageous for a premium, especially Euro, mid-sizer. For reference the Mazda6 20th Anniversary averages $552 per service over the same period.     

Ford offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a roadside-assistance package that consists of a membership to your local motoring organisation. 

The first five services cost $299 each and also include a free loan car and a 12-month extension to your roadside assist membership for up to seven years.