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What's the difference?
Remember mid-size sedans? Once pretty popular with smaller families, they’ve largely gone the way of dial-up internet, thanks in no small part to our insatiable appetite for SUVs in Australia, which shows absolutely no sign of slowing down.
According to the most recent vehicle sales data release, there are just seven choices left in a once-crowded segment, one of which is this, the Skoda Octavia, which is also available as a wagon – another body style that's been left by the wayside in the SUV crush.
So are we right to rush to SUVs instead of vehicles just like this one? Or should you be cross-shopping the Skoda Octavia before you commit to a high-rider?
Let’s find out, shall we?
The Nissan X-Trail has finally seen a proper restyling – one that has made it competitive on the design front with other medium SUVs, like Australia’s darling, the Toyota RAV4 and the sporty Mazda CX-5.
Both of which are heavy-hitters in their category and the broader family car market! However, this version of the X-Trail has a rare feature for the class and that’s an additional two seats in the rear.
Yep, it’s a seven-seater! It’s something that immediately sets it apart from most of its rivals but is it the ‘winning feature’? I’ve been testing this out with my family of three to find out for you.
This is motoring at its easiest. Powerful but not too powerful, firm but not too firm, and loaded with all the cabin technology 2021 calls for, and more.
We'd like to see more of the safety kit arrive as standard, and to tone down the engine noise in the cabin under heavy acceleration, but if your shopping for a mid-size SUV, then the Octavia Style sedan has earned its place on your consideration list before you sign those papers.
The Nissan X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat is easy to drive, has some great features and fit my family of three just fine. The on-road handling is solid and there’s enough power under the bonnet for longer road trips. On a car this size, I’m not sure those extra two seats are worth losing the boot space but if you occasionally need to ferry your kid's friend to a game or something, it will be worthwhile. There are a few little things that aren’t quite up to a standard I like to see but overall, we like this one and it gets a 7.5/10 from us.
This is always a controversial segment. Eye of the beholder and all that. Still, let's dive in.
For mine, the Skoda looks sharp and handsome, with clean, crisp lines and a definite premium feel to the overall design language.
But... whether it's simply the white shade of our test car or the fact that mid-size sedans are a little out of favour, it manages to look a little bland from outside, and like the kind of vehicle that could be sold in bulk for fleets.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, by the way. Plenty of cars are over-designed and as such, age terribly. The Skoda's design, while not pulse-quickening, does feel timeless.
Outside, there's a kind of power-dome 'V' running through the centre of the bonnet, that leads to the thin headlights – made up of individual clusters – that are framed by slick-looking LEDs.
The Skoda grille is a series of 3D slats that jut out from the front end, while the bottom is all black plastic mesh, giving this Octavia a vaguely sporty vibe.
The vehicle's flanks are embellished with two sharp creases, one at the shoulder line and one at the belt line, which run the length of the Octavia, too, and step to the rear and you'll find a fairly simple boot area, with sharply angled brake lights and clean lettering across the boot.
Inside, some of the cabin materials might leave a little to be desired, but it is a really modern, clean-feeling, tech-savvy space.
The steering wheel is thick and chunky and feels great to hold, the cabin dials make a satisfying and tactile click when you turn them, and there's a kind of textured, layered effect to the dash with a nice mix of materials, including a metallic-look dash panel that runs from the passenger side to driver side.
There's an attention to detail here that you notice – even the black plastic panelling used has been perforated to elevate it slightly above the standard cabin fare.
There was something robustly charming about the previous X-Trail shape and while the overall size has been maintained, most of the squared edges have been softened in the new model.
It makes it appear far more modern and it should maintain its kerbside appeal for years to come.
There’s quite a lot of chrome on the grille, making it look enormous. However, the black plastic moulding that wraps the car at its base helps it look sportier than it has the right to look. As does the dark privacy glass at the rear.
The interior hosts soft touchpoints, synthetic leather trims and wood-like grey panelling to create an upmarket finish.
I'm not a massive fan of the brown/black two-toned trim on the dashboard and doors; it just doesn't land with me.
But it does create a bit of interest for the cabin space.
It's clever, the Skoda Octavia, and that story begins in the boot, which opens to reveal a seriously large and seriously usable 600 litre space. While not that deep, it's wide and long, and with out test car fitted with a spider's web of netting, there was tons of space and storage options for everything we needed to carry.
Short answer? For me, it's all the space and storage I need. SUVs be damned.
Up front, the centre screen is clear and simple to use, as is the secondary digital screen behind the driver's steering wheel. And there's just a few little surprise and delight features, too, like the bar that controls volume via touch, or the Smart AC settings which offer to "warm your feet" or deliver "fresh air".
Your comfort features are on point, too, with two USB ports up front, two cup holders, and plenty of headroom, and plenty of shoulder space between you and the passenger next to you.
The backseat is impressive, too, although the swept-back nature of the roof line does start to impede headroom ever so slightly, but knee room, toe room and shoulder room are really good, and I suspect you could even fit a third person across this middle row of seats without too much drama.
Skoda Simply Clever features abound, like the mobile phone storage pocket in the seatbacks, which are part of the larger seat pocket so you don't lose your device. There are two child ISOFIX attachment points and two cup holders in the rear, too.
For my little family’s needs this week, I found it to be fairly practical most of the time. The front and middle rows have loads of space and even taller passengers will find comfort with the legroom and headroom in both!
The third row should be considered as ’sometimes’ seats for kids because the legroom is very tight. Besides two cupholders, there are also no amenities back there. Adults will curse you if they get stuck back there for long.
The front row enjoys the most storage options with a deep middle console, a phone/utility tray and glove box. There are also large storage bins in each door and two deep cupholders. The sunglasses holder in the roof is a bonus, too!
The middle row gets a couple of map pockets, drink bottle holders in each door and a couple of cupholders in the fold-down middle seat, which doubles as an armrest. The practical, easy-to-clean trim on the back of the front seats is great, too.
The charging options are good for the first two rows, with each one getting an USB-A and USB-C port, while the front also gets a 12-volt socket.
It is easy enough to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay and the 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive.
I found the digital radio cuts in and out every few seconds, which makes that feature a bit useless. There’s no satellite navigation but with your smart phone attached, it’s easily forgotten.
My six-year old had no trouble getting in and out of the car and really enjoyed the tall seating position. He also liked having directional air vents and a reading light on our little road trip this week.
The boot is 465L and that puts it on the smaller side compared to its rivals, with only the CX-5 being smaller. I like the level load space and retractable cargo blind, but after my big grocery shop the boot was full.
You’d have to get strategic with gear loading on a full-scale road trip.
This has a temporary spare tyre but to access it, you have to remove the third row (after sliding the second row forward) and that would be an pain to access if you had a full car load of gear and child seats.
Being a lower grade this doesn’t have a powered tailgate and I did miss it this week because the boot is heavy to close.
The Skoda Octavia Style 110TSI sedan starts at from $37,790 drive away, and is pretty comprehensively equipped for that money. It also has a wagon sibling, which is yours for $39,260 drive away, or for more thrills, the fire-breathing RS version is $51,490 drive away ($52,990 wagon).
Let’s stay with the Style for a moment. Outside, it rides on 18-inch alloy wheels and gets LED headlights, satellite navigation, keyless locking, LED DRLs and heated mirrors, while inside, there’s fabric seats, dual-zone climate, an air-conditioned glove box, push-button start, a slick gear selector and ambient interior lighting.
But where the Skoda truly shines is in the tech department, which is seriously impressive. It starts with a 10.0-inch touchscreen, equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leaving you free to stick your phone on the wireless charging pad. All of that kit is joined by Skoda’s very good Virtual Cockpit, which digitises the driver’s binnacle, and adds a seriously premium air to the cabin experience.
Safety? There’s lots. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Our model is the part-time four-wheel drive ST-L with seven seats and it is $46,290, before on-road costs.
That makes it more expensive compared to its key rivals with the Mazda CX-5 AWD Touring costing $43,700 and Kia Sportage SX+ Petrol DCT AWD at $43,850. Only the Toyota RAV4 Edge tops it with a $53,020 price tag.
However, for a model that sits second from the bottom in its own line-up, it’s well-specified.
There are eight paintwork colours to choose from and none of them cost extra. This grade also enjoys an upmarket interior with two-toned synthetic leather trims, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus those two extra seats.
The driver also enjoys four-way electric lumbar support and electric seat adjustments. The exterior isn’t forgotten with 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED lights, electric folding side mirrors and an auto dimming rear view mirror.
The Skoda Octavia Style is powered by a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, producing a 110kW at 6000rpm and 250Nm from 1500rpm.
That's enough grunt, Skoda says, to clip 100km/h in nine seconds, and it will push on to a flying top speed of 223km/h.
That power is fed through an eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox and sent to the front tyres.
Excluding the ePower hybrid, the X-Trail shares the same 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine across its models. It has max outputs of 135kW and 244Nm, which means it’s not super powerful but it doesn’t really whine at you, either.
I’m not a massive fan of continuously variable transmissions and this one can get a little jerky when you put your foot down. It's smooth otherwise.
The part-time 4WD drivetrain is an interesting feature for this size SUV but I didn’t test its capabilities this week. You can choose between five modes - 'Auto', 'Eco', 'Sport', 'Snow' and 'Off-Road' but I kept it in Auto.
Skoda says its Octavia will sip 5.7L/100km on the combined cycle (5.9L/100km for the wagon), and emit 131g/km of C02.
Our test vehicle was displaying an average 8.8L/100km over our 200-odd-kilometres with the car, but I have been accused of having a heavier than average foot.
It sips 95RON fuel, and its tank will hold some 45 litres of the good stuff.
The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.8L/100km and real-world testing saw my average at 8.1L. That’s pretty good for an SUV of this size and it was after a lot of open road and urban driving (think school and grocery runs).
The X-Trail has a 55L fuel tank and based on the official combined figure, you should be able to get around 705km of driving range. Perfectly respectable for the odd road trip or family vacay.
Nissan recommends a minimum of 91 RON petrol and adds that it is E10 suitable.
Sink into the driver’s seat, push the start button and use the cool-looking, but a little cheap-feeling, shift-by-wire gear selector to choose Drive, and you’re almost immediately reminded why we all loved lower-riding cars so much more than those big and often billowy SUVs of yesteryear.
This Octavia doesn’t pretend to be a sports car - there’s the RS to handle those duties — but the mere fact you’re sitting lower to the ground leaves you feeling closer and more connected to the road surface below you, rather than like you’re towering above it.
You also feel like you’re sitting in the Skoda, not on it, and all of this — combined with a firmer (but not too firm) suspension tune, good steering and the low 1500rpm arrival of peak torque — ensures the Octavia delivers a more engaging drive experience than its exterior design probably suggests.
There are some downsides, however, one of which being that, on take-off, the engine isn’t as smooth or as quiet as it could be, and because the power arrives so quickly, it can also feel a little like it’s surging a little in slow-moving traffic. The flip-side to that, though, is a car that feels responsive, and when you dart around a slow-moving vehicle to overtake the power is there when you need it.
We ventured out on the freeway to see how the little petrol engine performed at the legal speed limit, and I can tell you that long-distance travel is also right in the Octavia’s wheelhouse, too.
It climbs to 110km/h quickly and smoothly, and while the cabin noise increases at speed – mostly from the tyres and wind – it's not overly annoying, and it is well insulated from the sounds of other cars. The ride on the freeway is fantastic, while the steering feels weighted and direct, inspiring more confidence at speed.
There are more powerful cars out there, including in the broader Octavia range, but to be honest, you don't really need more grunt than is on offer here, other than for bragging rights.
It's a comfortable and usually composed offering from Skoda, this Octavia, and will definitely tick plenty of boxes.
The X-Trail ST-L delivered a solid performance in all the situations I put it in this week.
I was just as happy tackling the open-road as I was in stop-start traffic in the city.
It has enough power to get up to speed quickly and keep you there but you don’t feel like you have heaps left in reserve. The engine can sook a little when you get too aggressive with the accelerator but otherwise works without complaint.
The ride comfort is great! I took my dad on a road trip this week and he was singing its praises as a passenger. As a driver, I like how cushioned the suspension feels but it’s not at all floaty on the road.
The cabin space is very quiet, even at higher speeds. However, I wasn’t super impressed with the sound system and reckon it could be better.
Despite, looking like a big car, it doesn’t park like one. It’s actually stupidly easy to park and that’s a winning feature for me. Especially with the crisp 360-degree view camera, too.
The Skoda Octavia scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating when crash-tested in 2019, and arrives with plenty of active and passive safety features.
That story starts with eight airbags and the usual braking and traction aids, but then steps up to more advanced stuff, like AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, as well as a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, and a self-parking function.
If you want the really advanced stuff, like blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, or Lane Assist with lane guidance, you'll need to shell out for the optional Luxury Pack, which arrives with plenty of other goodies, too.
The X-Trail has been fitted with a good list of safety features, with the following being standard: LED daytime running lights, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree view reversing camera, dynamic parking guidelines, front and rear parking sensors, rear occupant alert, intelligent seatbelt monitoring and a driver fatigue monitoring system.
It also features adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist; meaning, so long as you have your hands on the wheel, the car essentially steers itself. It's great to minimise fatigue on longer journeys.
It has AEB and forward collision warning with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection which is operational from 10-80km/h (5.0-130km/h for car detection). It is usual to see it operational from 5.0km/h, though.
The X-Trail was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 but it is based on its stablemate, the Qashqai. I think it’s worth mentioning that ANCAP’s individual assessment scores were all fairly high (hitting the 90 per cent range for all but one) which is great to see on a family car.
It only has seven airbags but that includes a front centre airbag and curtain airbags covering all three rows.
There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard seats in the middle row, along with three top-tethers. You could get lucky in fitting three seats side by side but two will fit best. There's just enough room when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.
Your Octavia is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and you a get a five years of free roadside assistance, provided you service your vehicle at a Skoda dealership.
Speaking of which, services are due every 12 months or 15,000kms, and Skoda's service calculator will tell you what each service will cost. To save you the trouble, you're looking at $301, $398, $447, $634 and $447 for the first five services.
The X-Trail comes with the market standard five-year/unlimited km warranty term and you can pre-purchase three-, four- or five-year capped-price servicing plans.
On the five-year pre-paid plan, services average $425 annually which is great for this class.
Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 10,000km, which could get a little annoying if you put a lot of kays on your car every year.