Skoda Octavia vs Ssangyong Tivoli

What's the difference?

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Skoda Octavia
Skoda Octavia

$39,590 - $59,990

2025 price

Ssangyong Tivoli
Ssangyong Tivoli

2019 price

Summary

2025 Skoda Octavia
2019 Ssangyong Tivoli
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Diesel Turbo 4, 1.6L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Diesel
Fuel Efficiency
7.0L/100km (combined)

5.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Floaty ‘Comfort’ mode
  • Drinks premium unleaded
  • No 12V outlet in cabin

  • Boot could be more useful
  • Divisive rear styling
  • Still some naff interior bits
2025 Skoda Octavia Summary

Where were you in the year 2000? Cowering in a dark corner, hoping the Y2K bug wouldn’t wipe out civilisation as we knew it? Or, confidently on the front foot, shopping for a new car to transport you and your family safely into the next millennium?

If it was the latter, the most popular options back then were hatchbacks, sedans and wagons. The Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore, Mitsubishi Magna and Toyota Camry were at the height of their powers and the term ‘SUV’ was largely confined to North America, describing off-road outliers like Jeeps and Range Rovers.

Brands from Mazda to Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Volvo and heaps of others all offered family-friendly wagons alongside their sedan counterparts.

Fast forward a quarter of a century and we’re in a world of SUVs and utes, with the traditional ‘station wagon’ almost consigned to history. But Skoda is keeping the wagon dream alive with its mid-size Octavia sedan (liftback) and wagon.

And the subject of this review is the just-arrived, 2025 model year iteration of the flagship Octavia RS, designed to combine functional pragmatism with smile-inducing performance. Let’s check it out.

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2019 Ssangyong Tivoli Summary

Did you know SsangYong translates to ‘Double Dragon’?

How friggin’ cool is that? Far cooler, at least, than the Korean brand’s history, which the word ‘tumultuous’ barely begins to cover.

After years of ownership woes and a near-bankruptcy, the brand came out the other side with enough stability to field a range of new vehicles, courtesy of its ambitious new owners - Indian giant Mahindra & Mahindra.

The Tivoli small SUV is the first car to launch under the new, cashed-up leadership and when it landed in Korea in 2015 it was solely responsible for the ‘Double Dragon’ brand turning its first profit in nine years.

Fast forward a few years, and a re-booted SsangYong is again confident enough to enter the Australian market, with a four-pronged, all-new SUV assault.

So, does the Tivoli have what it takes to break into our highly competitive small-SUV scene and help SsangYong pull a miraculous Korean turn-around, a-la-Hyundai?

I spent a week in the mid-spec Tivoli ELX diesel to find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Skoda Octavia 2019 Ssangyong Tivoli

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