Sector: Lower Medium Price (November 2013): £14,340–£18,900 Fuel: 48.7–70.6mpg CO2: 104–134g/Km

They’re a clever lot, at Skoda's marketing department. Faced with the latest version of the Rapid which takes its design cues from the silhouette of a traditional five-door hatchback, erring slightly on the side of a small estate car, they proclaimed it should be called the Spaceback.

A catchy title which infers – if you never actually saw the Rapid Spaceback in the metal – it would be a car which oozes pizzazz with a more than generous load capacity. The truth, however, is that the Rapid Spaceback is sadly neither of those things.

Firstly, the cargo area has 135-litres less space in the boot than the standard five-door Rapid hatchback. Skoda will counter-argue that by saying it has the best-in-sector rear leg and headroom, and it probably does. There’s no denying there’s plenty of room for those sitting in the rear, and the rest of the interior doesn’t embarrass itself either, but, and this is a very big but, the exterior just looks so dated.

It could be forgiven for only having 415-litres of boot space, which is extendable to 1380-litres with the seats folded flat, if the overall design wasn’t so uninspiring. Design to one side, the good news is it’s a very competent drive. 

When it goes on sale in January 2014, prices will begin at £14,340 for the S-trimmed 86bhp 1.2-litre petrol, slotting neatly into the Skoda model line, on size and cost, between the Fabia and the Octavia. There will be five different engines to choose from – three petrol and two diesels – with the 1.6-litre TDI 90PS SE Greentech the most interesting for the fleet buyer. Air conditioning and curtain airbags will come as standard across all the three trim levels (S, SE and Elegance) with buyers able to give it more of a personal touch with such things as the optional panoramic tinted glass roof.