John Challen gets behind the wheel of the Octavia Estate to test our latest long-termer.

The Octavia Estate brings a whopping 1,700-litres of space

Over the years I’ve seen lot of comments relating to the Octavia along the lines of ‘all the car you’ll ever need’, ‘ticks all the boxes’ and ‘an ideal family car’.

If I didn’t know this before KY20 MLN rocked up, I certainly do now.

The latest lockdown has given us an excuse (reason) to clear the house, seemingly from top to bottom as well as install wardrobes and other items. Cue seemingly endless trips to the local tip, but fewer than there would be in many other vehicles.

The rear end of the Octavia has the ability to swallow a ridiculous amount of cargo. With the seats folded flat there are a whole 1,700-litres of space at your disposal (no pun intended) and it becomes almost a challenge to see if you can fill them all.

In terms of an ‘ideal family car’, if I was really picky, I’d possibly stretch to a Superb with the extra rear legroom. But then, I’m faced with one son who, at 6’2”, is taller than me and another who’s not far behind.

With a 0-62mph time of more than eight seconds, this Octavia clearly won’t tick every box for all drivers. Certainly not for those who want to feel the power of a V6 or V8 underneath them. But, what the Octavia does do, it does to almost perfection. I’m even desperate to take it on a long motorway journey (cabin fever setting in), because I know I’ll still be totally refreshed at the other end!