New Skoda Octavia review, test drive

Its clean-cut looks certainly are a good starting point. The bold, clean strokes and spot-on proportions help give it a stance that is difficult to fault. And that’s despite the bulk of the car. The focus of the design, of course, is Skoda’s new ‘butterfly’ grille, with its 21 high-gloss slats and two-tone flying arrow badge standing proud. Chiselled headlamps and a square jaw make up the rest of the nose. Detailing on the remainder of the car is minimal and almost Audi-like in its exclusion of the unnecessary. Still, a BMW-like flick is visible at the base of the C pillar, and a black splitter adds definition to the rear of the car.

On the inside, the car is more practical and less overtly luxurious, with the profusion of chrome highlights and wood panelling missing. The design of the dash is neat and minimalist, with large chamfered surfaces making up the various layers. The vents have a flick in them that mirror the C pillar kink, and the wide centre console has been tilted back at a jaunty angle. A large colour touchscreen takes pride of place on the centre console and Skoda has used plenty of black lacquer-like plastic around it. A generous amount of aluminium has been used on the doors and around the gear lever too, and a smooth velvet-like finish has been employed for some of the larger swatches of plastic on the dash. Also adding substantially to the neat and crisply ironed look of the cabin are the white-on-black dials.