It is not uncommon for many aspiring and experienced car enthusiasts to find themselves involved in fierce discussions about the choice between Volkswagen and Skoda. We will not discuss who is right and who is not, but we will simply present the known facts, on the basis of which you yourself can make the right choice.
To begin with, both cars were developed in the bowels of the Volkswagen concern. In this regard, it would be worthwhile to finally put an end to the assumptions that Volkswagen is always better. This conclusion is inappropriate, if only because both station wagons are assembled together, with the same level of quality, from the same metal, on the same chassis, subjected to the same body treatment before being sent to the buyer, and assembled from parts from the same suppliers. There is as much Czech in the Skoda Octavia Combi station wagon as in the Volkswagen Golf Variant. The last Czech car in the history of Skoda was the Favorit model, which was later replaced by the German Skoda Fabia.
Both models are built on the same MQB platform. For the sake of fairness, we add that this duo would be well worth blowing up to a trio, complementing it with the Seat Leon ST model, which is also developed in the bowels of the VW Group and also on MBQ. Therefore, any of all these cars can equally be called a revised version of each other and not be mistaken.
The Octavia is 4,569 mm long and the Golf 4,562 mm. If you base your choice on size and volume, then the Skoda model definitely wins, since it has a record volume of luggage in the class - 610 liters, against 605 for the Golf Variant and 587 for the Leon ST. With the seats folded down, that means 1,740 liters for the Octavia, 1,620 for the Golf and 1,470 for the Leon.
In terms of price, the Octavia wins, but with a caveat - the cheapest equipment of the Czech station wagon is about $ 700 cheaper than the cheapest complete set of the German station wagon, but for this money, the Golf Variant buyer already gets all the electric windows, a dual-zone climate system, an on-board computer and roof rails. To bring the Octavia Combi to this level, you need to buy an on-board computer, roof rails, power windows for the rear doors, central locking and air conditioning, which, as a result, makes it more expensive than Golf!
Both cars in the minimum configuration are driven by the same engine - a 1.2-liter TSI, working in conjunction with a 6-speed manual transmission. If you go through the configurations and bring the "stuffing" of both station wagons to the same bar, then in all cases the Golf Variant will be cheaper than the Octavia Combi! In the maximum configuration, the price difference increases and again not in favor of the Czech model. How to make a choice? The buyer will have to decide for himself. With the same engines and the same overall dimensions, the back sofa in the Skoda is somewhat more spacious than in the Volkswagen, but this is not felt much. But it is more convenient to transport oversized cargo in the Octavia - an increase of 120 liters with the rear seats folded is quite serious.
