You don’t need more power, more comfort or more luggage space. But it’s great if you can have them. We drive what should be a good combination.

For argument’s sake, let’s further sub-divide homo sapiens into smaller subsets. Firstly there would be ‘Hatchback Man’, or that section of the total car buying population that is so busy juggling the loads of everyday life that he/she has no choice but to go for a car that hurts the pocket the least. Lessen the load a tad, allow him a few additional breaths of fresh air and ‘Utility Man’, the rough, tough, no-nonsense type raises his scruffy, unshaven chin. To him the car is like a refrigerator, the larger, the more voluminous the better. Where is this taking us? Way down the list actually, past ‘Saloon-car Man’, ‘SUV Man’, ‘Family Car’ and even ‘Luxury’ and ‘Limo Man’.

Sadly there is no such thing as ‘Estate Car Man’. ‘Estate-ism’, as the affliction is known, is a state of mind for which medical science does not have all the answers. Stretching from the compact car segment all the way up to the luxury section, each sub-group consists of estate car sub-species. Don’t believe me? Just look up from the Indica Estate, the Marina, all the way to this car, Skoda’s Octavia Combi, well into the luxury car segment. And this is just the beginning.
Estate cars are not sleek. Utilitarian to look at, they have larger glasshouses that extend to the rear of the car. But while they lose their ‘swoopy’ rear profile, some like the Combi still manage to look attractive. The stout curved ‘D’ or rear pillar gels nicely with the stocky broad-shouldered look of the Octavia. The gently sloping roof means the Combi escapes that hearse-like look that afflicts some estate cars and the sleek roof rails gel well with the rest of the design.
For the anoraks among you, of interest are the following facts. The Octavia Combi is actually six millimetres longer, but this is not apparent as the extra bulk evens the length versus height equations out nicely. Luggage space, room in the rear is more than in the Octavia, but not by that much. With the parcel tray in place, the Octavia hatch swallows 528 litres. The Combi gulps 548, more but not by much, as the loading bay narrower in places. But it’s not just the loading capacity with the tray or cover in place that is important. Crucial is the Combi’s ability to accept all sorts of bulky, odd-shaped objects. Of course, you can load it up to the roof if the need arises. Flip the seats and load it up to the roof and you’ll get a huge 1,500 litres of space, or simply roughly three times the luggage carrying capacity of a Mercedes S-class. To illustrate this, we had taken a whole load of luggage along with us, to show you how much the Combi could swallow, but we fell woefully short.
Getting behind the wheel of the Octavia Combi and feeling that surge of torque from this ‘tightly’ built car, reminded me of why we had gone overboard with praise the first time we tested the diesel Octavia. Old memories came flooding back. The indestructible build quality, responsive diesel engine, effortless performance due to the torque, slick and light gearbox, and the ability of the suspension and the chassis to make a mockery of everything our roads threw at it.
What’s more, the version we were piloting was the leather-and-chrome Laurin & Klement version, Skoda’s top-of-the-line trim variant. No low-rent plastic HVAC controls, no concerto in grey dashboard, just an abundance of leather and chrome. Heavy gauge leather that looks like it will last, double-stitched onto the already solid interiors. Plus lots of chrome. Pretty rings around the dials, on the gearstick, handbrake and even the door handles. Other bits that make the L&K special are Xenon lights, headlight washers, cruise control, a sunroof, multifunction steering wheel and ABS and airbags. But the Combi also holds on to the Octavia’s one weakness — the lack of rear passenger legroom due to the short wheelbase. Built on an identical wheelbase as the hatch, legroom for rear seat passengers is poor if the front seats have someone tall stretched out. What’s more, the seat back is not ideally inclined either. The seat is actually identical to the standard Octavia’s.
Driving the Combi out on the highway also reminded us of the car’s super straightline stability. The Combi’s ability to soak up poor patches in the road remains in line with that of the hatch, agility is just as good and there is no discernable difference in performance either. The car weighs only 10 kilograms more, after all. How well did the car perform, drive or handle fully loaded? You’ll have to wait for a full test of the Combi, coming up soon.
Estate cars are as much a social phenomenon as sports utility vehicles. More a matter of customer preference or lifestyle choice than cold practicality or loadlugging ability, the Combi has its work cut out. Skoda hopes to awaken a new niche, entice a new set of luxury car buyers, open-minded individuals who lead an adventurous lifestyle and need to lug around all manner of large oddly-shaped objects. But this will not be easy in our market, where estate cars have yet to acquire any street cred, any ‘cool’ factor.
That the Combi makes a great family car there is no doubt. Great for carrying everything from surfboards to jetskis to plain luggage, the Combi does everything the Octavia does and more. It is also a better driving, riding and handling alter-native to an SUV. Like cargo pants, not strictly necessary, but cool if you can carry them off.