Comparison: Boot space Skoda Octavia vs. competitors 2025

But how has this luggage-swallowing marvel evolved? Back in its first iteration (1997-2000), the Octavia already offered a boot that was nothing to scoff at: 528 liters of unadulterated space. With generational shifts, the car's designers must have consulted Mary Poppins, because the boot kept growing, from 560 liters in the second generation (up to 2009) to an impressive 590 liters in the third (2013 onwards). The latest embrace of expansive emptiness in the fourth-gen is where the Octavia boot peaked at 600 liters, a figure as sweet as a Prague trdelník.

In Škoda's own family, the Octavia is like the resourceful big brother. Its closest sibling, the Škoda Scala, offers a sizable 467 liters, but next to the Octavia, it seems to be bringing a knife to a gunfight. Even the muscular Škoda Superb Combi, a veritable limousine of the range, falls behind with its mere 510 liters of boot volume. The Octavia stands defiant, only outdone by its own Combi version and performance model RS Combi variants—the estate versions that turn the boot space dial up to 640 liters.

But how does this Czech champion stack against a European coalition of rivals? Take the elegant Swede, the Volvo 740/760, with 470 liters, it might have been the poster child of boot space once, but it now plays second fiddle. Or consider the Subaru Impreza's 395 liters, which shows that sometimes being fast doesn't mean you can bring all your stuff along for the ride. Even the French flair in the shape of the Peugeot 604, boasting 440 liters, bows before the Octavia's cavernous rear. Closest of all is the Talbot Tagora, with a trunk almost as roomy as a Škoda showroom at 569 liters, yet it still has to acknowledge the Octavia's supremacy. It seems the Octavia is not just keeping up with the Joneses; it's leaving them miles behind with their suitcases on the curb.