Hatchback vs Estate

[BlueTrin]

I was about to buy an estate Octavia, but I quite like the look of the hatchback.

 

I looked at the specs and it seems that both cars are almost similar spec wise.

 

I cannot see a drawback for the estate as it has only slightly more fuel consumption but almost the same specs for almost 50l capacity more in the boot.

 

Does it come down just to cosmetic appearance ?

[PetrolDave]

53 minutes ago, BlueTrin said:

Does it come down just to cosmetic appearance ?

The load space is taller in the estate, and the estate comes with roof rails which makes fitting a roof rack or roof box neater.

 

I always used to buy hatchbacks but in 2003 bought my first estate and every car since then has been an estate.

[threadbear]

Whilst I like the look of the Octavia estate both III and IV, I have a hatchback and have never filled it completely up, even going to the recycling centre after lockdown. I guess the estate has more versaility and would be the obvious choice if you are a rep or engineer, or have a large dog or move a lot of furniture. 

 

An estate holds its money better but they are more expensive. Its your choice at the end of the day. Whatever you buy, its a good car. 

[Sec8200]

1. Aerodynamics of the liftback are little better than those of the estate. We did drag raced few times equally equiped cars and after certain speed liftback goes little ahead due to better coefficient. Tested with petrol vRS and regular diesels. Equal gears as well DSG vs DSG, manual vs manual.

2. Liftback has better look to my eyes

3. Sound isolation in every estate is worse than sedans due to the tunneling sound effect

4. Octavia has very big boot but relatively low weight capacity. Meaning if you don't transport paper boxes or something that requires space vs weight then it's more likely to hit the weight limit first rather than the volume limit.

5. Main advantage of the estate is the additional head room above the back seats

Edited 26 July, 2020 by Sec8200

[shyVRS245]

19 minutes ago, Sec8200 said:

1. Aerodynamics of the liftback are little better than those of the estate. We did drag raced few times equally equiped cars and after certain speed liftback goes little ahead due to better coefficient. Tested with petrol vRS and regular diesels. Equal gears as well DSG vs DSG, manual vs manual.

2. Liftback has better look to my eyes

3. Sound isolation in every estate is worse than sedans due to the tunneling sound effect

4. Octavia has very big boot but relatively low weight capacity. Meaning if you don't transport paper boxes or something that requires space vs weight then it's more likely to hit the weight limit first rather than the volume limit.

5. Main advantage of the estate is the additional head room above the back seats

Agree with pretty everything you said but I can see the appeal of the larger Pano roof in the estate over the smaller electric sunroof I had on my 2017 Vrs245. Lets more light into the cabin and most Octavia's have dark interiors unless you have an SEL with the beige interior which is probably not a good idea though with small children.

[OctaviaMK4]

On 24/07/2020 at 17:01, BlueTrin said:

I was about to buy an estate Octavia, but I quite like the look of the hatchback.

 

I looked at the specs and it seems that both cars are almost similar spec wise.

 

I cannot see a drawback for the estate as it has only slightly more fuel consumption but almost the same specs for almost 50l capacity more in the boot.

 

Does it come down just to cosmetic appearance ?

I love wagons. All the cars that I have had till this point were wagons. I hate not having space to chunk in things that are bulky.

 

But when I was looking at the Octavia, I really did not find a reason to go for the wagon,

 

I got the sedan, and trust me it has more than enough space, and I have a wife that would take everything ...including the kitchen sink

 

The boot is huge, and you can always add a Thule in case you need it.

[Gerrycan]

The mk4 sedan is very aerodynamic and if you don't need the minimal extra load space of the estate (and the couple of points worse drag factor) then probably the preferred option

 

I value my mk3 estate because I can put three adult road bikes inside vertically (wheels removed) and carry three people. This would not be possible in the sedan. The aerodynamic penalty for the mk3 estate is minimal (cd 0.30 sedan, 0.31 estate).

[budster]

23 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

The mk4 sedan is very aerodynamic and if you don't need the minimal extra load space of the estate (and the couple of points worse drag factor) then probably the preferred option

 

I value my mk3 estate because I can put three adult road bikes inside vertically (wheels removed) and carry three people. This would not be possible in the sedan. The aerodynamic penalty for the mk3 estate is minimal (cd 0.30 sedan, 0.31 estate).

Do you have to remove both the bike wheels to get them in vertically?

[Gerrycan]

18 minutes ago, budster said:

Do you have to remove both the bike wheels to get them in vertically?

No I can cheat a bit by only having to remove the front wheel and the quick release seat tube.

The wife's bike is a small conventional parallel frame and my bigger bike has a sloping top tube as does the hardtail 26" mountain bike.

It is tight so I imagine bigger frames would need both wheels removed and that is a bit of a faff.

I hate attaching bikes outside a car.

Edited 6 August, 2020 by Gerrycan

[budster]

1 hour ago, Gerrycan said:

No I can cheat a bit by only having to remove the front wheel and the quick release seat tube.

The wife's bike is a small conventional parallel frame and my bigger bike has a sloping top tube as does the hardtail 26" mountain bike.

It is tight so I imagine bigger frames would need both wheels removed and that is a bit of a faff.

I hate attaching bikes outside a car.

Thanks, taking off the saddles is what makes the difference, I suppose, but I don't have quick release saddles on ours. Never that far from an allen key though really.

 

Likewise I don't like having them outside, always paranoid they are going to fly off / get nicked. Although I do always secure them inside as I also don't want a bike going into the back of my head if I have an accident.

 

Currently have a Superb hatch (boot size only marginally bigger than the Octavia) and it always takes several attempts to get mine and my son's bikes in the boot as invariably some bit of the bike is sticking up and won't let the hatch close, so changing to an estate is tempting.

[Gerrycan]

@budster, I know you can do the front wheel removal and vertical storage thing with 3 bikes in a Honda Jazz so it is all to do with storage shape not just total size.

I am mulling over getting a Fabia estate and I have to investigate the option of doing the same with that.

[budster]

7 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

@budster, I know you can do the front wheel removal and vertical storage thing with 3 bikes in a Honda Jazz so it is all to do with storage shape not just total size.

I am mulling over getting a Fabia estate and I have to investigate the option of doing the same with that.

True, but then you've have to drive a Honda Jazz! My Mum used to have one and loved it. To be fair, I could see that it had a lot of really practical features and was a bit tardis like inside but it was gutless, felt like it was made out of tin foil and the interior seemed to be made out of random buttons they had found lying about in a parts bin.

 

Maybe the new Kamiq would be good for that as it's Fabia sized but with a bit of extra height? Fabia estate is probably going to be a bit cheaper though since it's been around for a good few years and is not an SUV, therefore not as fashionable (at least, not in the UK). Drove the most recent model of Fabia as a hire car a couple of years ago and was actually really impressed.

[OctaviaMK4]

I had a road trip this week. 1000 km, packed to the top. Amazing amount of room. Three suitcases, a lot of bags, TWO BIG folding chairs all in the boot.

 

Plus I have added a big first aid kit, a cig lighter tyre pump in the side pockets in the boot. 

 

Excellent job by Skoda.

Edited 7 August, 2020 by OctaviaMK4
Adding

[Gerrycan]

4 hours ago, OctaviaMK4 said:

I had a road trip this week. 1000 km, packed to the top. Amazing amount of room. Three suitcases, a lot of bags, TWO BIG folding chairs all in the boot.

 

Plus I have added a big first aid kit, a cig lighter tyre pump in the side pockets in the boot. 

 

Excellent job by Skoda.

Combi/estate or liftback/sedan?

 

Is your mk4 noticeably bigger inside than the equivalent mk3?

[OctaviaMK4]

2 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Combi/estate or liftback/sedan?

 

Is your mk4 noticeably bigger inside than the equivalent mk3?

Liftback

 

I had the chance to compare them.

 

The boot is a bit bigger in the mk4.

 

The biggest difference is the quality of the materials.