I am thinking of renewing my 2016 SE L diesel manual shortly for the latest Octavia SE L. A lot has changed with cars in the last 9 years so I would like some feedback from owners in the UK.

I’m particularly interested in how functional and reliable the infotainment is.

My 2016 MK3 has control knobs for the heating and A/C whereas the new one is buttons.

Is the satnav still updated to an SD card from the update portal website.

Do owners have issues with the infotainment freezing or crashing. I read there were issues.

What about the safety features like lane assist and speed limiters. Do they work well, if left on do you get constant bongs going 1mph over. Do people just turn them off and if so how easy is it to do so.

Mechanically, how reliable are they still. My MK3 has never caused issues. I would be sticking to diesel but would go automatic this time.

Anyone like me that previously had a MK3 I would particularly like to hear their feedback.

Thanks.

Edited 30 December, 202530 Dec by paulguk

Had my Mk 4.5 just over a year now. Only done 8500 miles, overall pleased. Is well screwed together, the SEL seems to be the sweet spot in terms of kit, only miss not having a reversing camera, was a stock car so can’t complain on that front.

We ran a couple of MK3’s and this is a genuine step up. The infotainment system is ok, mine has had a couple of minor glitches, but nothing major.

The a/c and climate control, is fairly straightforward I pretty much leave it on auto. Only minor complaint is the heated front screen control is a little hard to fine.

I switch off the lane assist each time I drive, but it’s a couple of clicks so no real hassle.

Good motorway car, took us all away down through Germany in the summer and for a 1.5 55mpg is really good.

3K miles into my 4.5 VRS and infotainment screen hasn’t missed a beat (touch wood). Very easy to use once you know where are all the settings are. I predominantly have it on car play and it works great.

My ritual when I start the car is to turn off lane assist (2 quick clicks on the steering wheel) and auto start / stop (1 button on screen). No biggie as takes no time to do.

I actually keep the speed warning on. I find the sound non-obtrusive and it’s actually a good reminder for when I go over. That said, very easy to turn off via steering wheel if required.

It’s a lovely car and is a huge step up from a Mark 3. Do it!!

Not in the UK but 4.5 RS owner here. 1 year old now, no issues with infotainment and it seems a significant upgrade on the mark 4 which was associated with problems. Temperature is always on the main screen so easy to change and you can, as I do, have the climate controls always on the main screen. I find the software pretty good overall and easy to use.