Hi all,

Hello and a first question from a new member soon to join the family - I hope, anyway. I'm a previous Skoda owner (had a 51 Fabia Tdi Elegance from new for 6 months in 2001) looking to return to the fold for a family car. As I've always liked Octavias but never actually got round to owning one, that's what I've decided to go for. So, er hello anyway!

Our situation is this - the car will be my wife's daily driver, and our main family car. We have a 10-month old boy, and another baby on the way. Might as well get them out of the way in quick succession!

As we will not be doing that many miles in it (I have another silly car that I use daily) but we will be using it for family holidays, I reckon the 1.8t engine in some form is the way to go. Don't really want to pay the premium for a diesel one as I'm not that fussed about the fuel consumption.

So, finally, we get to my question - do I go for the hatch or the estate? Or, put differently, is the estate really that much roomier? Ideally, with 2 babies, estate makes more sense, but they also seem a good bit dearer than the hatches for the same spec/year, so I was wondering if anyone could give me some thoughts on how big the difference is on a day-to-day basis? That'd be much appreciated. Once we've got that established I'll then come back with more annoying questions

Not sure if you are talking about the Mk 1 or Mk 2 but I have the Mk 2 estate and I would not go back to a hatch, the boot is huge and you dont have to so much pack as just chuck it all in, this makes it much easier, I have often had 4 people 2 dogs and stuff in it and no problems, it is not a big estate either so parking etc is not much different.

Thanks for that insigt - more are welcome, particularly on the Mk1, as that's what I'm after. Rather stupidly I didn't mention that in the above post, but to sum up on that front I am looking to buy a 1.8T either Elegance, L&K or VRS, and am wondering whether the estate is worth the extra money in terms of sheer clobber space

I started off with a Mk I vRS estate. The main reason I didn't go for the hatch is that the Mk I vRS version has cross-braces across the back of the boot (behind the rear seat) which limits loading space even with the seats flat. (The seond reson for my choice was it was a company car and the vRS estate with a few options was still within my monthly lease limit.)

The cross bracing issue only applies to the MK I vRS hatch though (I think), so it depends what model you are looking at.

I now have a Mk II hatch, and although the boot isn't as big as the estate its still pretty impressive.

Its obviously not as suitable as the estate for moving fridges etc, but last week I went on holiday in it, and I had two adults, two kids, a tent, a gazebo, a wind break, a kitchen stand and gas stove, pots and pans, food and beer, two tables, four chairs, clothes, sleeping bags and pillows etc etc.....

If money was no object, I would probably have gone for an estate again, but as you said in your original post, they certainly command a premium, and you can get a lower mileage/newer/better spec hatch for the same money.

Oh - and welcome to Briskoda by the way!

Found a pic of the Mk I vRS hatch showing the cross barces - may or may not be an issue for you....

Thanks again, that image with the cross bracing is great. I would have noticed anyway sooner or later obviously, but that is useful to know as that WOULD be an issue.

I have a Mark 1 hatch. With 3 kids its coped very well with all the clobber for holidays etc. Never had any problem getting everything in - usually had space to spare. The hatch also copes with stuff like fridges etc without a problem.

Andy

I'm not entirely comparing like with like cos the hatch was an Ambiante, and the estate is an Elegance (maybe longer geared, certainly bigger lower profile tyres) , but I'd say the hatch is quieter, and the boot is heruge either way.

I opted for an Estate so that I could fit our Staffie plus large dog crate (cage) in the car with us, ie boot shape mattered. The quoted boot volumes for Hatch v Estate with rear seats down are 1328 litres v 1512 litres respectively. The 4X4's figures are slightly less because of the higher boot floor, ie 1228 and 1412.

PS: Unlike the Hatch, the Estate doesn't dump water in the boot when you open the rear hatch.

Go for the estate if you have kids .......babies are changed so much easier in the back and with the tailgate up it will shelter you from the rain while you do so, prams/ pushchairs/cots and all the gubbins that seem to go with kids fit in easier in an estate (they will go in a hatch but not so easy) shopping fits easy, bikes will go in....even a chest freezer fitted in mine with the door shut and the back seats still up........and water wont leak in the boot when you open it............believe me I have had both estate and hatch and have two kids (now grown up) and the estate is the way to go

Another one the way already!! Had one a year ago, don't want another but getting any practice would be nice.

Anyway VRS hatch seems fine for my needs at the mo had to get a quinny as the boot is always full of my junk, without that the car is big enough.

I've recently changed from a Granada hatchback to an Octavia estate and there is just no contest - the estate has so much more room in it that when we go anywhere I can just chuck all the stuff in the back and drive off. Before I'd have to shuffle things around and would struggle to fit things in which was a right pain. And with all the stuff you have to lug around with two young kids you need as much space as you can get!

Hello agian all,

Thanks for all the replies, that's a great welcome! I went to test drive a VRS estate today, and that is certainly cavernous. Want to try out a hatch as well, if nothing else then just to compare. I will keep you posted, but thanks for all your thougths so far. Realistically I think it has to be the estate, but it can't hurt to have a look!