They’re calling it the Vision O. It’s a new concept car from Skoda that takes the form of an electric estate, and it was revealed at 2025's Munich motor show.
Why does any of this matter? Well, you don’t need a doctorate to work out that the ‘O’ (pictured below) previews the next Skoda Octavia. This will be the first time one of Skoda’s mainstream models will have gone electric, and the Octavia is heartland Skoda – the backbone of the company’s range. So it’s a big deal.
Skoda estates have become the go-to choice for buyers seeking unassuming workhorses that major on comfort, and come replete with ingenious design and engineering solutions that make them immensely easy to use and live with.
And for those needing to shift a tonne of stuff, Skoda’s larger models have filled in the ground ceded by Volvo’s estates, which once were the biggest you could buy. Nowadays, if you need a huge boot, you don’t buy a Volvo V90 – you go for a Skoda Superb instead.
But the public’s affection for Skoda’s estate cars doesn’t mean they’re expensive to buy. In fact, there are some brilliant bargains to be had if you know where to look (and that usually means ‘on CarGurus’).
For example, how about a year-old Octavia Estate for less than twenty grand? Now I’d forgive you for thinking I’m fibbing, given such a thing would usually cost you closer to thirty brand new, but it just goes to show how much you can save by buying nearly-new.
The 2024 example I found is a fairly basic spec – a 1.5 TSI SE Technology with the 114bhp engine. But it still comes with all the things we love about the Octavia Estate – immense comfort, a vast boot, loads of room in the back seats, an efficient engine and a slick gearchange.
All this can be had for £19,780 with just 12,000 miles on the clock – a real bargain, in my book. And the CarGurus deal rating would seem to agree, placing this as a Great Deal at £1,401 less than its instant market value (IMV). To buy the same car brand new right now, you’d have to pay £29,505. That’s around a third off.
Need something a bit bigger? How about a Skoda Superb estate? I’ve got a big soft spot for these – we had one as our family car for four years, and already miss its simply vast boot, which swallowed anything we might care to throw at it on days out or trips abroad.
I found a third-generation 2016 1.4 TSI SE L Executive with just 24,000 miles on the clock for just £13,995. That’s £1,262 below its CarGurus IMV, which marks it out as a good deal.
This is a really desirable big estate, too, with a luxurious combination of leather upholstery, heated electrically adjustable front seats with a memory setting, adaptive cruise control, satellite navigation, and dual-zone climate control. And the chasm of leg room in the back means you’ll never have to worry about the kids kicking your seat backs again – I speak from experience!
Mind you, estate cars don’t have to be vast. Indeed, Skoda was the last manufacturer in the UK to persevere with an estate version of a small hatchback. The result, the Fabia Estate, is a brilliant option that answers a unique set of needs.
For example, if you have to park in a tight garage, or need to nip down narrow streets, but still need lots of room in the boot, it’s just the thing.
How about a 2016 example, in high-spec Monte Carlo form and fitted with the nippy 1.2-litre turbo engine? The one I’ve found has done a very reasonable 60,000 miles, and comes with a full service history and a long MOT. It’s yours for just £7,395 – £1,142 below its IMV.
But what if your budget doesn’t stretch quite that far? Well, there are great deals to be had at the other end of the price spectrum, too. Take the 2009 Fabia 1.4 Estate I unearthed, in mid-range 2 form and finished in a very fetching shade of metallic red.
This one doesn’t quite come with a full service history, but it’s got lots of invoices pointing to plenty of care and maintenance over the years, and didn’t get any advisories on its last MOT. it’s done just 71,000 miles, too.
And the price for such finery? A snip at just £2,195 – £838 below its market value. Need you wait for Vision O to come along with bargains like these around?