A FEW years ago, when these cars were all about the head and not the heart, you'd have been mad to spend more than £13,000 on a Skoda.

Things changed when Volkswagen took over the company, injecting billions of deutschmarks into new models and the machinery needed to build them reliably.

Memories of the gruesome Estelle saloons were banished when the Favorit arrived on these shores to generally favourable reviews.

With the Octavia things are really getting interesting. It may be more than a price match for similar size cars from other manufacturers, but the Octavia certainly isn't a cheap car.

I'm pleased to report that the Octavia squares up to these rivals and, in many cases, it has the beating of them. For starters, there's no denying the VW influence over this new Skoda. Based on a stretched Golf chassis, the Octavia inherits the VW's superb build quality and unburstable engines.

Inside it's a roomy car, too - more VW Passat than Golf. And the boot is simply massive.

Ergonomically it's spot on.. The driver's seat adjusts for height, as does the steering wheel. Switches for the electric windows are placed on the door arm-rest which was about the ideal height for me.

Air conditioning, air bags, a decent stereo and power steering are all standard on the 1.6 GLXi.

The Octavia is a serious threat to the established order and something of a bargain at the price. Ignore it at your peril.

l IT'S a mark of how far Skoda has come in a short space of time that the Octavia can now be bought with the added reassurance of four wheel drive.

The capacious Octavia system shifts traction according to which wheel needs it most.

In day-to-day driving the 4x4 variant feels no different to the normal front drive variant.

The all-wheel traction comes into its own when the going gets slippy.

For drivers who want the extra grip provided by four wheel drive the Octavia is near unbeatable value for money