Qashqai vs Octavia

irlrobins

Hey all,

Looking to some input on these two cars. Wife and I are expecting first child, so our Golf Mk5 1.6FSI with three doors is just not going to be practicable soon. Done a bit of research and these two models have come up a few times as well regarded family cars, particularly with buggies in mind. Buying new, with Golf as trade in.

We're looking at petrol engines as we don't do the mileage (urban driving) to make the diesel better value. Looking at the Qashqai 1.2 SV and the Octavia 1.2 Style and adding options to get them to the same spec (e.g. adding rear view camera, folding mirrors, safety kits, etc) brings them close enough to each on in price.

At the moment here are the pros and cons I have with each model:

Qashqai:
Pros:

• Good quality feel in build
• Well spec'd as standard
• Sitting higher than saloon feels good
• Good resale value
• Decent sized boot, no lip to have to pull buggy over
• The electronic gadgets seem easier to use than Octavia, better UX

Cons:

• Can feel a bit sluggish in acceleration, seems comfortable on motorway once you get to 120kph though
• I feel like my I'm too tall for it, not much room between legs and steering wheel, might no be as comfortable on long journeys

Octavia:
Pros:

• Massive boot!
• 1.2 feels nipped and more responsive than Qashqai
• Coming from a Golf, the layout and fit seems v familiar
• From comfortable in drivers seat.

Cons:

• Boot has a lip
• Rearview thru the back is small. Qashqai's is better plus has massive wing mirrors
• Build quality of interior not as good as Qashqai's in some places
• Is resale value as good as Qashqai?

Ultimately, it might come down to the price difference, particular for how much trade in the dealer offers.

But I'd be interested to hear any Qashqai or Octavia owners reviews, additional pros and cons, saloon vs crossover pros and cons, etc from users.

Thanks!

colm_mcm

What about ofne of those big golfs?
Used to be called the golf plus

irlrobins

Golf SV? It's a slightly higher priced than the Qashqai and Octavia. Also it's a new model so haven't seen many reviews on it.

bazz26

Any reviews you read of the MkVII Golf will be the same as the Golf SV as that is what it's based on.

irlrobins

Well I'd be interested to see how a bigger car performs on the same engine as as standard Golf.

Redgirl82

What type of buggy you thinking of buying? We have Qashqai, older model and have Bugaboo & Out N About Double. The older model Qashqai boot is not great, I bought for the exact same reason you are thinking of buying it. I wanted a high car so it was easy to throw buggy in and out and not have lip, which to be fair it is great for. But the boot is quite small. Once you fire in buggy(bugaboo) there is not much space left. Throw the double in and it is full.

I think the newer model has bigger boot but your best bet is to do what I do now, you will get strange looks mind you. Bring the buggy with you and throw it into the car. See how easy it is to get in & out

The big advantage of Qashqai is the height. I love it. Once your baby start to grow which is surprisingly very quickly they soon weight a ton and getting them in and out of car versus Qashqai is huge difference. Your back will love the Qashqai. Match the Qashqai with Axiss car seat and you are sorted. No bending or anything.

We have Qashqai and A6. I prefer to drive the Qashqai simply for the ease of getting the 2 kids in and out....

If I was in same position when I bought the Qashqai I would have gone with Qashqai +2 just to get the extra boot space, not for the 7 seats.

It is only a small complaint mind you.....

irlrobins

Not sure what buggy, we're a few months away from needing it But it's a valid point and something I'm considering as part of my selection criteria. Octavia definitely wins the boot category. I'm hoping I can take each car on a longer test drive and borrow buggy to see how it fits in etc.

Redgirl82

irlrobins wrote: »

Not sure what buggy, we're a few months away from needing it But it's a valid point and something I'm considering as part of my selection criteria. Octavia definitely wins the boot category. I'm hoping I can take each car on a longer test drive and borrow buggy to see how it fits in etc.

Maybe ask your wife, I knew what buggy I wanted long before.....

cowlick

Both are nice to drive, I would nearly choose the octavia for the boot space also as with kids buggys, changing bags, visits to parents, weekends away etc you will need the space. I have the qashqai and in fairness if my kids were small babies it wouldn't be big enough at all, one thing about the octavia I didnt like though space wise is the hump on the floor in the middle back seat, its really high and uncomfortable looking for anyone sitting there.

irlrobins

What year is your Qashqai cowlick?

cowlick

irlrobins wrote: »

What year is your Qashqai cowlick?

its a 2014.

DavyD_83

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I think it actually makes sense here.
I'm currently looking at the same decision, can't afford new to be honest, so would most likely be 2013-2015 models.
At the moment it's looking like the Octavia's bit might just be the overall deciding factor.

We've just had second child, so need a bit more space and something a little more able for the Steady 120kph on motors for the odd weekend trips in Ireland. Trading in a 08 Hyundai i30.

Any updated opinions?
OP what did you go for in the end, and how have you gotten on with it?

I have also been considering the Toyota Prius, or a Hyundai i40...

Sebastian Dangerfield

DavyD_83 wrote: »

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I think it actually makes sense here.
I'm currently looking at the same decision, can't afford new to be honest, so would most likely be 2013-2015 models.
At the moment it's looking like the Octavia's bit might just be the overall deciding factor.

We've just had second child, so need a bit more space and something a little more able for the Steady 120kph on motors for the odd weekend trips in Ireland. Trading in a 08 Hyundai i30.

Any updated opinions?
OP what did you go for in the end, and how have you gotten on with it?

I have also been considering the Toyota Prius, or a Hyundai i40...

I have a 1 year old and another one on the way, and we drag every piece of kit possible with us. I bought a 141 i40 estate before Christmas and I love it. I'm sure someone will have criticisms of it, but it's got a huge boot, nice spec and built quality, and really comfortable to drive. We recently had to upgrade the baby seat and got one of those rear facing ones, it needs a lot of space in the back. The people fitting it were able to give it the full recline (which is uncommon apparently) with no real impact to the space in front - they said it was the best they had seen.

Only fault so far is the camera in the rearview mirror which works intermittently, but hopefully not a big fix.

cowlick

DavyD_83 wrote:

We've just had second child, so need a bit more space and something a little more able for the Steady 120kph on motors for the odd weekend trips in Ireland. Trading in a 08 Hyundai i30.

DavyD_83 wrote:

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I think it actually makes sense here. I'm currently looking at the same decision, can't afford new to be honest, so would most likely be 2013-2015 models. At the moment it's looking like the Octavia's bit might just be the overall deciding factor.

DavyD_83 wrote:

Any updated opinions? OP what did you go for in the end, and how have you gotten on with it?

DavyD_83 wrote:

I have also been considering the Toyota Prius, or a Hyundai i40...

I deliberated between these two also, I have 3 kids, went with the Qashqai in the end and love it, but if I had a very small baby I would need a bigger boot for buggies and all that comes with a baby. The boot is massive in the Octavia, another point would be the i40 estate would also have a great boot also. I didn't like the high hump in the back seat floor as my 3rd child would not be able to put their feet on the floor in the Octavia. Hope this helps!

DavyD_83

Sebastian Dangerfield wrote: »

I have a 1 year old and another one on the way, and we drag every piece of kit possible with us. I bought a 141 i40 estate before Christmas and I love it. I'm sure someone will have criticisms of it, but it's got a huge boot, nice spec and built quality, and really comfortable to drive. We recently had to upgrade the baby seat and got one of those rear facing ones, it needs a lot of space in the back. The people fitting it were able to give it the full recline (which is uncommon apparently) with no real impact to the space in front - they said it was the best they had seen.

Only fault so far is the camera in the rearview mirror which works intermittently, but hopefully not a big fix.

Thanks, I'm really only starting to look and haven't actually gone viewing or driving anything just yet.

I've seen a few i40 standard and estate that I like the look of, although they are slightly pricier than the Octavia from what I've seen. Great to here that they're a good option.

And yes, space in the back is really important. We have 1 big rear facing seat at the moment, and presumably will have 2 in the near future (nearly 3 yr old in AxKid Mini; and 7 month old, still in the smaller travel seat).
The seat behind passenger at the moment, is restrictive but manageable. we couldn't get away with doing the same to driver though.

Using an Out n About Double Nipper at the moment too, which pretty much fills the current boot, or an UppaBaby Vista, which takes up a lot of it.
So, a bigger boot is important.

Although I have read a lot of good things about the Qashqai in terms of comfort, safety and driving, it does seem to fall down on boot size.

looking like my key requirements are:

• Space in back seat for 2 rear facing car seats
• Good boot space - double buggy, or large single buggy, with room for shopping/luggage etc
• Drives comfortably at motorway speeds 120-140KPH, even when fully loaded with 2 kids and their equipment
• Ideally, I'd like alloys, A/C, Bluetooth, not pushed about cameras, but that is just because I've never had them

I'm already starting to lean away from the QashQai, although the Qashqai +2 could be an option as mentioned above.
My budget may just end up being the deciding factor.
Hyundai's seem to have more bells and whistles than the Octavia, but maybe I can't afford space and gadgets

Thanks for the advice so far

Sebastian Dangerfield

DavyD_83 wrote: »

Thanks, I'm really only starting to look and haven't actually gone viewing or driving anything just yet.

I've seen a few i40 standard and estate that I like the look of, although they are slightly pricier than the Octavia from what I've seen. Great to here that they're a good option.

And yes, space in the back is really important. We have 1 big rear facing seat at the moment, and presumably will have 2 in the near future (nearly 3 yr old in AxKid Mini; and 7 month old, still in the smaller travel seat).
The seat behind passenger at the moment, is restrictive but manageable. we couldn't get away with doing the same to driver though.

Using an Out n About Double Nipper at the moment too, which pretty much fills the current boot, or an UppaBaby Vista, which takes up a lot of it.
So, a bigger boot is important.

Although I have read a lot of good things about the Qashqai in terms of comfort, safety and driving, it does seem to fall down on boot size.

looking like my key requirements are:

• Space in back seat for 2 rear facing car seats
• Good boot space - double buggy, or large single buggy, with room for shopping/luggage etc
• Drives comfortably at motorway speeds 120-140KPH, even when fully loaded with 2 kids and their equipment
• Ideally, I'd like alloys, A/C, Bluetooth, not pushed about cameras, but that is just because I've never had them

I'm already starting to lean away from the QashQai, although the Qashqai +2 could be an option as mentioned above.
My budget may just end up being the deciding factor.
Hyundai's seem to have more bells and whistles than the Octavia, but maybe I can't afford space and gadgets

Thanks for the advice so far

Isn't it a sad day when you have to prioritise space over gadgets :-(