Mazda6 Atenza v Skoda Octavia RS 2024 Comparison

Despite on-paper appearances, the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza and Skoda Octavia RS wagons are essentially the same price. Sort of. To sort out this opening ambiguity, the Mazda’s $53,890 price excludes on-road costs while the Skoda’s $58,490 price is a drive-away figure.

However, the Octavia’s price can be inflated with some tasty options we’ll get to in a moment. It’s worth noting that we have the flagship variants here, but you can get into a Mazda6 Sport wagon from $37,590 plus ORCs, while the five-door Skoda range starts at $43,990 drive-away for the Octavia Style or Sportline twins.

At this price point there are roughly a million SUV options, but we’ll assume if you’re after a traditional wagon you have no interest in a raised ride height.

As such, similarly priced alternatives aren’t particularly numerous, but they include the slightly smaller Peugeot 308 GT Premium Wagon ($50,490 plus ORCs) and Subaru WRX Sportswagon ($51,790 plus ORCs), or the slightly larger Citroen C5 X ($57,670 plus ORCs).

More options open up if your budget is a little healthier, including the Skoda Superb 4x4 Sportline ($71,990 drive-away), Audi A4 45 TFSI Avant ($85,700 plus ORCs), BMW 330i Touring ($92,900 plus ORCs) and Volvo V60 B5 Cross Country ($74,990 plus ORCs).

In standard trim, the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza has the clear advantage in terms of equipment over the Skoda Octavia RS, the Japanese car coming loaded to the gills with kit.

Standard fare includes power-adjustable front seats (10-way driver, six-way passenger), with heating, ventilation and two-position memory for the driver, heated rear seats, sunroof, nappa leather, heated steering wheel, wood and ultrasuede inserts on the doors and dashboard, LED lights front and rear, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, a head-up display and auto lights and wipers.

The Octavia RS isn’t exactly sparse either, with (excellent) sports front seats, dual-zone climate control, matrix LED headlights and a hands-free power tailgate, but the $6600 Premium Pack lifts the specification to the level you might expect and arguably makes the car better value.

It adds adaptive damping, a 12-speaker premium audio system, leather upholstery, power adjustment for the front seats, heating for the front and outboard rear seats, a head-up display, triple-zone climate control and memory function for the external mirrors, though a sunroof costs another $1100.

In terms of colours, black, blue, metallic silver and metallic platinum are standard on the Mazda, with metallic red, white and two greys costing an extra $795. The Mamba Green pictured here is the only standard for the Skoda, with metallic blue, grey, silver, white and pearl black adding $770 and metallic red costing an extra $1100.

In terms of servicing, both have 12-month/15,000km intervals but the Mazda is a little cheaper over the first five visits ($2576 versus $2750). However, the Skoda has an extra two years of warranty coverage at seven years/unlimited-km.

There isn’t much to split the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza and Skoda Octavia RS in terms of safety. Both wear five-star ANCAP ratings, though the Mazda’s expires at the end of 2024 and the Skoda’s 12 months later.

As the more modern vehicle, the Skoda is slightly ahead. Both have front, front-side and full-length curtain airbags, but the Octavia adds front-centre and rear-side airbags as well.

Each can boast an impressive suite of active safety features including active cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, intelligent speed assist and 360-degree cameras, though the Skoda’s is higher resolution and it has auto-parking to make shopping trips even easier.

The Octavia’s lane-assist systems can be a bit more overbearing though, regularly nudging the steering wheel this way and that in typical urban driving. Not as bad as some, but still unwelcome.

It’s worth remembering that at its core the current 2024 Mazda6 Atenza is 12 years old and while it’s had some significant updates in the meantime, especially on the inside, there’s no doubt it’s far from cutting-edge.

Its 8.0-inch infotainment screen has wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, plus internet radio, AM/FM/DAB+, Bluetooth and there’s wireless phone charging to boot, but the screen’s size and resolution is off the pace – as is the annoying ergonomic quirk of only being touch-sensitive when stationary.

In contrast, the 10.0-inch screen of the Skoda Octavia RS is much more modern with wireless Apple CarPlay AND Android Auto, though from there the feature list basically mirrors the Mazda’s. It’s much easier to operate, however, especially on the move, though all the climate controls have moved into the screen.

This isn’t as bad as it could be as temperature adjustment is always present, but fan or recirc adjustment requires another screen to be called upon. The Skoda does have ‘smart’ air-con, too, with options to ‘warm my hands’ or ‘cool my feet’ and they do actually work quite well.

The Octavia also has a full-width digital instrument cluster with multiple screens depending on the drive mode and driver preference, and with a bit of familiarity finding the information you’re after isn’t too much of a struggle.

At first glance the Mazda looks to have traditional analogue dials, but they are digitised along with a central digital readout for various vehicle information. It’s a neat solution and a fine blend between digital customisation and analogue simplicity.

Both the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza and Skoda Octavia RS are fitted with four-cylinder turbo-petrol engines, providing plenty of power to the front wheels, but they deliver it in very different fashions.

You could be forgiven for thinking the Mazda’s larger 2.5-litre until is a diesel, its 173kW power peak coming at just 4250rpm with a solid 420Nm of torque arriving at only 2000rpm.

While the Skoda has similar outputs at 180kW/370Nm, the former comes in at 6500rpm while the latter sticks around over a broad 1600-4300rpm.

Automatic transmissions feature in both, but the Mazda has a six-speed torque converter while the Skoda uses a seven-speed dual-clutch unit.

When it comes to the official figures, the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza’s 7.6L/100km combined claim clearly lags behind the Skoda Octavia RS’s 6.8L/100km and this theoretical disparity carries over into the real world.

In our experience, the Mazda’s official urban claim of 10.1L/100km is about right – a fairly high number by today’s standards – and roughly 10-15 per cent more than the Skoda.

The flipside to this is the Octavia’s more enthusiastic nature means you might be tempted to use the throttle more vigorously more often.

The Mazda offers a superior touring range, however, with a 62-litre tank compared to just 50 litres in the Skoda.

The good news here is there’s no bad choice. While they differ in character and detail, both the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza and Skoda Octavia RS are a pleasure to drive and both are worthy of recommendation, but let’s start with the Mazda.

Despite its healthy engine outputs, the G35 Atenza isn’t a performance car, nor is it pretending to be one. This is, in the main, a good thing.

It has more ability than most will ever need or, indeed, give it credit for, but while it can be hustled at a serious pace, grab it by the scruff of the neck and it starts to get a bit scrappy.

There’s fine balance, accurate steering and plenty of grip, but the engine doesn’t like to rev, running into a soft limiter just short of 6000rpm, the inside wheel will spin up while leaving tight corners (even in the dry) and your nostrils will quickly discover how hard the brakes are working in enthusiastic use.

No matter. The ride is excellent, it’s quiet, the engine and gearbox work together smoothly, the steering is well weighted in normal (Sport adds unwelcome weight) and it’s a cross-country cruiser par excellence.

There’s enough body control to remain poised at higher speeds, a lower centre of gravity than your typical SUV to improve cornering manners and ample torque for overtaking manoeuvres.

For a car of the 6’s vintage to be still such a pleasure to drive speaks volumes for how right Mazda got it first time around.

The Skoda is a horse of a different colour. Literally, its vivid green paintwork as illustrative of its personality as the Mazda’s beige is of its. This is a performance car and a very, very good one.

On a twisting, ducking, diving road where the Mazda is doing the business through somewhat gritted teeth, the Skoda has a grin a mile wide.

Its limited-slip diff ensures both front tyres share the tractive load, the larger brakes are not stressed in the slightest and the beautifully tuned passive suspension provides excellent body control even through gnarly mid-corner bumps.

The steering is much faster than the Mazda’s, to the point that you almost drive straight off the road at the first corner after hopping into the Skoda – not a problem owners will face, granted, but illustrative of the difference between the two.

It’s not just the chassis, either, as the engine is much more urgent and willing to rev, showing that how the numbers are delivered is just as important in a performance application as the numbers themselves.

There are downsides to the Skoda, however. Select ESP Sport and the stability control calibration is excellent, but any wheelslip – of which there can be plenty in a powerful front-driver, even in the dry, over lumps and bumps – wakes the traction control, which crudely cuts power.

The biggest issue, though, is the lack of refinement. The Octavia RS has a huge amount of road roar. Whether this is exacerbated by the wagon body is unclear, but it’s definitely an area where it concedes considerable ground to the Mazda.

This is where the 2024 Mazda6 Atenza concedes to the Skoda Octavia RS. The Mazda is quite nice, with lots of leather-coated, softly padded surfaces up front, an excellent driving position, useful rear space and a sizeable boot.

Trouble is, the Skoda is better almost across the board. For some reason, Mazda shortened the wagon’s wheelbase by 80mm compared to the sedan, so while my 180cm frame can fit reasonably well behind my driving position, a kid seat in the back requires the front passenger to compromise.

It also looks a bit mean in terms of convenience, with only a pair of air-vents, but Mazda tucks the USB ports and heated seat controls in the fold-down centre armrest – how many people have a 6 wagon and have never found these?

Despite the Octavia being shorter in length and wheelbase, it has decisively more room in the back, along with dual USB-C ports, extra storage pockets and standard sunshades, plus the ability to access the boot by folding down the centre of the rear backrest.

That boot is also full of the clever solutions that Skoda is renowned for, while also being a sizeable 130 litres larger than the Mazda’s.

There are four bag hooks, configurable cargo barriers, a reversible mat for either carpet or rubber, luggage nets and even a picnic rug to go with the umbrellas tucked in the front doors. Surprise and delight.

This isn’t a particularly tricky comparison to adjudicate. The 2024 Skoda Octavia RS is quicker and more enjoyable to drive in a sporting fashion, yet also more economical.

And crucially, it’s a brilliantly thought-out wagon thanks to its space efficiency and thoughtful, useful touches.

Even fully loaded at around $65,000 drive-away, it represents excellent value and the only improvement would be some extra sound deadening to quell that road noise.

Don’t discount the Mazda, though. It’s a tremendous car and if your space requirements aren’t too onerous it could be well worth a look. However, as nice as all its toys are, the Atenza may not be the pick.

Given it doesn’t have a particular sporting focus, we would happily sacrifice the turbo and have the G25 Touring, which is still very well equipped, more efficient and comes with a $42,260 plus ORCs price tag. That is a lot of car for the money.

As a final note, it must be said that both of these cars are more enjoyable to drive and more efficient in terms of space and consumption than their respective SUV equivalents. If you want a raised ride height that’s more than OK, but long live the humble wagon!

2024 Mazda6 G35 Atenza wagon at a glance:
Price: $53,890 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 173kW/420Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 178g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2018)

2024 Skoda Octavia RS wagon at a glance:
Price: $58,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 180kW/370Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 156g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)