I'm in a bit of a quandary (no, that's not the name of a new SUV).

My dad has a 2014 Skoda Octavia 1.4 DSG which, sadly, he can no longer drive. Apart from a few scuffs (and mossy window seals), it's in good nick and a nice spec (Elegance), with low mileage, and my parents and I agree that it would feel a shame to get rid of it, so we're kicking around the idea that I could buy it off them. From their perspective, they would be happy to offload it (it's not currently getting much use) and for me to benefit from it, and from my perspective it would be an opportunity to acquire a pretty decent car at a relatively low cost.

Currently, my wife and I have a one-car household, sharing a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid Touring Sport (or estate, to you and me), which we've had from "new" (pre-registered). It is in reasonable nick (some cosmetic damage aside), just with a bit of recurrent suspension noise and I think the traction battery isn't lasting quite as long as it used to.

Most of the time we've coped pretty well with just the one car, but yes, there are occasions when we wished we'd had another (though not when it comes to maintenance & servicing!). So I'm mulling over a few options:

1. Take on the Octavia, and keep the Auris too (although we wouldn't have chosen such a large model as a second car - no need for two big-booted cruisers hogging the driveway).

2. Take on the Octavia, and part-ex the Auris for something smaller such as a (newer) Yaris (the hybrid version of which I've had as a courtesy car and quite liked).

3. Take on the Octavia and sell the Auris. Would that be madness? The Octavia is a fraction older but has lower mileage and (mostly) higher spec. But perhaps less of a reliable prospect in the long term compared with the Auris?

4. Take the Octavia, but part-ex it against something like a Fabia or Scala, to have alongside the Auris.

5. Just let the Octavia go and probably keep the Auris until there are more affordable examples around of the new Corolla.

The Octavia has lots of useful bells & whistles which count in its favour *except* for my niggling concern that there's a lot of tech potentially to go wrong. I know Skoda fares relatively well for reliability, but I still get the feeling Toyota is in a league above, and the Auris in particular seems pretty bulletproof, apart from the glaring design weakness that has seen loads of catalytic converter thefts in recent times (mine has the Catloc installed, but it's only really a deterrent). I also have a couple of other niggles with the Auris, in that it can feel a bit slow and heavy up hills, and leaning into corners (a bit of body roll), when I'm driving a bit more briskly (not really what it was designed for, but I can't be sauntering along all the time). To me, the Octavia handles a bit more neatly and is more lively in general, although I do find it can hesitate when moving off from a standstill, which is a bit frustrating. MPG-wise, it's actually not all that far off the Auris, at least where motorway journeys are concerned, perhaps not so good around town though.

So I thought I'd put these thoughts out there and invite opinions from the learned HJ and also his followers.

Oh and just to add this into the mix, I've now had a look at Which? Magazine's car reliability ratings, and they give Skoda only three stars out of five for older (3-8yr) models, versus a big fat five out of five for Toyota, so perhaps taking on an ageing bundle of tech with a 3-star record would not be the most prudent move... any views?