Get over your snobbery – it’s a Skoda

Date Published: 10-Jun-2010

We are still a bunch of car snobs in this country. This week I’ve been testing the Skoda Octavia RS Combi TDi which is one of the most complete cars you can buy no matter what your criteria and yet people came up to me saying things like; sure it’s only a Skoda. To be honest, I couldn’t care less what badge was stuck on this car; it is one of my favourite cars and would certainly be in my top five to buy.

We motorists have been spoiled in recent years by the level of specification that we enjoy in all sorts of cars. It is one of the plus points from the ‘money no object’ period that we enjoyed before the ball was punctured. We wanted more gadgets, more safety devices and more performance from our cars. Now we have to be a bit more practical and a bit more aware of our environment, Car manufacturers have been doing their part but if you still want fun, practicality and the comforts we have become attached to, then this is the car for you. And it has got guts too.

Skoda calls it ‘Responsible Fun’ and that pretty much sums it up. You get 170bhp from the 2.0-litre TDi engine. It is punchy, smooth and matted to a six-speed gearbox; the RS loves the open road and still has the range to tackle the twisty stuff with a sense of enjoyment that you would expect from a hot hatch.

The handling is safe, sharp and accurate. This comes from the suspension setup that Skoda employs. The front axle and the front shocks and springs are tuned to be stiff enough for the car to crisp in the cornering yet comfortable on broken surfaces. The rear axle with three transverse stabilisers delivers the same stiffness and comfort as the front. You get the best of all worlds; the handling is sporty, the steering is precise and the grip is outstanding.

My test car came with a long list of standard devices. It had ESP, Dual-Zone Climate Control, Bluetooth, a Bolero Touch Screen Audio system with an integrated 6-CD changer and SD and MMC card reader, rear parking sensors, roof rails and LED daytime driving lights. Add Cruise Control, Tyre Pressure Monitoring, rain sensing wipers and you can see that Skoda don’t spare the goodies in this car. I was disappointed though that it didn’t have steering mounted controls for the radio and sound system. It is the one glaring omission from the specification. Nevertheless, as an optional extra I did get leather upholstery and 18” Alloy wheels.

Of course, this car is an estate and you get the added value from the additional space that that implies. Needless to say the rear seats also fold flat creating even more room for luggage or cargo. There is a bit of a lip at the back that requires you to lift items over at into the rear but it’s hardly a deal buster.

As we have now come to expect from all Skoda products this car is well bolted together. Safety levels are reasonably high with four airbags, two Isofix fittings in the rear and activating warning lights under severe braking.

Economically the RS delivered 6.3L/100kms. Skoda quotes 5.7L/100kms in their own literature which would be hard to match because this car just wants to be driven. CO2 emissions are 150g/km, which puts it into Tax Band C and an annual road tax bill of €302. Maximum output is 125kW at 4,200 rpm and an impressive maximum torque of 350 Nm from 1,750 to 2,500 rpm.

You can have this car with a DSG automatic gearbox and in saloon form too if you don’t want that estate. There is also a petrol version with a cracking 2.0-litre 200bhp engine. When you add it all up you would expect to be paying well over €30,000 for a car like this. You will be impressed to know that the list price for the Skoda Octavia RS Combi is €28,615 which is about €1,000 more than the saloon. I think that is terrific value for money for such a complete car and you are getting a great big dollop of fun thrown in for good measure.