ŠKODA should be high on any Czech list
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Carsguide - 14th October 2007 - Paul Pottinger
Nothing lingers about a car brand with quite the malodorous persistence of adverse publicity. Bad memories stick with the obstinacy of certain types of stains to cheap upholstery.
So it was when the subject of Czech marque ŠKODA’s local relaunch came up outside the tearoom. Nevermind that almost two decades have passed since ŠKODA departed these shores, during which interim the iron curtain eroded, Volkswagen liberated the marque and it became one of Europe’s critical and popular successes.
For all that, a colleague young enough not to know that ŠKODA once churned out typical Eastern Bloc econo-cars somehow did know it and was wary. Others on seeing certain ŠKODAs would likely mistake it for any one of several other brands. So the marque has a lot to overcome as it tentatively re-establishes itself in a market that’s quite burdened by choice.
The Octavia and the Roomster bear about as much resemblance to ŠKODAs of yore as the Airbus 380 to the Wright brother’s Flyer I. Indeed the Octavia deserves to shake the middle-size class, a segment in which Japanese excellence has long been the hallmark of success.
From a sub-$30k diesel that undercuts anything on the market, another that comes in under VW’s own Jetta TDI, to a sub-$40k RS wagon that’s good enough to be a potential Audi A4 alternative, the Octavia is pretty compelling in any of its seven spec packages.
Available in two shapes – hatch-like sedan and a wagon at a $2000 premium – and two trim levels – Ambiente and Elegance – the Octavia range uses VW’s four-cylinder direct injection petrol and turbo diesel models. Ambiente’s start at $29,990 for the 1.9 turbo diesel sedan with five-speed manual, $32,290 for the six-speed auto. The forthcoming range-topper – a wagon with part-time all wheel drive – is $35,490.
Elegance models begin from $30,990 for the 1.8 turbo petrol sedan in manual, $33,290 for the 2.0 FSI petrol auto, with 2.0 turbo diesel variants starting from $33,490 for the manual sedan topping $38,990 for the all-paw wagon.
The RS, with the Golf GTI’s much-lauded 2.0-litre turbo petrol four, rides on 18-inch alloys, lowered by 15mm and equipped with taut sports suspension and bling bits. The manual-only RS is $37,490 for the sedan, $39,490 for the wagon.
Safety is not a for-sale item. The full raft of active and passive measures – including six airbags and Electronic Stability Program – are standard across the range.
Nor could any be called a stripper per se. The entry-level 1.9 TDI Ambiente wagon we drove lacked only a few Elegance features, none of them, aside from the bigger 16-inch alloys, a great necessity as such.
On any wheel/tyre package, however, the Octavia reaches conversation-killing levels of noise on the open roads, especially on that cheap coarse chip the RTA spreads about. At freeway speeds there’s a pronounced booming within the wagon’s glasshouse of which the sedan, despite its roof-hinged hatch, is free.
That aside, the diesel performs with the doughty efficiency and mid-range urge one’s come to expect from the group’s oilers. The 2.0 TDI, replete in Elegance trim and with 320Nm to work with, provides yet more satisfaction still.
But for all the diesel’s ability, the petrol iterations, particularly the two turbo-charged numbers, would get our dough. As the entry-level model of this fuel choice, the 1.8 TFSI would look good at considerably more than the $30,990/$32,990 asked for the sedan or wagon.
An all-new unit that will feature in the latest generation Audi A4, the 118kW engine has even more initial response than the 2.0 TFSI of the RS variants, accessing all of its 250Nm from 1500rpm, even lower than the point at which the faster version deploys its slightly greater quota.
The lack of an auto version means that slushie lovers make do with a 110kW/200Nm 2.0 FSI atmo four. While more than adequate for most punter’s purposes, it can’t hold a candle to its force-fed sibling.
While the lesser disgraced on the Sutton Road Driver Training circuit its remit remains practicality, an area in which it surpasses a locally made sedan.
The star turns are clearly the RS variants, which in signature colours of bright yellow or gleaming metallic blue, are visually differentiated even at a remove of a hundred metres. From closer in, the lower stance and body kit enforce the message.
In this respect the wagon works to greater effect, replete with silver roof rails that mark it as that of an entrant in the Euro sports wagon class. Sitting uncertainly upon the sedan’s more generic shape, the spoiler evokes an accountant trying to look tough by wearing a studded leather belt. Within both cars, it’s all drilled alloy pedals, leather trimmed seats and RS logos.
Under the skin, the RS has the wherewithal to wear its bling wih dignity – they’re a pair of Bohemian pistols. A 1400kg kerb weight pushes it into front-drive understeer sooner than the GTI, but perhaps slightly more progressively and predictably.
On the straight, its claimed sprint time of 7.3 seconds is but a tenth slower than Golf, no mean feat given that the ŠKODA competes against a class of bigger cars.
On public roads, the tautened nature of the S gives away very little to the lesser variants, making for a comparatively discreet and extremely able executive express.
Should ŠKODA fail to re-establish itself in this part of the world, it won’t be because it is wanting. At the very worst, it will make for better memories.
