Name choice of Roomster apt

The Škoda Roomster is a car that you cannot help but be impressed with. Yes, it has the potential to polarise people in terms of its design, but it has to be the most practical, and versatile, small car that has been brought to the Australian market. And its look does grow on you, at least that s the impression I gained after spending two days last week driving the car in the Czech Republic, where it was designed and built.

With a length of 4200mm it fits into the middle ground of its competitors such as the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus and Holden Astra, but with a height of 1607mm it is going to tower over most of the other cars in its class. It is this height, combined with some clever interior design concepts that makes the Roomster the roomiest car in its class, Its not hard to work out how they came up with the name, is it?

And all the extra room is aimed at making life comfortable for back passengers or a lot of cargo. This is made possible by its innovative VarioFlex System that allows the 40/20/40 split rear seats to be moved back or forward by 150mm, folded down, flipped up to create a flat floor or removed.

The back of the centre seat can be folded down to provide storage space or to be used as an armrest, with built cup holders, With little effort, the centre seat, which weighs only 11kg, can be removed, converting it to a comfortable four The outer seats can then be moved inwards by 110mm if required.

The back of the rear seats, which are 46mm higher than the front ones to provide a better view through the windscreen, can also be tilted back. With all this extra thought going into the rear of the cabin, the side windows are much bigger, again making for better viewing, especially for smaller passengers. It is the big rear windows, which are about 40mm lower than the front windows, that contribute to the unusual styling I was referring to earlier. In Australia, it will be available with the choice of a 1.6 petrol engine, matched to either a five manual or six automatic transmission, or a L9 TDI with a six manual transmission.

There will only be one model, with pricing expected to be around $25,000, It will come standard with ABS with electronic stability control, dynamic stability control, six airbags and 15-inch alloy wheels. It will also include features such as cruise control, air-conditioning and alloy wheels as part of its standard package, and will be available with the option of a glass roof.

The interior has a nice feel through its use of high-grade plastics and a simple but functional dash layout. Finding the right driving position is easy with a tilt-and-reach adjustable steering wheel combined with the good seat adjustment. While it would he hard to describe the performance of either engine as sporty, both provided the car with enough zip to satisfy most customers in this segment of the market Despite the extra height, the only time there was any noticeable body roll was when the car was pushed into a corner hard. Cornering was precise, the suspension was firm without being uncomfortable and there was little wind or road noise.