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By
EWAN KENNEDY
15 October 2007
Skoda is finally back in Australia after a build-up lasting for the best
part of a year. And back in a big way, just witness the huge display of
Skodas, and other VW Group products at the Sydney motor show.
From the Czech Republic, Skoda is one of the world’s
older car makers, having a, somewhat checkered, 102-year history.
Skodas were imported sporadically to Australia until 1983 before
quietly disappearing from the local scene. Interestingly, a few
were brought in way back in 1914. The new importer is positive
that the marque is now here on a permanent basis.
Interestingly, Skoda thinks of itself as being a
Czech car company, not a division of Volkswagen. It’s a very
similar situation to the one in Australia, where Holden thinks of
itself as being Australian first and part of General Motors
second.
So, despite sharing major components with a number
of Volkswagen cars, Skoda uses completely different bodies.
Initially we will see the Roomster, a funky wagon-type vehicle
with a way-out shape and an immensely practical interior; and the
Octavia, a roomy mid-sized model that’s relatively conservative
in its styling and comes in five-door hatchback and station wagon
format.
Skoda's designers put a strong emphasis on
interior space and the Roomster is capable of carrying four
full-sized adults with room to spare, three children with ease.
Large windows and a very low waistline mean that even small
children have an excellent view of the outside world, something
that should stretch the period before boredom sets in.
The back seat is split 40/20/40 so the child in
the centre should be relatively small. All five seats can slide
back and forward and have adjustable backrests. An interesting
Roomster feature is the ability to remove the centre portion of
the rear seat and slide the two outer seats closer together. Other
clever interior features are storage drawers beneath the front
seats and numerous other stowage areas throughout the cabin.
The boot can carry luggage for five thanks to its
depth and squared off shape.
Roomster is being imported with a choice between
petrol and diesel engines and manual and automatic transmissions.
Call into your Skoda dealer to discuss the technical makeup as not
all variants are offered in all models. Prices begin at a very
reasonable $26,990.
Skoda Octavia is brought in with a five-door
hatchback body, which is confusingly called a sedan. Octavia has a
recommended retail price that ranges from $29,990 to $39,490 for
the high-performance RS wagon.
The Roomster's body finish is good but the dash
area isn’t up to VW standards, with some panel gaps being a bit
out of kilter. Octavia is finished to a high standard and we could
find nothing to fault for a car in this class and price range.
Handling is nicely European and neutral in its
feel in both cars and those who like to drive will certainly get a
good degree of pleasure in one of these Czech machines.
However, coarse-chip road surfaces created quite a
lot of tyre noise on the Octavia and there was some evidence of
air booming in the station wagons on these roads. Roomster was
fine and exhibited high levels of refinement on those surfaces.
Skoda offers spoilt Australian buyers yet another
choice of marques. Interesting styling, clever engineering and
excellent interior room will certainly appeal. Then there's that
impossible thing to measure called character. Octavia has a goodly
amount of it, Roomster positively cries out that it’s something
very different and seems sure to appeal to those looking for a
standout vehicle.
The complete Skoda range, with prices (excluding
on-road costs) is:
Roomster 1.6-litre five-door hatch: $26,990 (manual), $29,290
(automatic)
Roomster TDI 1.9-litre diesel five-door hatch: $28,990
Octavia Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel four-door sedan: $29,990
(manual), $32,290 (automatic)
Octavia Elegance TFSI 1.8-litre four-door sedan: $30,990 (manual)
Octavia Elegance FSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan: $33,290
(automatic)
Octavia Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel four-door sedan: $33,490
(manual), $35,790 (automatic)
Octavia RS TFSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan: $37,490 (manual)
Octavia Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel five-door wagon: $31,990
(manual), $34,290 (automatic)
Octavia Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel 4WD five-door wagon: $35,490
(manual)
Octavia Elegance TFSI 1.8-litre five-door wagon: $32,990 (manual),
$35,290 (automatic)
Octavia Elegance FSI 2.0-litre five-door wagon: $35,290
(automatic)
Octavia Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel five-door wagon: $35,490
(manual), $37,790 (automatic)
Octavia Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel 4WD five-door wagon: $38,990
(manual)
Octavia RS TFSI 2.0-litre five-door wagon: $39,490 (manual)
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Marque Publishing Company
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