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By
EWAN KENNEDY
17 December 2007
Some say a Skoda Octavia is just a Volkswagen Jetta/Golf with a
different body, but there's a lot more to it than that. While VW does
own the Skoda organisation, the German company has allowed the Czech
company a fair degree of design freedom.
For example, the Czechs like to have ample room to move within
their cars and the platform under the Octavia has been stretched
in most dimensions compared to that of the VW original. Meaning
there's plenty of legroom in the back seats as well as on the
front. And a good sized boot to boot.
Our test vehicle for the last week has been the top-of-the-line
Octavia RS. In station wagon format because, like the rest of the
Octavia range it’s offered in both sedan and wagon variants. In
Europe it’s called the Octavia Combi, but the importers have
chosen to simply call it a wagon in Australian format.
The RS is virtually a Golf GTi underneath, though not quite as
quick because the extra size of the body has added mass to it.
Nevertheless, there's good response from the intercooled
turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that produces a neat 200 horsepower,
or 147 kW in Australian terms. Even more importantly, the engine
has a nice flat torque output that gives virtually peak grunt all
the way from 1800 rpm to 5000 revs. The result is linear
acceleration and maximum fuel efficiency in a manner that will see
most drivers never departing from the peak 280 Nm of torque.
Performance is further aided by the use of a six-speed manual
gearbox with a high-ratio top gear for effortless cruising with a
minimum of emissions.
Skip shifting is the order of the day with a gearbox like this
driving through a high-torque engine and a thinking driver will
get the best from the car by careful choice of ratios without
necessarily running in sequence all the way up or down the ‘box.
As this is a sporty model fuel consumption will vary quite a
bit from driver to driver. During our test period with the Octavia
RS we typically used eight to nine litres per hundred kilometres
in easy paced country and motorway running. This rose to a still
creditable 10 to 11 litres per hundred in suburban driving, and
seldom went as high as that in hard country running in challenging
conditions.
Handling is simply beautiful. For starters the Skoda has the
sort of taut feel brought on by a strong body that has been a
feature of Volkswagen cars for generations. Obviously, while the
Czech designers were able to do their own thing with interior
space and body shape, the German head office insisted on body
rigidity.
Steering is fast without being aggressively so and the
suspension reacts to changes in steering wheel position and
throttle input in a very European manner.
Ride comfort is good under most circumstances, though some
harsh surfaces can cause the firmish suspension to crash a bit
from time to time. Not objectionably so as the car really has been
nicely sorted out by engineers who understand the compromises
demanded by keen drivers. Comfort is not only provided by the
competent suspension, but also by the aforementioned interior
spaciousness. The sports seats look good and support well without
being overly aggressive in their lines.
Octavia drew a lot more attention than we had anticipated when
we first saw the car in Prague earlier this year. In its home
country it looked rather conservative, but there are apparently
enough differences from mainstream styling to make it stand out on
Australia roads. Comments over the shape were favourable and
potential owners particularly like the bold slope of the grille
and the use of considerable brightwork around it and the Skoda
badge.
The fact that the RS variant rides on 18-inch alloy wheels
carrying low-profile 225/40 tyres does it no harm whatsoever in
the appearance stakes. Ride height is down marginally on that of
the rest of the range and the tyres do a nice job of filling out
the guards.
Styling on the inside shows less conservatism than the exterior
of the body and we were impressed with the number of handily sized
stowage areas offered. These include zones in the front door
pockets that can cope with 1.5-litre drink bottles.
Skoda cars have only been on sale in Australia for a matter of
weeks this time around (there were imports for many years but
these petered out during the mid-1980s), but this is still a
relatively unknown product and buyers are likely to be wary of it.
While the Octavia RS wagon is reasonably well priced at $39,490
($2000 less for the sedan) it’s not as cheap as some industry
observers had anticipated.
That’s partly because it is very well specified in its
standard equipment, but also because the local Skoda / Volkswagen
importer is anxious to avoid the cheap-and-cheerful trap that can
be hard to scrape free of later once a new marque has become
established. We await with interest the shapes of the sales graphs
for the Octavia over the next year or so.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel four-door sedan - $29,990
Elegance TFSI 1.8-litre four-door sedan - $30,990
Elegance FSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan - $33,290
Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel four-door sedan - $33,490
RS TFSI 2.0-litre four-door sedan - $37,490
Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel five-door wagon - $31,990
Ambiente TDI 1.9-litre diesel 4WD five-door wagon - $35,490
Elegance TFSI 1.8-litre five-door wagon - $32,990
Elegance FSI 2.0-litre five-door wagon - $35,290
Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel five-door wagon - $35,490
Elegance TDI 2.0-litre diesel 4WD five-door wagon - $38,990
RS TFSI 2.0-litre five-door wagon - $39,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: Not offered in Elegance 1.8-litre, RS or
4WD models, standard in Elegance 2.0-litre, $2300 option in other
models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Dual Front Airbags: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
Stability Control: Standard in all models
Traction Control: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Skoda Octavia RS TFSI 2.0-litre four-door
sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.984 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 82.5 x 92.8 mm
Maximum Power: 147 kW @ 5100-6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 280 Nm @ 1800-5000 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Not offered
Final Drive Ratio: 3.944:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4578 mm
Wheelbase: 2577 mm
Width: 1769 mm
Height: 1447 mm
Turning Circle: 10.2 metres
Kerb Mass: 1400 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 55 litres
Towing Ability: 650kg (1600kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, lower triangular links, coil
springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Multi-element axle, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 7.3 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.2 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.1 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/unlimited km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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