Skoda Octavia review (15/05/2013)

IS SKODA losing the plot? The Czech marque has blitzed the Irish market in recent years, and has become a favourite with all manner of drivers — families, farmers, taxi-men, and so on — with a range of cars that punched above its weight.

The Octavia is a case in point. First seen in 1998, it was based on the VW Golf platform, but it did not, like the Golf, compete in the small family-car segment, but against larger rivals in the repmobile/family-car class. That was how the market treated it and it has been a massive success through two generations.

Now, we welcome the third generation of the Octavia. Skoda has pulled off this small-car/big-car trick in other market segments, too — just look at the Superb — and I have revelled in their success since the VW Group turned it from a post-communist Eastern European industrial wreck into a post-modern success story with a world profile.

Having breathed life into the company, VW might not initially have appreciated what it had in Skoda, but, post-1998, have realised that Skoda brings something unique to the party.

However, with the third-generation Octavia, one wonders if the company is losing its touch. I worried last year, with the new Rapid: while practical and cost-effective, it was awful to drive. The ride quality was shocking. I worried. Then, I heard Skoda were off-loading run-out models of the Mk II Octavia last year, crammed with added kit and offered at ridiculous prices. Many jumped at the offer and were dead right, too.

My huge optimism about testing the Mk III was tempered with a slight foreboding, given the Rapid experience. That foreboding proved prescient. In many ways, it is the car is should be — it looks great, still packs a punch on price (the entry-level, 1.2 TSI petrol only costs 18,995) and there is a much greater feeling of solidity and quality than ever before; but, in crucial areas, it does not cut the mustard as an important new car like this should.

We tested what will probably be one of the most popular versions here in Ireland, the 1.6 TDI turbodiesel in Ambition trim, and, on the face of it, it has plenty going for it.

Packed into the svelte body, this engine is a familiar package from the VW parts bin. It outputs some 77 kW (105 bhp), has a top speed of 194 kph, will accelerate from a standing start to 100 kph in 10.8 seconds, and still returns some 3.8 l/100km, which is on the high side of 70mpg, if you’re still on imperial measures.

It is not the quietest diesel engine, but the upside is that it is a really good one to drive, packs a decent punch, and returns a ridiculously good consumption figure, in both urban and highway settings.

Add in a very attractive interior and many clever features, such as under-seat storage, a double-sided boot floor covering (in a ridiculously large boot) and the package looks good. The car is very well-equipped as standard, what with start/stop technology (which helps both the CO2 and overall economy figures), height-adjustable front seats with lumbar supports, ESC, front fog lights, remote central locking, a spare wheel, seven airbags, air conditioning and 16” alloys (more of which, later).

The new car handles well and has decent grip levels on a variety of surfaces and the steering is nicely weighted and precise, even for the more demanding driver. However, all this work is horribly undone by the ride quality, which is terrible. The test car never settled on the road and the ride was way too firm for a family hatchback. Now, the tester was fitted with optional, 17” alloys and there is every reason to expect that the fitting of these wheels, instead of the standard, 16” versions, undid the good work of the suspension engineers in designing this car. This flaw has undermined the work of all who were involved in the building of the Octavia, because it makes it a grim driving experience, no matter how good the other elements of the car — and there are very many good elements.

But if the basic driving experience is not much good, then it clouds pretty much everything else.

I walked away from the new Octavia with severe misgivings. This car is supposed to build upon the sterling work Skoda has done since coming under the wing of the VW Group; this car has sold by the shed load across Europe and here in Ireland (nearly 50,000 of them here). But the car, as I tested it, is not capable of delivering an appealing drive.

I hope the problems I experienced can be addressed comprehensively and quickly, because, otherwise, the many fans the brand has here in Ireland, and elsewhere, might just evaporate fairly quickly.