Outstanding Skoda Octavia is deserving of praise
Indeed, until all the many and varied investigations are completed and those responsible have been subjected to the rigours of the legal system, neither the buying public or VW itself will know where they stand.
All of that is some time off yet but when the truth emerges, the guilty are identified (and punished) and all the dust finally settles, VW may well be left with a situation where the company’s future well-being has been forever tainted, with share prices already down 40% and a battery of class action cases coming down the tracks both in Europe and the US.
During the last few weeks, however, it has been interesting to note that in this country at least, VW subsidiaries such as Audi and ?Skoda have been advertising like mad, in some dervished attempt to distance themselves from the parent company.
Audi has already been implicated — along with sibling bedfellow Porsche — in the US and is currently fighting a rearguard action there to stay out of the storm which is slowly swallowing all things Volkswagen.
Here in Ireland, however, both Audi and ?Skoda seem determined they can distance themselves successfully from VW and the amount of advertising they’re doing would seem to suggest as much. Of course, the truth might be a little more prosaic in that they had already — in advance of the ‘161’ registration plate in January — booked loads of advertising space and could not withdraw from those commitments.
Whatever the case, it seems that both Audi and ?Skoda have no choice but to bullock their way forward, avoiding where possible any association with those wolves of Wolfsburg who were responsible for one of the greatest conceits of all time — that they thought they could get away with duping a whole generation of lawmakers and customers. They obviously never heard Abraham Lincoln’s famous line about not being able to fool all of the people all of the time.
In any event, I do feel sorry for those in VW’s subsidiaries who, I believe, were themselves duped and particularly so for those in the ?Skoda brand, whose decades-long hard work and ingenuity might well be unravelled by something which had nothing to do with them. Indeed, the ?Skoda brand has never been in a better place across Europe with a range of vehicles which is, largely, right at the top of its’ game.
Our tester this week is a new version of the Skoda Octavia, namely the Octavia in ‘Elegance’ specification and fitted with the Haldex 4x4 system and a 150bhp version of the two litre turbodiesel which, to the best of my knowledge (although I’m open to correction here) has not been implicated in the dodgy software scandal.
We all know the Octavia to be the star of the show chez ?Skoda, having sold zillions of them since they introduced it back in November 1996.
The Octavia has been a true ‘everyman’ car as it appeals to many people of differing social standings, races and creeds.
It has done so on the basis that it represented unparalleled practicality, excellent value for money and a decent drive on top.
Octavia has grown up over the years and the arrival of such as the Rapid model line-up has seen its’ status move a smidgen upmarket in quality. It has grown substantially, has a whole new suspension system and is now based on VW’s MBQ modular platform which has allowed the ?Skoda people further bolster its’ potential appeal.
Much greater interior space and considerably better driving dynamics have been the result, but the down side is that it now costs a bit more than it used to.
In fairness, you do get more bangs for your buck and standard kit is not bad, but the Elegance version adds stuff like includes 17” alloys, a raft of airbags, cruise control, rear parking sensors, climate control and a decent infotainment system, as well as automatic lights and wipers. It is not a bad package.
The Octavia has long been a watchword for understatement and this you will see clearly in the dashboard layout where the clear, unfussy switches and dials are excellent but tidily efficient rather than flashy. There is storage space everywhere and the amount of room in the back has to be seen to be believed.
Indeed I was ferrying several aunts and uncles around in this car and none of them — some of whom have been based in Australia and America for years — could believe the amount of legroom they had in the back. The boot too is humongous and with the back seats down, and even though they don’t quite lie flat, you could host an intimate rock concert back there.
The addition of the 4x4 variant is very welcome and for some people it will make the car even more of an owning proposition than ever before, giving the car the wherewithal to take on tasks other cars will too easily eschew.
Given that the Haldex system largely divides the power around the wheels to where it is most needed via a multi-clutch system, it provides real peace of mind in the poorest of driving conditions and also gives a lot more security when your pulling trailers or such like.
I suspect, however, that it will be the Combi, or estate, version which will appeal more specifically to the 4x4 brigade rather than the saloon I tried, but the hatchback version is nevertheless a very capable machine in its’ own right.
A good car then, this particular ?Skoda and one which will stand up to rigorous examination in pretty much any driving circumstance.
It is truly a pity then that ?Skoda and this Octavia find themselves hostages to fortune and that the future well-being of both company and car might find themselves hidebound by circumstances beyond their ken or control.
€31,110 as tested.
A very well-known quantity here and one which does not appear to have been affected by the ‘dieselgate’ scandal.
Decent enough in standard trim, but well endowed once you go up the grades.
A really good addition to the Octavia range.
