Skoda Octavia 1.9 Tdi Estate > Reviews (7)

I have had my Skoda Diesel for a year now, i brough it at 18 months old. I decided to buy an estate for numberous reasons, one of them being me and my wife are starting a family. Other reasons are because the extra space is a big advantage from time to time. I opted for the top of the range Lauren and Klement model because it is the only one that comes with leather seats (the front one are also heated).
Around town I get an average of 40-45 mpg (depending on the amount of traffic, the more stop/ starts the worse the economy). You could get 50mpg around town but you would have to drive over sensitively - not practical for long preiods I find! Doing 75 on the motorway gives 55mpg or so. I am very pleased with the fuel economy and was one of the reasons why I opted for this car.
One thing I was unsure about was the acceleration. My previous experience of a diesel was a very slow old Fiesta of a friends that took ages to get going from a standing start. My previous car was a Ford Puma, so I was used to being able to pull away from Junctions very quickly. The Skoda soon eased my fears as the engine has a lot of low down torque. You won't be blitzing the 0-60 time sheets but it has enough grunt to pull away safely from tricky situations. Lets face it, if you wanted a car to set the tarmac on fire you would not be looking at a diesel estate!
The only thing I have missed about my old car is the ability to corner on rails. The Skoda cannot do that, although it is more than competant. It is a comfortable car that can do a great deal.
In the boot of the upper range of estates is a fold away floor that raises the floor of the boot to the same height as the lip of the bumper. This gives you a flat loading surface and is very useful for heavy loads.
On the downside the rear leg room can be a little cramped (especially if the front occupants are above average height) but I beleive the new Octavia addresses this problem somewhat.
The dealers are very good, not pushy. I was very relieved that they didn't try and sell me a loan or extra warranty. The serviceing though is at VW/ Audi prces - guess that's what you get for using their engines!