GordonHotson

Just looking back at this post from August 2017. I still own the Roomster and use it as a daily driver. It is partnered with a 2017 Kodiaq 2.0Tdi 190 4x4 Edition, which I bought in 2019. i realised tonight that I have now driven well over 100,000 miles in the two Skodas, having taken the Roomster from 57,000 to 121,000 and the Kodiaq from 26,000 to 82,000. Both still perform well and neither have suffered any serious issues in that time; the most serious issue with the Roomster being failure of the power steering unit. Son is now buying a Kodiaq to replace his Passat estate as, having looked at all the other options, he has decided that the Kodiaq will make a good tow barge for his 5 berth caravan. All in all, I remain very satisfied with the purchase in January 2017 of the bizarrely-shaped hack,bought to be a glorified dustcart and which is still the vehicle of choice for most journeys 7+ years later.

I have had my Kodiaq 2.0Tdi DSG 190PS Edition 7 seater now for about a month. On a 17 plate and it replaced a Land Rover Discovery Sport that I bought in January and which I hated right from the start. The Kodiaq has 'black magic' metallic paintwork, black leather, heated front screen, panoramic sunroof, heated front and rear seats, spare wheel, adaptive cruise control, all-round parking cameras, second row window blinds, Canton stereo, retractable towbar, blind spot warning system, in fact pretty much all the options available except heated steering wheel. Done about 1200 miles so far and very pleased with it. I have still got the Roomster though and have no intention of getting rid of it. GH

I bought a 57 plate Scout 1.9Tdi in January 2017 as I needed a hack to clear my late Mother’s house and the mileage I was doing was causing problems with my PCP on a Volvo estate. It had 57,000 on the clock when I bought it. I have just tonight clocked up 30,000 miles since then with only a few minor problems, which have been easy/cheap to fix. I don’t go anywhere near the main dealers. My local garage services it and fixes any issues. It is the best car I have ever owned, and I have been through quite a few in 37 years of driving! It is the car of choice for most trips, despite having several others on the drive to choose from. It just does the job, whatever that job may be. I can’t get below 55mpg, no matter how hard I try. I have had several trips where the average has been upper 60’s. I don’t treat the thing gently. I may have been lucky with my purchase, the car had FSH and had been owned by someone who kept detailed records of all work done. The first owner ticked pretty pretty much every option available. It has heated seats, which appears to be a very rare option. They are the quickest heating, and hottest heated seats I have ever had. The sunroof shows no sign of leaking and is a welcome addition to the vehicle. If and when the thing gives up the ghost, and I hope that it won’t do so for a long time yet, I would seriously consider buying as new a Roomster as I could get to replace it. Yes, I have been (and still am) very happy with my Roomster. GH

Update on my original post. 16 months down the line and the Roomster is still going strong - this morning I clocked up 27,000 miles in my ownership since January 2017 and the car now has 84,000 miles in total. The only faults to date have been a parking sensor failing and a couple of bulbs blowing. The intermittent problem with the off-side rear door refusing to unlock appears to have resolved itself and it hasn't done that for months. I have had to fit a pair of new rear dampers and new front discs and pads but other than routine servicing, it hasn't needed anything else. Fuel consumption is still good - if anything it is improving. Long steady motorway runs now average low 60's mpg, running at normal motorway cruising speeds, rather than artificially low speeds to get better economy. It is the car of choice for most purposes, including holidays in the UK and in Europe. Both my wife and I find it more comfortable than the Volvo V70, which has been relegated to the vehicle that we use for transporting things that are too big for the Roomster. All in all, I think it is one of the best cars I have ever owned in 36 years of driving.

Looking for a set of winter tyres for my 2007 Roomster Scout and I have come across these in the classifieds on here; Fabia vRS alloys with Michelin winter tyres. I have got 195/55 15s fitted at the moment and I know that this wheel/tyre combination would have a slight effect on gearing. Is there any reason why they would not fit the Roomster Scout? It is a 1.9Tdi. Any advice much appreciated. GH

Having been a lurker on here for about 6 months I thought I should at last register and post something about the first Skoda I have owned, a 57 plate Roomster Scout 1.9Tdi. For almost a year now I have been sorting and gradually clearing my late Mother’s house. I have been doing the trip most weekends, travelling from my home in Oxfordshire to East Kent and was putting huge miles on my everyday car, a Volvo V70 D5 estate. I was also doing 4 or 5 runs to the local tip each weekend, and using the Volvo as a dustcart was taking its’ toll so I started looking round for a cheapish hack that would be big enough to shift rubbish and economical to run, as well as being capable of long runs every weekend. A van was out of the question due to the fact that commercial vehicles need a permit to use the tip, so I thought of getting something like a Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner. I looked at several and most were tired and tatty, which caused me to question whether they would be reliable enough for 400 or so miles every weekend, mostly on motorways. While on my way back from the tip one Saturday, I stopped to look at a tidy Berlingo at a small second-hand car lot, only to spot something that had slipped completely below my radar - a Skoda Roomster. A first glance led to the inevitable “what the hell is that…?” question but shape and size-wise, it seemed to fit the bill so I had a look over it, inside and out and was impressed by the flexible seating in the back, which offered a reasonable amount of space when completely removed. The car drove nicely and had a huge amount of paperwork with it. The previous owner had clearly been OCD about servicing and maintenance and it had a long MOT. I checked the MOT history online and saw that there had mainly been straight passes, with few advisories and the only failures there had been were for very minor points, immediately sorted, to the extent that the MOT date is still the anniversary of the vehicle being registered. I did a bit of online research, including finding this site and decided to buy it. I had the garage do an oil and filter service (even though one wasn’t strictly needed for a while) and change the cam belt and water pump. I collected it at the end of January, at which point it had 57,000 miles on the clock since when I have added a further 6,000+ miles. What I did not expect was for the car which had been bought as a ‘thing-for-a-purpose’ has actually become my car of choice for everyday use as I actually find it more comfortable to drive than the Volvo. The large rear passenger doors also make it much easier to put my 2 year old grand-daughter in her seat every day for the nursery run without whacking her head on the roof! She loves the large windows and good view of the road ahead. The rear space is plenty big enough for being crammed full of rubbish and is easier to load than the Volvo due to the tall tailgate. The Roomster hasn’t missed a beat and returns 50+ mpg regardless of how I drive it, much more on a steadily-driven long run. It is plenty quick enough for me and much cheaper to fuel than the Volvo, doing at least 10-15 more miles for every gallon. The only problem I have experienced so far is that very occasionally, the OSR door won’t unlock, either on the remote or on the button inside and, even when everything else is unlocked, it won’t open using the internal handle. Did it for a while then sorted itself out and has worked fine ever since. I gather from reading posts on here that such problems are far from unknown. It is surprisingly well equipped as the original owner must have ticked almost everything on the options list, including heated front seats, which appears to be quite a rare fitment and something I didn’t spot until after I had bought the car. Looking at others for sale online, I struggle to see anything that was available for the Roomster back in 2007 that mine doesn’t have. I took a bit of ribbing from work colleagues when it turned up in the office car park but despite the odd design, I absolutely love the thing.