Living with a Scout

[Captain Kremen]

Living with a Scout

I have had my Octavia 2.0 TDi for 2.5 years and 51,000 miles, and I thought a quick review might be useful for anyone contemplating one.

My Vehicle

2007 07 (July) Skoda Octavia 2.0 diesel Scout in Mist Grey, bought as a company car. Poss one of the first to be delivered.

Extras

Hidden towbar. Metallic paint.

Costs so far

Well, the car obviously – about £21k with the towbar

Tyres – about £120 each, and I have had a series of unfortunate nails etc. Had 6 tyres on it so far, with four being replaced due to wear.

Servicing has cost on average about £120 per service, main dealer and independent.

What’s gone wrong?

Rear seat side bolster came lose early in it’s life. Soon repaired by the dealer.

Steering squeaked, dealer replaced the rack.

Recently, the trim below the diesel filler cap seems to be coming lose, the fuel must be un-sticking it.

Err.

Umm.

No that is it – apart from someone taking my drivers door mirror off when they cut it too close and were going to fast down a country lane. I was stationary. The new one never quite matches.

After 50k – likes:

Low emissions mean sensible car tax, or road fund licence if not a company car

The 4x4 really works, solid as a rock in the snow

45 to 55 to the gallon regularly

Great motorway cruiser

Can chuck it around with gusto

I love the looks

Cruise control

Huge boot – my kayak slots in there well

Pulling power, it seems to have tons of it, making it tow like a train

Good stereo, like the MP3 point

Dislikes:

Crashy front suspension

On today’s roads, getting a bit fed up with the hard suspension

Clutch started to slip in the floods, I assume when the bell housing filled up (the water was coming over the bonnet though). Back to normal once it dried out though.

The cloth seats always look grubby. And they seem to get grubby quickly if I clean them

Bit of a dull interior if I am honest

Not all that comfy to be a passenger in, bit too harsh

Could do with somewhere to put your MP3 once plugged in

Floppy rear parcel shelf

Wish I had..

The flashy dash info box, what’s it called? Spandex, or something.

Leather seats (not an option then)

Steering wheel mounted audio controls

Would I buy another?

If it had leather & steering controls, I might. But I get bored, and fancy something different. Maybe a Freelander next, I think.

Conclusion

I would have no hesitation of recommending one. Great car, tough (I am not easy on cars, as you can see from the photos) and it is nice being a little bit different. I always enjoy the reaction I get when people realise what it is.

Edited 16 March, 2010 by Captain Kremen

[foo]

Freelander!?

Wash your mouth out.

[silver1011]

I'm glad you mentioned the crashy front suspension.

There is a level crossing near us with a harsh drop onto the tracks, my 10 year old Peugeot 306 flys over it, I have to slow to less than 20mph in the Scout to avoid an almighty bang!

[Greenie58]

A Freelander?

[andyjl1968]

Love mine.

Had a few issues mind.

1. Turbo went at 14k

2. Wheels are showing signs of delamination

3. Power steering feels a bit juddery at cold. Noticeable when reversing out of parking slots. Seems ok once warm and moving tho.

4. Have to agree with front suspension. Hit a big railway crossing too quick and got one hell of a bang from the front end.

Other than that everything's good. Have the leather seats which the wife loves as they're heated. Xenons are brill too...

[lard-ajc]

good write-up, thanks. When you get around to getting the Freelander (heard they're excellent, I'd advise you buy one tomorrow!), let me know as I'm looking to buy a Scout.

[pueseso]

Nice review.

BTW, you are lucky since you can get the leather seats now for a small (may be not so small but affordable anyway) sum of money and also check in the forum since some guys have managed to change the steering wheel for another one with controls in it.

This would mean a revival of your car .

[riph72]

From what I've heard, if you buy a Freelander, make sure you speak to Warranty Direct at the same time

[GroundHog]

I love ours. If I could've afforded another one when I changed my car (our Scout is driven by my wife) then I would have done. Cracking car. Would agree about the suspension though - rumble strips can sound pretty bad - but the rest of the package more than makes up for it.

What sort of tyres have you got on the car? Mine cost circa 210 quid each when replaced just before Christmas, and servicing is about £280 on variable servicing.

[andyjl1968]

Have been looking at new tyres for mine. ( Why are they W rated me asks ? )

The OE Dunlops seem to come in at around the £130-140 mark, though a dealer quote was £170. Cheaper ones are Falken 912's at £95 fully fitted and Kuhmo KU31's at £100. Opinion on here seems to lean towards the Falkens so may give em a whirl.

However I am starting to suffer from the delamination problem that seems to strike the OE wheels so I best take pics of the wheels before the tyre change in case they try to blame the fitters damaging the rims.

[Wild Rover]

Can any Scout owners comment on the towing ability of the 1.8 Petrol version? I tow a caravan of approx. 1300 kg currently with my Petrol VRS hatch and I am sorely tempted to change for a Scout.

I initially fancied the disel version, but reading various posts it seems like the petrol version is a good unit at a noticeably lower cost. My current Octy pulls the caravan without fuss.

[andyjl1968]

I pull one of around 1000kg......have to keep to checking to make sure it's there still....

[Greenie58]

Is the suspension stiffer on the Scout compared to other Octy`s? spose it is but never given it much thought

[Marineman]

Good review Captain - thanks. Interested to read the comments, as I've just had my Scout diesel since last Saturday. Took me a while to decide, the rest of the shortlist being a Subaru Outback (the nice one they've just replaced with the awful one) or a Freelander. Running the risk of being accused of heresy on this forum, I think the new Freelander is very impressive - good to drive and doesn't appear to suffer any more faults than any other make, having had a trawl round their forums. Went for the Scout in the end, as it just seemed to represent such good value - I think it'll be ideally suited for life on rural Dartmoor, although now I've bought a 4x4 we're bound to have the warmest winters on record!

Having come from an Audi A6 Avant (2001), the Skoda makes for an interesting comparison. I have to say that the suspension is a revelation on the Scout, and bumps that would have me wincing in the Audi just seem to disappear underneath the Skoda - personally, I'm more than happy. Doesn't seem to have that much less space inside than the Audi, despite being smaller on the outside, and my huge deerhound fits in the back no problem at all!

My only issue so far is seat comfort.....it's giving me a bad back! I don't think I'm that much of a weird shape, and haven't had a problem in any of my other cars (even my wife's Fabia is perfectly OK) - has anyone else had any problems?

[Chipping]

"I pull one of around 1000kg......have to keep to checking to make sure it's there still.... "

You've just made me realise on advantage of pulling my 1400kg van with a 1.9 diesel.......I certainly don't have to keep checking it's still there!

I feel much better now!!

[foo]

It struggles?

[Steve vRS]

45 to 55 to the gallon regularly

Great motorway cruiser

Is that economy typical? I fancy one but do 20k motorway miles per year. I have a vRS TDi at the moment and can eek out up to 54mpg on a 65-70mph long distance run according to the Maxidot.

Steve

[finbarsko]

Have been looking at new tyres for mine. ( Why are they W rated me asks ? )

The OE Dunlops seem to come in at around the £130-140 mark, though a dealer quote was £170. Cheaper ones are Falken 912's at £95 fully fitted and Kuhmo KU31's at £100. Opinion on here seems to lean towards the Falkens so may give em a whirl.

However I am starting to suffer from the delamination problem that seems to strike the OE wheels so I best take pics of the wheels before the tyre change in case they try to blame the fitters damaging the rims.

I put a full set of Uniroyal rainsport 2's on (@ 100 ea) seem excellent so far but only covered about 1k since fitting

--oh my steering squeaks too--dealer has tried 2x to sort it --interesting to see about the rack --i will be mentioning that to them next!

[Captain Kremen]

Is that economy typical? I fancy one but do 20k motorway miles per year. I have a vRS TDi at the moment and can eek out up to 54mpg on a 65-70mph long distance run according to the Maxidot.

Steve

I do about 20k a year, in and around the South East of England. On an average town journey it hovers around the 47 mpg, on the motorway at a cruise-controlled 70mph it will do about 50 to 55 depending on weather, hills, etc.

Around town it drops to about 42.

I am a pretty steady driver, not given to much top speed (I doubt my car has done over 85mph more than 5 times in it's life) as I value my licence too much, but I do not hang around, and am happy to fling it around the lanes and so on.

Glad the review has been useful for people.

to be honest, not sure what to get next. I could do with a slightly bigger car as I also am a Scout leader (oh, the irony!), have a family that takes EVERYTHING on holiday (those photo's were in 2008 - in 2008 I had two more boats and two more bikes!) and when packed for hols, the car sits right down on it's haunches. I also transport large amounts of kayaks & canoes around too.

I am looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Freelander, even might look at the Suzuki Vitara, but heard poor reports about the diesel in that, although the 2.4 petrol is supposed to be good.. I discounted the Kia Sorento as too tractor like, and hate the Ssanyong Rexton looks - plus it really is old school.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee looks good, not heard much bad about it - but they are BIG.

Oooh, the agony of choice.

[Chipping]

"It struggles? "

Just a little! To be fair it does the job, just requires a little more "forward planning"

Better though than a 1.4 cavalier in the 1980's, hitched to a 950kg van touring France/Switzerland with 2 adults, 3 kids, bikes and the kitchen sink. Now that really was a challenge.

BHP wasn't that much different (ratio to train weight) - but the diesel torque makes a considerable improvement.

[Stuart_J]

I do about 20k a year, in and around the South East of England. On an average town journey it hovers around the 47 mpg, on the motorway at a cruise-controlled 70mph it will do about 50 to 55 depending on weather, hills, etc.

Around town it drops to about 42.

I am a pretty steady driver, not given to much top speed (I doubt my car has done over 85mph more than 5 times in it's life) as I value my licence too much, but I do not hang around, and am happy to fling it around the lanes and so on.

Glad the review has been useful for people.

to be honest, not sure what to get next. I could do with a slightly bigger car as I also am a Scout leader (oh, the irony!), have a family that takes EVERYTHING on holiday (those photo's were in 2008 - in 2008 I had two more boats and two more bikes!) and when packed for hols, the car sits right down on it's haunches. I also transport large amounts of kayaks & canoes around too.

I am looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Freelander, even might look at the Suzuki Vitara, but heard poor reports about the diesel in that, although the 2.4 petrol is supposed to be good.. I discounted the Kia Sorento as too tractor like, and hate the Ssanyong Rexton looks - plus it really is old school.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee looks good, not heard much bad about it - but they are BIG.

Oooh, the agony of choice.

Get a HUGE trailer Serious thought, is the 4x4 Superb Estate out yet, bound to be more for your bucks

Nice review, only another 8 weeks to wait for ours :'(

[andyjl1968]

Watch out if your turbo goes bang though. Mine cost nearly £1800 to replace.....thank god it was done under warranty.

[Phil_P]

Get a HUGE trailer Serious thought, is the 4x4 Superb Estate out yet, bound to be more for your bucks

Yes, they do a 4x4 Superb Estate - I sat in one in the dealers the other day and they are HUGE. Masses of rear leg room and the boot is even bigger than the Octy! The interior finish is a little classier feeling too. Overall it looks like a great package and should steal sales from way up the food chain

[riph72]

...on the motorway at a cruise-controlled 70mph it will do about 50 to 55 depending on weather, hills, etc.

My experience is about the same (although I am supposed to be getting a mpg or two more than Scouts on motorways!).

[Mute]

I am looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe...

The new Santa Fe is an amazing bit of kit, especially for the price!