For the past three years I've had a Vauxhall Zafira on lease hire which has recently been sent back as the contract ended. I've been shopping around for a replacement 5 seater (the 6th & 7th seats were rarely used) and the current VAT off deal on Roomsters looks like a pretty good option.

My criteria for a car is plenty of boot space, good economy, comfortable driving and rear passenger seats for long distances and (perhaps most importantly) ease of access to the rear passenger seats.

I'm considering either the SE or Scout, either in the 1.6 TDI CR 105, any advice on one over the other?

I'm test driving an SE on Sunday, fingers crossed I'll actually like it.

Edited 4 June, 201016 yr by Scapegoat

The Roomy ticks all the boxes with the exception of your requirement for a five seater. The centre rear seat is narrow and not especially comfortable. In addition, you will need to specify the optional headrest for this seat as it is not standard fit.

If you do buy a Skoda, you may also wish to specify a spare wheel in place of the goo can (aerosol tyre "repair").

Mine is pre-facelift but I chose the Scout over the SE as I wanted the black body mouldings and the electronic aids. I also preferred the Scout's Onyx upholstery over the SE's wavy cloth. HTH

Rob

Would I recommend a diesel-powered Roomster? Absolutely; I've had 30,000 faultless miles in mine and it ticks all the boxes. Just remember that it's a great four seater, but a pretty unimpressive five seater, which isn't suprising given its width.

Edited 5 June, 201016 yr by StuartBell

Thanks for that, it'd be used far more as a 4 seater, so the option to remove the middle seat to make it a dedicated 4 is intriguing, but how useful do you chaps find the middle seat as a fold down console or an armrest / drinks holder? Also, does the panoramic sun roof turn the car into a greenhouse (I know there's the sliding blind if that were so)? What's the comfort like for long hauls, front and back?

Thanks for that, it'd be used far more as a 4 seater, so the option to remove the middle seat to make it a dedicated 4 is intriguing, but how useful do you chaps find the middle seat as a fold down console or an armrest / drinks holder? Also, does the panoramic sun roof turn the car into a greenhouse (I know there's the sliding blind if that were so)? What's the comfort like for long hauls, front and back?

I have the panoramic roof on mine and it really doesn't get that hot inside considering that and the large glass area of the rear windows. The Scout has sunset glass which takes a lot of the edge off the sun I think.

I have never used the centre seat in the folded-down position, but every Roomy comes with this option. Perhaps you are comparing the Roomy's rear seats with the Furby's? If so, remember the Roomy's rear seats are removable whereas the Furby's are not.

My rear (outer) seat passengers always comment favourably on the degree of comfort and the amount of space in the back of the Roomy. Outer seats can be adjusted forwards and backwards, and there is some adjustment available on the backrest angle. I find the front seats immensely comfortable, and in a different league to those in my old Schitroen

If I have one gripe on long hauls, it is tyre noise. The wide, low-profile tyres fitted to my Scout can be a bit noisy on some motorway surfaces.

I think the panoramic sunroof is a must-have. I love mine. I never, ever close the blind and it doesn't get excessively hot inside the car.

but how useful do you chaps find the middle seat as a fold down console or an armrest / drinks holder?

Also, does the panoramic sun roof turn the car into a greenhouse

What's the comfort like for long hauls, front and back?

1. Excellent!

2. No, as the other poster says it works well and you can always pull the "curtain" over!

3. So far I've driven from Brum to Munich and Brum to Brittany (via the Tunnel) and its a good long distance car... the rear seats are as comfy as the front and leg room is very good in both the front and back... Mines a 1.9TDi 3 and averaged 50 on the German run (doing 90 on the autobahns where allowed) and 57 on the French run (had more time so was doing about 70/75).

Edited 6 June, 201016 yr by The PM

Thanks for that, it'd be used far more as a 4 seater, so the option to remove the middle seat to make it a dedicated 4 is intriguing, but how useful do you chaps find the middle seat as a fold down console or an armrest / drinks holder? Also, does the panoramic sun roof turn the car into a greenhouse (I know there's the sliding blind if that were so)? What's the comfort like for long hauls, front and back?

my kids use the fold down middle seats on long trips

i constantly do long trips to an fro kent to midlands with no problem, confortable (recomend the cruise control option if doing a lot of motorway, have it on mine), a month after i got it is did a family holiday touring scotlandfrom kent all the way to jon o'groats and back only complaints i had from the kids were the normal "are we there yet" and none of problems of sore rears, cramped rear etc

rear access is good,rear legroom is the best i have seen, it was one of the things i considered the doors open nearly 90 degrees and the rear seats are a little higher than normal so easy to get in and out for my mother in law in her 70's with a bit of arthritus (i know i can't spell)

down sides are the gap between the back seats and the boot cover meening you have to be careful what is left in the boot

reliabiltiy, 115,000 miles on a 2007 roomy 2, 1.9tdi, not many issues other than normal brake pads, timing belts etc, just a sticky non return valve on the brake servo vacuum line and projector headlights are not as good as standard in wet weather

would agree, get a proper wheel not a tube of goo that renders a tyre unrepairable

peter

I'm test driving an SE on Sunday, fingers crossed I'll actually like it.

Did you like it?

Please tell

Did you like it?

Please tell

I liked it enough to put in an order, an SE, 1.6 TDI 105. For some daft reason the SE includes metallic paint and sun roof but the they're extra on the Scout. In the end the panoramic roof sold it for the SE, I already have non-intrusive 3rd party parking sensors which I can put on, so the only thing missing that I wanted was the roof rails which I've ordered.

Why have a high spec model and then not include desirable items that are standard on the mid spec?

We used DM Keith in leeds, very friendly and not in the least bit pushy.

12+ weeks wait to get it though...

Edited 6 June, 201016 yr by Scapegoat

oops, double post

Edited 6 June, 201016 yr by Scapegoat

Congratulations.

I had to wait ten weeks for mine. Longest ten weeks of my life!

What colour did you go for?

The Pacific Blue (dark metallic blue).

Nice. I think dark colours suit the Roomy and the roof rails finish the car.

Did you specify the centre rear headrest? Did you specify the spare wheel option?

Nice. I think dark colours suit the Roomy and the roof rails finish the car.

Did you specify the centre rear headrest? Did you specify the spare wheel option?

Nether, the centre seat will rarely be used, and I went 3 years in my Zafira with the spare in a can, never used, so I'm confident that it'll be enough. I did go for the front arm rest though.

Nether, the centre seat will rarely be used, and I went 3 years in my Zafira with the spare in a can, never used, so I'm confident that it'll be enough. I did go for the front arm rest though.

Congratulations. I hope you don't regret not having a spare wheel though. My daughter has burst 2 tyres in the last couple of months and a can of goo would have been useless because it's only good for small holes. Lucky she was carrying a spare both times.

Closing the roof blind brings a noticeable drop in temperature when parked on hot days but the air con copes well when driving.

Good job you opted for roof rails. They do make the car look better but, more importantly, there's no way to put roof bars etc without them, and they are horrendously expensive as after-market fittings. They really should be standard.

We tried using the centre seat back as a table once but it was more nuisance than it was worth. Now I leave it at home when on holiday.

You can get an infill to cover the gap between the parcel shelf and the rear seats but if, like us, you use a dog guard, you can still use the parcel shelf, when the dog isn't in, without removing the guard.

We've had our Roomy for a year now and I still love it as much as when we bought it.

Scapegoat

I agree nice car and was my first choice but Mrs P took one look and `refused to buy a van` :'( :'( I would have been looking at the SE spec as well as I think its the best allrounder...Come on not my fault Mrs P aint got no taste

The Fabia estate was the compromise but she aint going car shopping again

By the way agree with you about DM Keith in Leeds I had the same experience with them...ver y good

...spooky - I've ordered a Roomster SE 1.6 CRDi 105 with rails and a centre armrest (plus passenger airbag switch)

Pacific Blue's the non-metallic colour though - do you mean Storm Blue (happens to be the colour mine's coming in :yes: )?

Skoda are being a little hard to pin down on delivery times - I ordered mine on 8 May and only got a confirmed build date (week 25 - so 21 June ish) on Tuesday last week. That means I should have it by 5 July though which isn't too bad at all - 8 weeks, not 12?

On the parcel shelf gap thing, I was more worried about luggage shifting when the middle rear seat is down - but have now established that the parcel shelf can be wedged in place (using a bungee built into the back of the middle seat) to stop this being a problem

I am at present trying not to get too excited - haven't ever had a new car before.

My missus actually paid the deposit so has clearly managed to get past the "van" thing - think it was because I spent six months telling her I wanted a Berlingo!

Scapegoat

I agree nice car and was my first choice but Mrs P took one look and `refused to buy a van` :'( :'( I would have been looking at the SE spec as well as I think its the best allrounder...Come on not my fault Mrs P aint got no taste

The Fabia estate was the compromise but she aint going car shopping again

Last year we had to replace our old Spacewagon with something automatic because SWMBO has a gammy left knee, and we could downsize because the grandchildren were growning up and we no longer needed to carry 4 of them.

I was keen on a Skoda and looked at a used Octavia, but it was bigger than we wanted. I told our dealer that we'd be interested in either a Fabia Estate or Roomster Tiptronic and he had a 2 month old pre-registered Roomy with 1200 miles and £2000 off the new price, so we bought it.

I had a Fabia on loan when it was in for service, still a really nice car but not as practical, so the Roomy suits us better.

My one and only gripe is that you can't get an automatic diesel. I'm glad it was the old "3" spec though. It came with the rails, glass roof & cruise control etc as standard.

Edited to say: Oh and it's nothing like a van, but my wife would have liked a Kangoo

Edited 8 June, 201016 yr by Calomax

...spooky - I've ordered a Roomster SE 1.6 CRDi 105 with rails and a centre armrest (plus passenger airbag switch)

Pacific Blue's the non-metallic colour though - do you mean Storm Blue (happens to be the colour mine's coming in :yes: )?

I stand corrected, it is Storm Blue, the choice came down to the Scout in Pacific Blue or the SE, but the panoramic sun roof swung it for the SE.

I still think Skoda are daft for not making the Scout as the top spec but more of a parrallel to the SE.

Skoda are being a little hard to pin down on delivery times - I ordered mine on 8 May and only got a confirmed build date (week 25 - so 21 June ish) on Tuesday last week. That means I should have it by 5 July though which isn't too bad at all - 8 weeks, not 12?

Aparently the Skoda factory shuts down for three weeks in July, hence the extra month or so.

Edited 8 June, 201016 yr by Scapegoat

Definitely agree on the spec discrepancies between the SE and the Scout - if you spec the Scout to pick up the things missed it becomes very expensive though - perhaps that's why?

Leaving aside the shinier extras which come with the SE, I can't understand why simple things like rear electric windows have been omitted on the Scout, though.

I wasn't aware of the factory shut down - looks like I've been fortunate on timing.

I'll report back when mine arrives (and will post a picture if I can work out how to do it)

Have you seen the Storm blue in the metal? I bought mine in Ipswich (yes, I know I'm listed as living in Gateshead - we went to look whilst on holiday and I got a bit over-excited - and in any event I'm not keen on giving my hard-earned to Benfield) and they had one in that colour. I'll have pictures somewhere if you're interested.

Definitely agree on the spec discrepancies between the SE and the Scout - if you spec the Scout to pick up the things missed it becomes very expensive though - perhaps that's why?

Leaving aside the shinier extras which come with the SE, I can't understand why simple things like rear electric windows have been omitted on the Scout, though.

I wasn't aware of the factory shut down - looks like I've been fortunate on timing.

I'll report back when mine arrives (and will post a picture if I can work out how to do it)

Have you seen the Storm blue in the metal? I bought mine in Ipswich (yes, I know I'm listed as living in Gateshead - we went to look whilst on holiday and I got a bit over-excited - and in any event I'm not keen on giving my hard-earned to Benfield) and they had one in that colour. I'll have pictures somewhere if you're interested.

The Scout spec hasn't changed since the previous model convention when compared to the 3 it made a lot of sense as it was the only model in the range to incluse ESP as standard.

The Scout spec hasn't changed since the previous model convention when compared to the 3 it made a lot of sense as it was the only model in the range to incluse ESP as standard.

Also all versions with the tiptronic gearbox.

Had our 1.6 petrol for 4 months now, it replaced the previous 1.6 Meriva which I got fed up with because of minor faults which should not have happened. HID loves it:

1. Easier to park than Meriva and better turning circle.

2. Corners better than Meriva

3. Has better visibility than Meriva

4. Has better fuel economy and acceleration than Meriva.

5. Can take seats out to give loads of space plus has lower loading platform than Meriva.

Why do folk buy ruddy Merivas?

Now been told that my Roomster will be built w/c 23/8 and will be with me 21 - 28 days later (as little as 10 days if very, very lucky), still don't know if it'll have a '10 or '60 plate.

One of the longest 12 weeks of my life, but I just have to keep telling myself I made the right decision.