Scout handling when pushed

[Stuart_J]

I took the Scout out yesterday, its got nearly 2K on it now so I decided to explore the handling limits. I just wanted to see what the car did if you pushed it or drove eratically to try & unsettle it. Basically I was trying to find if it had any horrible characterisics & any limits to be wary of. Overall it was better than I expected, I though body roll would have been horrendous but once you get used to the lean its predictable. The limiting factor seemed to be the tyres which howled a few times. Even trying to unsettle it by lifting off the gas as the tyres sang away on fast roundabouts only induced controlable oversteer. I think its going to be a very easy car to live with on a day to day basis & something I can still have a bit of fun with if I feel the inclination. In the wet with the extra traction I can see it suprising a few.

The thing I found odd was the headlights coming on at higher speeds, I assume thats a "safety" feature

Im interested to hear what other Scout owners think of it & have they found any handling characteristics to be wary of

[mdk1]

Glad your enjoying your new wheels Stuart.

[Inego]

I haven't really tried hard in mine yet Stuart - wanted to on Sunday, but the wife delayed our departure so my "fun drive" through the Royal national park turned out to be a cruise behind other cars. Mind you, 3rd gear is very versatile - I touched the brakes twice in 15miles or so. I find I go deeper and then turn in more than I did in my Suby Outback, and the Scout behaves perfectly predictably, with less roll.

And 70mph on gravel forestry roads in lots of fun!!!

[Stuart_J]

Glad your enjoying your new wheels Stuart.

Cheers

[Stuart_J]

I haven't really tried hard in mine yet Stuart - wanted to on Sunday, but the wife delayed our departure so my "fun drive" through the Royal national park turned out to be a cruise behind other cars. Mind you, 3rd gear is very versatile - I touched the brakes twice in 15miles or so. I find I go deeper and then turn in more than I did in my Suby Outback, and the Scout behaves perfectly predictably, with less roll.

And 70mph on gravel forestry roads in lots of fun!!!

I managed to sneak out on my own so could exercise the car as far as I wanted, Im certainly looking forward to a similar trip in the wet

[drmike]

I got a lovely four wheel drift going on a recently "resurfaced" (the council had thrown a load of gravel on the road) stretch the other week.

Overall, it doesn't handle like a BM, but it's better (grip especially) than I expected.

[loskie]

I got a lovely four wheel drift going on a recently "resurfaced" (the council had thrown a load of gravel on the road) stretch the other week.

Overall, it doesn't handle like a BM, but it's better (grip especially) than I expected.

This may have been posted before. i've certainly seen it when researching my potential Scout purchase. May be of interest to you Scout Owners.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/PDF/METROPOLITAN-POLICE-SERVICE-REPORTS2.pdf

[Nick_H]

This may have been posted before. i've certainly seen it when researching my potential Scout purchase. May be of interest to you Scout Owners.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/PDF/METROPOLITAN-POLICE-SERVICE-REPORTS2.pdf

Excellent find ! Thanks for that.

[Stuart_J]

This may have been posted before. i've certainly seen it when researching my potential Scout purchase. May be of interest to you Scout Owners.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/PDF/METROPOLITAN-POLICE-SERVICE-REPORTS2.pdf

[skomaz]

Don't have a scout but do have a 4x4 and have found it to handle much better than I initially expected. It tends to be very stable, hangs on well round the corners and you can feel the back end helping at higher speeds.

In the snow (always a good time to have a play as it's relatively low speeds) I also found that the back end would go first before it cam back in line. I think this may be due to the initial tranfer of a large gob of torque to the back followed by the system balancing itslef out.

It's certainly no sprtscar but seems very capable, which isn;t suprising since it inherits the Golf's multi-link rear end and gas shocks boosted by the addition of driven wheels...

[silver1011]

And 70mph on gravel forestry roads in lots of fun!!!

You won't be quite so happy when you realise what this does to the nice polished surface of the Scout alloys.

I've had two replaced under warranty now with the other two now showing signs of corrosion :'(

[Inego]

I've had two replaced under warranty now with the other two now showing signs of corrosion :'(

I was just checking for corrosion the other day - no signs as yet. I don't get to do it much (forestry roads), but some wear and tear is to be expected....