I picked up the Greenline Combi from Winchester Skoda this evening; collection was just as simple and straight forward as the negotiation to buy. Excellent.

The car is a 59 plate ex-Skoda, with 13.5k miles on the clock, so should be pretty much run in.

So, what do I think of it? Well, the first thing that stands out is the ride; I presume it's firmer because it's lowered but I'm not convinced the improvement in consumption is worth the compromise. It's a tad too firm and skittish over broken surfaces, but fine when the speeds up and you're pushing through the corners. For a car designed to reward careful driving, it doesn't quite make sense.

Engine's a bit odd too. It feels surprisingly strong when overtaking, but a little flat in the lower range. The gear change indicator is a bit silly as while it indicates a gear that the car will pull, it won't pull it well and needs a few revs on the clock to be responsive.

Build quality seems fine, but it seems to be assembled from slightly cheaper parts than the outgoing car.

Of course fuel consumption is what this car is all about and I can report that the car claimed 53mpg on the trip home from the dealer. Not bad, until I recall that the Octy I 1.9TDi Combi that I traded in did 56mpg on the way there.

So, it's not a massive thumbs up as yet, but I'm sure the car will grow on me, and as the miles rise I'm sure the consumption will improve. Time will tell

Where's the pics? you'll find a diesel is "RUN IN" after something like 70-80k miles so your mpg should improve. hope you enjoy you're new car.

The thing to remember about any of the Eco engined cars around is that these are supposed to be driven like an oap in order to get the best economy.

These change up indicators are in the cars to let drivers know to change up 'now' in order to get the better economy, along with an engine designed to get you to the legal speed limits reasonably quickly.

These cars require a complete change of driving style & attitude, more geared away from what is normal driving, to a more sedate , slower pace to travel.- Not my thing, but hats off to anyone that can get the claimed MPG quoted out of these cars.

Where's the pics? you'll find a diesel is "RUN IN" after something like 70-80k miles so your mpg should improve. hope you enjoy you're new car.

Photos just taken; will post later

The thing to remember about any of the Eco engined cars around is that these are supposed to be driven like an oap in order to get the best economy.

As I'm sure you can tell from my MPG on the way there I do OAP very well. I'm pretty sure that the suspension isn't OAP friendly though :-(

These change up indicators are in the cars to let drivers know to change up 'now' in order to get the better economy, along with an engine designed to get you to the legal speed limits reasonably quickly.

These cars require a complete change of driving style & attitude, more geared away from what is normal driving, to a more sedate , slower pace to travel.- Not my thing, but hats off to anyone that can get the claimed MPG quoted out of these cars.

It's not quite that simple; if you change gear to the advised one then the mpg may improve instantaneously, but if you are daft enough to want to accelerate, you need to change down again otherwise the mpg drops off and there's no where near enough power to speed up. So if it tells you to select 5th at 30mph and you intend to stay at 30mph it's fine, but if you are at 30 on the way to, say, 31 then it's best to leave it in 3rd

Photos just taken; will post later

Mix of before and after...

Needs bigger wheels

Edited 29 July, 201015 yr by Gyp

That is quite correct about having to change back down to overtake, as your in too high a gear to get the oompf you need to pass, so the assumption by the manufacturers behind getting the high mpg is that youre not going to drop gears & overtake.

I have a Fiat 500 diesel, & in order for me to get anywhere near 60 mpg, I have to accelerate, slow, smooth & gentle, change up very early and dont do over 60mph on an NSL road. ( forget about dropping gears to overtake). Also keep braking to a minimum, let the engine & road resistance slow the car down, only use the brake to actually stop from less than 20mph.

I would congratulate anyone who drives like this and enjoys driving, it not my idea of driving pleasure, i would be better using p-p-p-p-public transport

P.S oap driving wasnt directed at your driving style just a personal experience found from attempting economical driving in my current car.

That is quite correct about having to change back down to overtake, as your in too high a gear to get the oompf you need to pass, so the assumption by the manufacturers behind getting the high mpg is that youre not going to drop gears & overtake.

Ah, no, sorry. I didn't mean change down to overtake, I meant change down to speed up at all!

OK, it will speed up, but it's neither a brisk nor an economical activity