I was waiting in an airport last week and bought a What Car. Whilst perusing the new car section at the back I noticed that Skoda offer an estate 4wd, NOT the Scout (this may have been out for some time but it has only just come to my notice. This, I presume offers the same 4wd system as the Yeti but the 2.0TDi gives an overall mpg of 57.6 compared to the official Yeti figures of 47mpg for the 2.0TDi. 10mpg is quite a difference in these expensive times. Has anyone tried this car?

Is the 10mpg purely from the aerodynamics?

I like my Yeti but is the Octavia estate effectively the Yeti max that some have been waiting for or is it an old design? I have never been in an Octavia so I can not comment.

I had a 2006 4wd Octavia Estate (1.9TD) for 6 months before I got my 2007(2.0TD)Scout. It's been available since the Mk1. MPG was about the same - around low to mid 50's with a long trip best of 62. (Having said that the avg mpg in my signature for the Scout is currently about 10mpg lower than my trip shows).

Some of it's likely to be aerodynamics - the Yeti is higher with more ground clearance so that's 2 factors against it in comparison. I did around 300 miles this weekend with a roof box on my Scout & the MPG was down about 3mpg but even with that on I reckon it's more streamlined than the Yeti.

Not heard of the Yeti Max.

I like my Yeti but is the Octavia estate effectively the Yeti max that some have been waiting for or is it an old design? I have never been in an Octavia so I can not comment.

No, it's an old idea.

Skoda have done the Octavia in 4x4 (not scout) trim for some time, only as an Estate like the Scout. No saloon/hatch version.

It's not the bigger Yeti (possibly with 7 seats?) that's expected in the future.

The 4x4 version of the Octavia estate is simply that - an Octavia estate with four-wheel drive and slightly raised ground clearance. The Scout has much higher ground clearance with some additional under-body protection, wheel arch extensions etc. so is a much more robust vehicle for any off-roading or indeed for getting through deep puddles.

I think I may have caused some confusion here. I did not literally mean that this was a larger Yeti, or Yeti Max as some have started to call one. Such a car does not exist at the moment but a number on here have commented how a Yeti with a larger boot would be very useful. My point was that as the Octavia estate boot is huge then that practically becomes a Yeti Max when in 4wd mode, yes I also know you can get a 2wd drive Yeti but that does not interest me. Not literally of course, I can see the visual difference between a Yeti and an Octavia and clearly the standard Octavia is lower.

Have people driven an Octavia 4wd and a Yeti 4wd and if so how do they compare?

Ive driven one and its as you would expect tbh - bigger boot, less flexible seating in the rear. Not quite as nice finish to the interior in terms of trim quality. Same haldex setup. The one that I drove was a diesel so I wasn't really my cuppa but it stayed flatter in the harder bends imo. I thought the 4x4 and Scout ride height was similar but that the 4x4 just did without the additional body cladding of the Scout. Personally, I think all the Skoda 4x4 models are massively underrated including the original mk 1 Octavia 4x4 Turbo hatchback I used to own.

They also have a 1.6 TDI 4x4, that seems interesting! I have a thing for weird spec car (large engine, small car and small engine, large car)

Ive driven one and its as you would expect tbh - bigger boot, less flexible seating in the rear. Not quite as nice finish to the interior in terms of trim quality. Same haldex setup. The one that I drove was a diesel so I wasn't really my cuppa but it stayed flatter in the harder bends imo. I thought the 4x4 and Scout ride height was similar but that the 4x4 just did without the additional body cladding of the Scout. Personally, I think all the Skoda 4x4 models are massively underrated including the original mk 1 Octavia 4x4 Turbo hatchback I used to own.

Thanks, that was the type of info I was hoping for.

With regards to the 1.6Tdi 4wd Skoda have again repeated the feat of a smaller engine having worse mpg than a larger 2.0Tdi. Every other mfr goes smaller and gets more but Skoda do the opposite. Very odd

I thought the 4x4 and Scout ride height was similar but that the 4x4 just did without the additional body cladding of the Scout.

No the standard 4x4 is only raised ever so slightly (you normally have to be a real anorak to spot on when they are driving) whereas the Scout is raised a significant amount.

Normal:

4x4:

Scout:

They did the mk1 Octavia in hatchback form as well, 1.8 turbo 4x4 petrol in Elegance spec, would be nice to have

There have been a few tuned 4x4s on here, I think Stuart-J was running about 300bhp on his.

If the boot was the same size or bigger than the Octavia I'd give it some thought although the MPG would likely go against it.

Ive driven one and its as you would expect tbh - bigger boot, less flexible seating in the rear. Not quite as nice finish to the interior in terms of trim quality. Same haldex setup. The one that I drove was a diesel so I wasn't really my cuppa but it stayed flatter in the harder bends imo. I thought the 4x4 and Scout ride height was similar but that the 4x4 just did without the additional body cladding of the Scout. Personally, I think all the Skoda 4x4 models are massively underrated including the original mk 1 Octavia 4x4 Turbo hatchback I used to own.

The Scout and Yeti ground clearance is the same at 180mm. As mentioned above the 4x4 is lower, but higher than standard. (the vRS is even lower....)

The Scout doesn't (yet) have the option as far as I'm aware of the RRP or the Off Road button. The overhangs are greater. If anybody is after a Yeti with a larger boot and can cope with the (slightly) lower driving position of the Scout, and the overhangs don't bother them. then the Scout makes very good alternative.

Mike

The Octavia 4x4 is a great car, I looked at a Yeti but didn't like the boot size, especialy with the spare wheel option.

So we got the 1.9 pd and can't fault it, large boot and spare,the 4 wheel drive is even better in the wet ( we get more wet than snow )

If the Yeti suits you fine, but the 4x4 Octavia is a great alternative.

Ive driven one and its as you would expect tbh - bigger boot, less flexible seating in the rear. Not quite as nice finish to the interior in terms of trim quality. Same haldex setup. The one that I drove was a diesel so I wasn't really my cuppa but it stayed flatter in the harder bends imo. I thought the 4x4 and Scout ride height was similar but that the 4x4 just did without the additional body cladding of the Scout. Personally, I think all the Skoda 4x4 models are massively underrated including the original mk 1 Octavia 4x4 Turbo hatchback I used to own.

No, the Scout does have extra ground clearance compared with the standard 4x4 estate.

(Edit - sorry! Just noticed a couple of others got in with this first!)

I had the same thoughts as Gomezz, but in the end decided to go for the Yeti. I only chose the Yeti because I fancied something a bit different from my previous Octavia estate (not 4x4), liked the heated front windscreen option and I already had a roof box for the few occasions the Yeti's boot won't be big enough for me. The Octavia 4x4 also seems to me to be a great car for anyone who wants 4x4 but doesn't want others to know they drive a 4x4.

I've not driven the Octavia 4x4 but from the passenger's seat of my father in law's car it's also a great car to be in and he's very pleased with it. We both ordered our cars in August last year and got them on the same day in January, but he chose the non metallic blue paint and I the metallic Storm Blue (now discontinued). The colour difference isn't immediately obvious on dull days and my car really shows up the dirt so next time I'll be more careful when choosing the colour. The following is a link to both our cars side by side My link

I used to own a 2wd Yeti and now have a FL 1.8 TSi Octavia 4X4. The 4x4 is a distinct model and as far as I'm aware has the same 4x4 system as the Yeti. The spec on the 4x4 is somewhere between an SE and an Elegance. It features Auto dimming rear view mirror, dual climate, headlamp washers, Autowipers and ESP over the SE spec. I had a spare wheel in my Yeti and the Octavia boot (complete with spare wheel) is cavernous by comparison.

I used to own a 2wd Yeti and now have a FL 1.8 TSi Octavia 4X4. The 4x4 is a distinct model and as far as I'm aware has the same 4x4 system as the Yeti. The spec on the 4x4 is somewhere between an SE and an Elegance. It features Auto dimming rear view mirror, dual climate, headlamp washers, Autowipers and ESP over the SE spec. I had a spare wheel in my Yeti and the Octavia boot (complete with spare wheel) is cavernous by comparison.

My Octy Scout (August 08 registration) had a full-size spare, which of course was fine given the voluminous boot, but I believe that is a thing of the past now.

clarksons review of the scout

Isn't that a Roomster Scout review?

Edit: Doh! Never got as far as page 2 - that's probably because Clarkson boils my p*ss

Isn't that a Roomster Scout review?

For the first page it's about anything but the Octavia Scout - he gets going on page 2.

I have argued in the past that if we all bought cars using nothing but our heads, we’d all have VW Golfs. You are a family man with two children? You need a Golf. You are a wealthy young playboy from Dubai? You need a Golf. You are a school-run mum? You need a Golf. A student? A second-hand Golf. You are a gamekeeper? An astronaut? A golfer? It’s the same answer.

But the Skoda Octavia Scout is even more rounded and capable, especially when you look at the price.

Both Clarkson and Jame May always go on about the Golf being the perfect family car but I have to say I have never understood that, in James May's case he maybe has an excuse as he has never had kids. In no way is a Golf boot perfect for families, it is only half the size. Family boots need to be cavernous, capable of swallowing enormous amounts of gear, prams, pushchairs, travel cots, suitcases, shopping bags etc, all without having to delicately arrange them a la Krypton Factor. An Octavia, Scenic, Picasso, Zafira are perfect family cars. Golfs are very good cars and ideal for people with no kids or maybe 1. Two and above and the word perfect has to be removed.

I know this is a diversion but I started the thread, its my ball etc, and this has bugged me for years. See it as therapy and forgive me.