Despite 18 months of happy motoring it has always niggled me how few 4x4 Estates I see on the roads; Scouts being far more common, but they in themselves not a model that is frequently seen.

This left me wondering whether I'd made the right choice, and what reason could there be for so few 4x4 Octavia Est. models being seen/sold. (My dealer is one of the largest in the west of Scotland and they have to date sold just one FL 4x4 - mine). The brochures also now show 4x4 (and Scouts) as stock vehicles only, so why the low demand?

Well, after a 2500 mile trip through England, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Sloveina, Italy, and back again, I have put to rest any nagging doubts I had as to my choice of car. In (southern) Germany, Austria and Slovenia, 4x4 Octavia Estates, I'm pleased to say, are as common as muck. They're everywhere!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, given how few there are in the UK. The cops in Slovenia even use a TSI 4x4, which I never knew existed. I kid you not, they are ten-a-penny in the hilly bits where the white stuff covers everything for 5 months of the year, and if I'd only been considering buying a 4x4 Est. before going, I'd definately be looking to buy one now.

Could badge snobbery, the UK following the US in the general love of all things SUV related, or simply pi$$ poor marketing on the part of SUK account for the lack of 4x4 Est. sales here? What I do know is that the car performed excellently throughout the whole trip. Average MPG was only 47, but I was sitting at 80 on the autobahns with a roof box, so musn't grumble.

What a car...

PS. Spotted only 2 Scouts on the entire trip, both in Austria.

Sat next to what turned out to be yet another TDI 4x4 on the Postalmstraße, Salzburgland.

Edited 14 August, 201213 yr by Rab-k

why would it bother you that you have never seen any other models of your car on the road, till you go to another country. is it not a good thing that your car is a rare sight on uk road's come time to sell it.

I guess it concerned me in that if they are, as I regarded them at the time, reliable, good value for money, good quality cars, why aren't there more of them on the road here? What did others possibly know/have heard which would result in this model not being sold in larger numbers; even the dealer couldn't understand why they weren't flying off the shelves during the period of the VAT Free offer which was in place when I ordered mine.

What I found reassuring was the high number of this model I saw on the continent. Given that they are exposed to far tougher winter driving conditions than I'm likely to see here (winters 2009/10 and 2010/11 aside) then if they weren't up to the job, I'm assuming I'd have seen a lot less of them than I did.

As for resale - it'll be traded in for a newer version of the same come the time; assuming RHD models are still produced!