I shall be driving one of these

 

 

Evolution is becoming the norm in the car industry. Each model bears a resemblance to its larger or smaller model so that it can easily be recognised as part of the car’s family. For Skoda, it has recently launched a new Fabia which is an evolution of the previous one. And in terms of the larger car in their model range, the Octavia, that has also been redesigned. Gone are the swept back headlamps of the previous facelifted model and, whether it’s deliberate or not, the new model features a smaller grille, rectangular headlamps, a deep front bumper housing daytime running lights and a small lip spoiler at the bottom which all appears to be very similar to the previous generations of Audi.

 

The car comes in six trim levels from the base “S” model to flagship “Laurin & Klement”, the people originally behind the brand.  A four wheel drive version is also available and engines range from a 1.2 to a gut busting 2.0 petrol putting out 220hp in the petrol variant of vRS.

 

So this is a diesel vRS. There’s a small suage line at the bottom of the side of the car to draw the eye, and four styles of alloy wheel choices either in 18” or 19”, if you’re feeling brave, with all the high kerbs that are around these days.

 

This five door hatchback model is slightly longer than the previous version as it’s now 4659mm in length, 2017mm wide and 1461mm in height. The car is 900 mm longer and 450 mm wider than the second generation and the wheelbase lengthened by 800 mm to afford extra passenger space. It was always generous, but now it has even more.

 

Standard on the vRS is a rear spoiler. Given the height and stance of the spoiler on the predecessor, the new one is a disappointment with its smaller height and less “look at me”, but probably adds to the aerodynamics of the car.  My test model is finished in race blue, which also incidentally was once reserved for the vRS models but for some unknown reason, Skoda have decided it can be ordered across the range which is a shame as that dilutes the car’s exclusivity.

 

The car has sporty vRS kick plates on the edge of the doors and inside the car sporty seats have manual adjustment to find that sweet spot. They now have full length backrests rather than a separate adjustable headrest which adds to the sporty feel of the car but somehow it feels smaller and less sculpted than the predecessor’s seat. The other usual range of adjustment can be made to the three spoke leather clad steering wheel with its grey stitching and two banks of switches for audio and telephone/in car computer.

 

White dials in the instrument binnacle and chrome effect pedals are a nice touch and chrome trims around the air vents lift a rather sombre dark interior, which still has nice touch materials but the feel has diminished in quality. I noted that the dash has an annoying and rather pointless step in it which caught my eye immediately I got in. The handbrake is situated to the left of the centre console, presumably for the benefit of foreign markets, but hasn’t been moved over for the UK market and the surrounding plastic is hard and scratchy. There’s a central arm rest as per the previous model but there’s now a problem. Extend the arm rest and you can’t properly apply the handbrake because of its position. The bonnet release is on the passenger side too whereas on the previous model it was on the right.  The upside, is that the car is 102kg lighter than the earlier model probably due to lighter and less durable materials being used.  That aside, lashings of carbon fibre effect trim around the cabin make it quite special; the previous model had aluminium and I think I prefer the newer trim.

 

The front passenger seat is similarly height adjustable as the driver’s and rear passengers never want for anything in the back of the Octavia, current or old model, providing excellent passenger space. The same can be said about the boot which is huge but awkwardly shaped due to some wheel arch intrusion. Despite this it provides 590 litre space with seats up – there is 1580 without.

 

The car tested here has £1580 worth of options added to it comprising race blue metallic paint, crew protection and additional airbags, space saver spare wheel, Bluetooth+ telephone preparation, Mitsumi Apple integration (Ipod dock) and keyless entry.

 

Sitting behind the wheel is a lovely place to be. Despite earlier comments about the seats, the driving position is excellent. The instrument binnacle is clear but the digits used are more helpful to the EU than the UK as there’s no 30-50-70 increment as it shows 40-60-80. More cost cutting I suspect and for those of us wary of speeding, probably more difficult to judge.

 

The vRS now comes with Xenon lights as standard so night time driving is easier with the much brighter lights. It also has a vRS button which alters the characteristics or set up of the car. Intrigued, I chose to play with the “car set up” menu in the on board computer, I was able to specify stiffer steering, increased engine torque and accelerator sensitivity as well as utilising the performance sound generator, it wasn’t always so quiet. Pressing the button spreads vibrations directly through the vehicle body and windscreen for a more sporty experience. It’s speed dependent so more obvious the faster the car is travelling. In normal mode, on the road the car is very quiet, noticeably quieter than the previous model which suggests that there is extra soundproofing built in. One downside is the door mirrors have reverted to the size of an earlier Octavia and are considerably smaller. They have also dropped the split blindspot mirror feature which I missed whilst using the car. At least it made me have a proper look at junctions. I suppose there’s always a silver lining.

 

The car’s six speed DSG gearbox learns the user’s driving style and when S is selected, hangs on to the gears for that little bit longer. It also has a paddle shift behind the steering wheel and whichever you choose, it’s responsive and lots of fun. It’s difficult to notice the change in gears unless in sport mode and the sportier steering setting just made it more enjoyable as it provides more feed back through the wheel. Turn in is sharp and responsive without any issues allowing the car to be placed exactly where it’s required. The tyres grip well during aggressive cornering and overtaking is safe and easy with the power delivery of the diesel. With all this talk of pressing on, the economy over the week long test remained in the high forties despite covering over 250 miles.

 

The car has parking sensors as standard equipment so parking is also easy. Visibility out of the rear of the car is good but I’d go back to larger door mirrors for all round easier observation.

 

The Octavia range starts at £16525 retail with the 1.2 TSI and finishes at £29,010 for the Lauren and Klement 4x4 estate.  

 

Verdict

 

The aggressive looks of the vRS and finished in Race Blue is an excellent combination but less striking than the Mk2.  It’s no slouch covering the 0-62 dash in 8.3 seconds and is rewarding to drive. The boot is something I would get used to, but like the Elegance I tried back in 2013, the conversion to the UK market is poor and aspects would keep annoying me, but I’d probably buy one. The model tested here including VAT is £26,990, but obviously less if you are VAT exempt.

 

Will it fit your parking space ?

 

4685mm length, 1814mm wide and 1449mm height

 

MPG Urban 47.9 mpg

Extra Urban 65.7 mpg

Combined 56.5 mpg

CO2 -129g/km

VED Band D

Engine: 1968cc

Power 184 at 3,500

Torque 380 at 1,750

Transmission: 6 speed auto

0-62mph: 8.3 seconds

 

Petrol or diesel?

Have you driven left hand drive cars before?

It's the derv Richard which is good as that's what I'm used to. And no, it's not LHD. I used a press pic to save any arguments from anyone on here. The CZ plate is a bit of a giveaway....

 And no, it's not LHD. I used a press pic to save any arguments from anyone on here. 

 

You'll need to sit in the other front  seat then, not like the man in the picture    :think:      :no:

Arrived today. I can tell it's got 184 horses as it feels much faster than my CR170. It's only done 9k whereas mine's nearly 36K not that that should make a difference.

Petrol or diesel?

At 184 bhp should be the diesel...

Nice wheels, I have drive-tested one myself and it's pretty quick...

Post updated.

Getting my mits on a new Yeti next month, and a Fabia Estate like Brimma's next week, without the vRS bits and bobs. Should be interesting.

 

On a visit to my local Skoda dealer, I noted the new Fabia, sitting gleaming in the showroom. They were having their “annual sales event” and I’d been invited to attend to see if I wanted to change the car.  I need not have gone, but I wouldn’t have sat in the bright red Fabia Estate SE and been able to take it for a test drive.

 

It copies the larger, more luxurious Octavia, the next vehicle in the range, in terms of its design, using the corporate nose, a black grille and chrome edging. The black and silver badge replaces the old green and silver one on the end of the bonnet and beneath the bumper are large air intakes to cool the engine. This engine, incidentally, is the 1.4 TDI that has an output of 90PS, rather than the 160PS I’m used to in the regular car. If that doesn’t suit, the range also offers a 1.0 60PS, a 1.0 75PS, and a 1.2 90PS.

 

The wheel arch gap to bodywork of the car appears lower in pictures and raised in the flesh, which could be the work of a photographer enhancing the image, but the reality is the 15” wheels look rather lost in the arches. Bigger wheels are an option, if you’re of the same opinion as me. Skoda have introduced a nice suage line near the top of the doors down the side of the car and being an estate, where would it be without roof rails ?

 

The corporate view is on display again at the rear with the trademark C segment lights, again, as used on the Octavia, and a wide opening boot is obvious at the back. A small roof top spoiler with additional stop light completes the look and adds a little sporty twist to the overall appearance.

 

We can be in a Fabia Estate in either S, SE or SE L trims, according to Skoda, and my test car in SE with options - Corrida red special paint, textile floor mats, a space saver spare wheel, odds and ends inside the car like a little plastic waste bin holder, complete with bin liner and something called a smart gate sticks £475 on top of the basic £17,535 asking price. 

 

Whilst the standard car is well equipped with such items like a leather steering wheel, rear parking sensors, DAB digital radio with USB, height adjustable steering and tyre pressure monitoring, the interior cabin quality has fallen from Skoda’s I’ve previously owned or just borrowed. They have moved to hard scratchy plastics which are no doubt lighter, but on this car it simply felt cheaper and not something Skoda used to be. The door cards were thin and there was none of the rubberised plastics of old that gave that quality feel. Maybe people don’t touch dashboard and door card materials anymore, but I’m afraid I do. And it’s not what I was expecting.

 

The switchgear is the usual robust, Germanic quality that we have come to expect from the brand. The dials are simple and clear, even though they miss out the 70mph increment from the speedometer. The seats are comfortable and easy to adjust, providing a good view down the front of the car and from the door mirrors, to what’s just been passed.

 

The central binnacle had manual air conditioning on this model and beneath, a USB and Ipod dock, if the DAB radio isn’t for you. And it wasn’t for me, as most of the time, signal was so poor I resorted to FM or the USB. And it would have been nice if there had been steering wheel controls, but on this model, they were absent.

 

The door pockets are deep and have been designed to carry a good sized drinks bottle. Between the seats is further storage in the central armrest and the glovebox is well proportioned.  As a sign of the times, the car also has a phone holder which came in very useful and allowed it to be charged whilst on the move via the conveniently located USB.

 

Three adults sat across the back seat in reasonable comfort, admittedly only for a short journey but my regular guinea pigs know what to look for, and there were no complaints, apart from having a “window windy thing” on the door, instead of a button. I guess that’s more cost cutting.

 

The new Fabia’s spacious luggage compartment runs some impressive numbers apparently, as it offers 530 litres of space with the seats up and 1395 with them down. There’s also a false floor which drops the floor by a couple of inches and provides a handy safe storage place for small items, as well as level access if loading bulky items.  Drop the rear seats fully, and whilst this increases the loadspace, it doesn’t give a completely flat floor. 

 

A three cylinder 1.4 diesel is never going to set the world alight in terms of performance figures. The car was a steady cruiser during the time I had it. Once it was warmed to optimum temperature it seemed to slice through the seven speed DSG automatic gearbox without any fuss and was reasonably swift but not exactly what you might call fast. The steering was moderate to heavy and enabled me to tell what the front of the car was doing. It rode the potholes well without much noise thundering into the cabin and passengers could hold a conversation without much intrusion from the diesel lump up front. 

 

On A and B roads it held the road well and when it was pushed through the corners, displayed plenty of grip. As it had only done less than 2000 miles, the tyres were relatively new and clung on well. Flicking the gear lever over to manual override, the gearbox was compliant and performed well, but I didn’t want to push it too far being new.

 

Parking sensors were responsive during parking back at the dealer’s and the mirrors were good enough to enable me to position it between other cars on the forecourt. It hardly drank any fuel which was good news as Skoda would have charged me for any massive top up.

 

Verdict

 

A capable all rounder. Not big enough for me personally as the bootspace isn't big enough, but as a day to day A-B car, I would highly recommend it. The interior isn’t as good as Skoda’s of old, and the corporate identity isn’t for everyone, but at least it’s branded clearly as a Skoda.  Now, that salesman is going to ask me a question and he’s not going to like the answer.

 

 

Will it fit your parking space ?

 

Length 4257mm  Width  1732mm Height 1488mm

 

MPG Urban 70.6 mpg

Extra Urban 83.1 mpg

Combined 78.5 mpg

CO2 – 94 g/km

VED Band A

Engine: 1422cc

Power 90 at 3,250

Torque 230 at 1,7500

Transmission: 7 speed auto

0-62mph: 11.3 seconds

Next up is the VW Passat.  Not sure I'll post that here. Let's skip forward to the Yeti Monte Carlo.

 

 

First impressions...

 

Needs lowering and an Audi 2.5 V6 dropping in it.  More later when I've driven it for a bit.

After last month’s Skoda Fabia Estate, it’s the turn of Volkswagen’s all new Passat Estate to be sitting on my driveway this week. I must say it’s taking up rather a lot of it, as, yes, you guessed it, the new model is larger than the last one. It’s lighter than the model it replaces, and is also more spacious and has improved fuel economy and CO2 emissions. It made its debut at the Paris Show on 2 October 2014, 41 years after the original and so far, 22 million Passats have been sold worldwide since 1973 as of January 2015, with 442,000 finding homes in the UK.

 

This is the eigth generation one and follows the VW family theme in design terms, taking its cue from the larger flagship model, the Passat CC.

 

Less angular than the previous model, the chrome grille appears to stretch across the car forever and accentuates the size of it between a pair of large headlamp clusters. These feature halogen bulbs, but there is an option to upgrade to smart LED lights to give the car a bit of a visual boost.  The bonnet has a chiselled appearance and there is a suage line down three quarters of the side of the car. Chrome roof rails look good against the “Harvard Blue” metallic paint as does the chrome trim around the windows and indicators are placed in the door mirrors. The rear of the car is fairly square and good for loading bulky objects which is particularly useful if like me, your fixed frame wheelchair takes up a specific amount of space.

Good to know then, that the car has a 650-litre boot capacity.

 

New redesigned rear light clusters are on this car and have also been used to good effect on the new Golf, featuring a neater design. In common with other estates, the roof has a small rooftop spoiler for aero purposes and the tapered roofline draws your eye towards the rear of the car.

 

Inside is lovely. The car is up to 85 kg lighter than the previous model. Yet it has a longer wheelbase, an increase of 79 mm to 2,791 mm and more interior space.   The car’s leather seating pack is one of the most comfortable I’ve sat in, or on. With four heated seats, nobody does without the refinements either. Setting up the driving position took seconds, using the electric controls and the sculptured nature of the seats meant that it was extremely comfortable. Unusually, the car has a heated steering wheel.  Maybe that’s a bit over the top, but I suppose on a cold day, leather isn’t that great to cling on to.

 

The fit and finish inside the car is excellent and it is beautifully laid out. Chrome door handles, chrome effect running around the inside of the cabin, a “proper” clock with hands that move, electric parking brake, individually controlled climate control for all passengers and integrated audio/sat nav that can also be controlled by a multi function steering wheel, it is one of the best interiors I have seen for a while. Storage is excellent too, with decent sized door bins and glove compartment which are flock-lined so loose items don’t rattle about when you’re on the move. Between the front seats is more storage which can also be covered easily should the need arise.

 

Rear seat passengers are well catered for in terms of head room and knee space. The front seats are designed to allow more leg room and three could travel in comfort without any complaints.  A large flat loading area is provided in the boot and further storage can be created by dropping the rear seats which makes a completely flat floor. Useful if you regularly visit the Swedish furniture shop, and intend to fully utilise the 1780 litre capacity at your disposal.

 

Buyers can choose from five trim levels – S, SE, SE Business, GT and R-Line. Mid-spec SE Business with the 148bhp 2.0-litre TDI engine should prove to be the best-all rounder. And engines, all are new and EU6 compliant and fuel efficiency has been improved by as much as 14 per cent.  It will be a diesel only range from launch with the following engines being available 1.6-litre 120 PS, 2.0-litre with 150 or 190 PS, and a range-topping 2.0-litre bi-turbo with 240 PS, DSG and four-wheel drive.

 

A plug-in hybrid GTE version with a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine and electric motor will follow in October. This will have a maximum system output of 218 PS and range of up to 621 miles or 31 miles in pure electric mode. For the penny pinchers, a diesel BlueMotion model will also be available returning an estimated 78 mpg on the combined cycle. 

 

So how does it drive ? Very nicely. The 150 PS output of the car is adequate for the job. It’s not particularly fast, but there’s no sensation of how fast it’s travelling because it’s so quiet and refined. The 17” alloy and tyre combination together with the length of the car hides the bumps well in the road and looking through the driving dynamics options menu, it is possible to alter the dynamics (as the name suggests) of certain aspects of the car - I chose a heavier steering set up but to leave the six speed auto gearbox in normal to provide more steering feedback. It felt like it was fast enough in normal gearbox mode, although I did try it for a couple of days in full sport mode including tinkering with the suspension through the car’s on board optional set up system. The harder ride didn’t suit the style of car so I reverted back to smooth, serene driving, wafting along pretending it was a limo. Doing without this option would save you £700.

 

Being diesel, it drank very little and I saw an average of towards 40mpg during the week long loan. Most of my weekly driving covers either stop start motorway or hilly and twisty country roads which can sap power and fuel quite easily, so I was impressed with what it returned.

 

Verdict

 

With all the options on this car it would set me back nearly £35,000. That’s a lot of money however nice inside it is and how well it drives.  Of course, to retail customers, there’s a lot of competition for that kind of money. Still, nearly half a million have been sold to UK buyers over the years so VW must be doing something right.

 

Will it fit your parking space ?

 

Length 4767mm  Width 2083 mm Height 1477mm

 

MPG Urban 53.3 mpg

Extra Urban 68.9 mpg

Combined 62.8 mpg

CO2 -119g/km

VED Band C

Engine: 1998cc

Power 150 at 3,500

Torque 340 at 1,750

Transmission: 6 speed auto

0-62mph: 8.9 seconds