Just got back from the Mitchell Skoda Roomster launch party at Thornton Hough hall on the Wirral , surrounding were very pleasant for the launch party with plenty of Mitchells staff on hand , they hand 10 Roomsters in all , 3 were on a static display , the other 7 were available to road test . they were either 1.4 16v or 1.9TDI in Spec 2 or 3 , first vehicle i tested was a Spec 2 , 1.9TDI , under the bonnet its much the same as the Fabia just with slightly more space in front of the engine , inside i think it certainly lives up to its name , there is loads of space in the rear even with the front seats all the way back , the rear seats slide back and forth and also have adjustable rake , all rear seats removable as well . boot space is ok and is massive with the aforementioned rear seats out , one of the extras available is a mount for 2 MTBs , which mount in backwards with their front wheels removed . full size spare is in the boot. parcel shelf will mount in two different positions , high + low level .the glovebox/cubble holes were a bit of a disappointment though , very small which was a pity considering the room in the cabin .The only downside i would say about the interior is that it a bit light , biege seat and door trims and almost white lower dash , apparently most are like this because Skoda thought it emphasises the roomyness more with lighter trim colours , darker trim colours next year , the parking sensors were good , with the radio display showing how close you are from hitting something , similar to the Octavia i think .Right onto the drive , fully adjustable seat/steering so everybody should be able to get comfy , out on the road the 1.9TDI in 105 bhp spec feels ok , pulls cleanly from the low revs as you would expect , steering felt Skoda like , the most noticable thing about the drive was the bit of extra body roll in the corners , but i suppose this is to be expected as its centre of gravity is a bit higher than a Fabia , also i noticed that the engine noise was slightly more apparent than in my Fabia VRS , but nothing too bad . Onto the 1.4 16v Spec 3 , first thing to say , i was surprised i liked the glass roof , i'm not a great fan of glass sunroofs , but this seems to work quite well in giving the interior an airy feel , 2 blinds close across the glass , but the rear blind wasn't really reachable from the drivers seat , out on the road , having never driven a Skoda with the 1.4 16v , i didn't know what to expect , well i must say it did feel under powered in the car , i had to give it some revs to get it going up to speed , it was also a bit more vocal in the cabin than the 1.9TDI , annoying rattle behind dash area at medium revs also , felt a bit better on the road though , probably due to less weight on the front . Overall the cars felt reasonable well built with enough Skoda quirkiness to make it stand out from the other smallish MPVs , and as most of the running gear is the usual VAG bits it should all be pretty reliable . So if i was going to buy one it would definetly have to be a 1.9TDI Spec 3 , but with a darker interior trim . Oh and if you get a 1.9 the PD160 intake pipe looks like it will fit with the green filter in the airbox

Oh yeah , got a nice goody bag also , obviously a brouchure , but Roomster pen , note pad , jelly sweets , and best of all a 1/72 scale model , and entered into prize draw for a Roomster3 , heres hoping

Nice little report ric. All being well I will be going on saturday to Lightcliffes event. Think they will only have two cars tho from what the principle was saying. (and no doubt they will be 'selling' the model , will deffo enter prize draw tho so you have no chance :P

Just got back from a Roomster launch at Clock Garage in Derby.

I have to agree with Ric's points. I took out a 1.4 16V Roomster 2 and it was gutless. No doubt the fact that it only had 32 miles on the clock didn't help.

I though I would have a problem with elbow-room while driving it. In fact by the time I had adjusted the seat properly, there was space for my elbow in the door panel, but it was a bit claustrophobic - surprising in what is otherwise a very spacious vehicle.

I liked the rearward visibility, the relative lack of body roll and the driving position. There was a lot that was familiar about the Roomster - plenty of Fabia parts in evidence, and a virtually identical engine bay (but with a bit more room in it.)

I didn't like the fact that some of the trim panels are flimsy and pliable; I couldn't see any of the corners of the car and you could tell that the 1.4 petrol engine was going to be noisy once it had loosened up enough to produce serious revs.

Overall, if I were in the market for that type of vehicle, I would consider a Roomster.

Just been to Lightcliffe Huddersfield, no goody bag, forgot to enter competition:doh:, Absodidlylutely loved the roomster from the outside in the metallic blue (so much better than the pictures) not keen on it in the silvery cappuccino tho so on this car think colour choice will be very important. They had a roomster 2 with the dark interior and the 3 with the light interior, loved the look of the light interior with the glass roof, but think it impracticle for the cars target audiance (families kids pets etc). The dark interior was still quite pleasant and the dash looked fairly fresh. (Agree with bryand about the panels)Then I sat in it to drive - really wanted to like it but I am just the wrong size length whatever, got the perfect seating position and was happy with the view over the bonnett (unlike other mpv) but the radio console is very proud into the cabin and is suspended with the rounded corner just at my knee height, consequently I had to sit prim and proper rather than splaying my legs, no amount of seat alterations seamed to alter this even reting clutch foot on rest knee banged, folding under as x legged knee banged. Secondly I have my seat a fair way back and slightly laid down so the B pillar blocked a lot of visibility combined with the high and slanting window line meant I would have to sit straight up or lent slightly over. In the end didn't bother with a test drive, however for the right person I am sure it will be an excellant mpv alternative. (Had a run out in a deisal 170 Vrs instaed and this was also dissapointing :(, review under New Tdi thread)

Went down the Falmouth garages today who had 2 Roomsters. One TDI '3' in the showroom and one 1.4 16v in silver for driving.

Echo the comments about the 1.4 being gutless but apart from that a nice drive.

Much preferred the light interior on the 3 which also had maxidot and climatronic fitted.

I like the dash design and the overall quality was good. The lower glovebox is even weighted so it opens slowly

Only couple of niggles were the interior door pulls seemed a bit flimsy, I would prefer real chrome to plastic chrome on the gearknob and handbrake button and the clutch foot rest wasn't wide enough to get my foot in.

yeah postmanpat , thinking back now you're right about that high console/leg rub scenario , it was ok if i had my foot on the rest otherwise my knee caught the console and it did seem high the front door window edge if the seat was low and back

Looked at a Roomster the other day in Mitchells. I was quite impressed but got into conversation with another bloke also looking at the car. He needed access for his wife's wheelchair. As soon as he saw the absence of a flat floor boot with no lip he said, quote "That's NBG so it's probably going to be a Kangoo or similar Citroen"! In other respects he thought that the Roomster would have been ideal.

I can't help feeling that Skoda have missed the boat on this one as many older people won't buy the Fabia estate for the same reason.