If anyone is in two minds between choosing an estate or a hatch [i.e. they need an estate but would like a hatchback] don't make up your mind till you have converted the rear seats of a hatch fully. In other words, pull up the squabs, lay flat the backs and take out the boot shelf.

I had a vast amount of junk to move to our tip recently and thought it would take 3 visits. The "converted back end" not only swallowed up the lot but could have taken nearly as much again. Of course this does leave you temporarily as a 2 seater but, if you don't need the extra space very often, it works just great.

It is pretty cavernous - I often find myself struggling to reach something right up behind the seats in the boot. The luggage net kit is a useful add on.

Hear, hear: almost as much room as in my old Omega estate!!!!!

The estate and hatch boot floor have the same dimensions, seats up or down, where you gain with the estate is the loading height, as the opening is less angled and the parcel shelf is missing.

When we ordered our vRS, I had reluctantly gone to look at the estate version. The salesman picked up on my reluctance and asked why we needed an estate. I explained - new baby, pram, and assorted gubbins.

He then showed me the hatch, took out the parcel shelf and put the seats down. I cheered up and ordered the hatch!

I'd get the estate myself as I think it looks nicer.

I tried moving a small table in the hatch and it was a pain as I had to put the seats flat, take the head rests out take the parcel shelf off and find somewhere to put it.

Then when i tried to get it in i needed to take the legs off and take the table to bits so it would fit height wise.

In the previous estate it would have been put in in the boot whole, maybe put the seats down but probably not as the legs would have been up in the air not on the rear bench area.

I had a MkI estate for he very reasons mentioned previously but the MkII hatch I think is bigger and is more versatile imho.

Yes, the boot space of my MK2 is much different to my Mk.1 vRS - no comparison.

I have to agree!! I fitted a fully made Klippan Sofa from Ikea into mine! Almost closed the boot too, just and inch left ajar!

Just gotta love Skoda!

I have a couple of hounds and I am constantly moving stuff about, the latest was 600 Kilos of logs, I think the estate is more versatile and I too like the look of it.

Of course it is horses for courses - the next step up I suppose is to buy a truck! But considering the hatch does not really come to mind as intermodal transport, it makes a darn good fist of being a makeshift pickup! Almost Tardis like, the way my pile of garden fence parts, old garden furniture, black sacks of assorted rubbish etc etc disappeared into it as one load, with room for more if I'd had any. Very pleased with that, and good info for the future.

I went for the estate for the overall load volume not just the floor area.

The estate does look nicer IMO but the vRS looks excellent as both.

The estate easily handled the materials for my patio last summer when it was less than a week old, got some dirty looks in the B&Q car park chucking slabs and bags of sand in the back of it though.

The estate easily handled the materials for my patio last summer when it was less than a week old, got some dirty looks in the B&Q car park chucking slabs and bags of sand in the back of it though.

Ah, just paint "MacAlpine" on the side in large letters!

Should have got a yellow one with a bucket on the front, it has the right sounding engine at least

For round here I was thinking of one of those dark green ones, with the tracks, and the revolving turret on top. I hear they're good for when you go to the bank.

It would help out immensly in the traffic jams.

Traffic jams? What traffic jams? Do you mean that crunchy stuff under the tracks?

Ahhhhh............If only.........