Hi folks.

I live in Cumbria and changed my car in April last year from a Volvo V40, which could not cope with the ice and mud, to a 55 plate Octavia 4x4 FSI. I am very pleased indeed with this car and will be driving Skodas from now on.

My question- we had heavy rain last week and as usual many of the local roads were flooded. As expected the Octavia took it all in it's stride, but can anyone tell me at what height is the car's air intake? I would like to be able to guage what depth of water I can safely negotiate.

Many thanks

MRD

Have you looked under the bonnet yet? Mostly air intakes draw in via plastic trunking through the front grille but a quick look would be all it'll take to find out. If you have a petrol engine, you'd have to be particularly careful not to drown the electrics by splashing water up inside the front end of the car during your amphibious activites. Don't forget water above the exhaust pipe level can cause problems. Watch out for hidden obstacles under deep water like holes, big lumps of hard stuff, blown manhole covers, submarines etc. Once drove an old Metro for a mile through water over the top of the arches. Had to keep the revs over 4000rpm all the way and slip the clutch in first or it would have drowned. Wouldn't want to do it again, but once you start you can't stop!

If it's like the VRs it's behind the grill on the right hand side. As suggested get the bonnet open and take a look.