The Star: January 10, 2019

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday January 10 2019 35
Skoda Octavia Scout
makes life easy
AS AGE has caught
up with me, it must be
said understanding the
electronics and finer
points of any new car is
becoming more and more
challenging.
That being the case, I
find it quite a conquest
when I can climb in and
instantly set the air conditioning
to my preferred settings,
find the Sound FM
radio station and zero the
trip meter.
That doesn’t always happen
quickly, in some cars it
takes time to work through
the complexities of the
operating systems. Not so
in the Skoda Octavia Scout,
I jumped in and had those
three prerequisites mastered
in less than a minute,
which sent a clear message
that the car is intuitive and
user-friendly to operate,
and I like that.
That’s not the only reason
I warmed to the Octavia
Scout, it is the quintessential
mid-size station wagon.
I once had a Mazda 323
wagon as a work car, and
I found it one of the most
useful forms of transport I
could have on a daily basis.
Sadly, only a few manufacturers
still produce the
traditional wagon and fewer
still that make smallish
wagons. That aside, the load
space in the Scout is amazing.
It measures 610-litres
to 1740-litres with the rear
seats folded flat.
In real terms I can report
it came in very handy during
the time my daughter
was in the process of moving
abode. I used the Scout
to transport many of her
belongings and found it
incredibly practical, a lot of
the latter due to the small
recess on the boot floor
which creates just that bit
extra load space.
The Scout lands here
with three engine options;
well, the 2-litre diesel
model has the same engine
but with different power
outputs – 110kW or
135kW – the other engine
is a 1.8-litre petrol unit.
The evaluation car was
the lower powered diesel
but, while I say that, it’s
my belief it is perfectly
adequate for the role, I
can’t imagine that any
more power is necessary.
In true turbocharged diesel
fashion, the 1968cc engine
develops a hearty 340Nm
available all of the way
from 1750rpm to 3000rpm.
As a consequence, the
Motoring
Ross Kiddie
SKODA SCOUT: Simple to understand.
Scout in this form still
develops strong performance.
Acceleration is
crisp, and throttle response
is instant, there’s no sign
of turbo lag and with it
coupled to a seven-speed
direct shift transmission
there is direct drive and
quick shifts.
That’s one of the advantages
of direct shift transmission,
it doesn’t eat away
at those precious power
figures.
• Price – Skoda
Octavia Scout,
$48,990
• Dimensions –
Length, 4687mm;
width, 1814mm;
height, 1531mm
• Configuration –
Four-cylinder, fourwheel-drive,
1968cc,
110kW, 340Nm,
seven-speed
automatic.
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 9.3sec
• Fuel usage –
5.2l/100km
Against the clock the
Scout will reach 100km/h
from a standstill in 9.3sec,
and will make a highway
lunge to 120km/h from
80km/h in 6sec, the latter
a result of the healthy midrange
performance of the
modern diesel and it is a
hugely rewarding feeling.
As you would expect,
the Scout also has amazing
fuel economy. The
manufacturers claim a 5.2-
litre per 100km (54mpg)
combined cycle rating.
That sits well with the
6.8l/100km (41mpg) showing
on the test car’s trip
computer, along with a
frugal 4l/100km (70mpg)
instantaneous readout at
100km/h, the engine just
loping over at 1400rpm.
These figures are no
surprise, I’ve driven with
this engine many times
before in other Skoda and
Volkswagen product, it is a
beauty, with quiet operating
manners and efficiency
as good as it gets.
I took the test car on
one of my normal routes
through the Selwyn District
– Dunsandel to Hororata
– and enjoyed its quiet
operating manner and the
comfortable way it treats its
occupants over a distance.
The Scout is no racer,
nor is it intended to be; it
is honest everyday transport.
I pushed it hard into
a couple of quick corners
and it responds with accuracy
through the front end
and strong steering feel.
Providing the grip are high
quality Michelin Primacy
tyres (225/50 x 17in), and
they have a solid footprint
with the road surface.
Skoda have sprung the
Octavia Scout with softish
settings, but because there
is little weight in the vehicle
and with a low centre of
gravity – the Scout is only
1.5m tall – there is little
handling trade-off, comfort
and ability has been a high
manufacturing criteria.
Yet there is another surprise
with the Scout, it has
four-wheel-drive. With just
171mm of ground clearance,
it can’t be considered
an off-road vehicle, however,
I took the test car
onto a cross-country track
to take photos and was
impressed with its suspension
control and in-cabin
comfort over some gnarly
bumps and ruts. I can see
it as a good alternative to
the mainstream cars which
tackle the skifield access
roads over winter.
Not only did I put the
Scout to good use during the
time it was in my care, but it
also reinforced my desire for
the 2-litre diesel engine.
Sadly, not enough Kiwi
buyers warm to diesel,
and I still can’t quite figure
that out. The Scout in this
form would certainly be
a car I would consider as
a functional form of daily
transport and at $48,990
how could you go wrong?
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