Test Drive Reviews

Life is full of surprises, and the Skoda Octavia 4X4 Elegance is certainly one of them.

Having never driven a Skoda, or been in one for that matter, I had no idea what to expect. And frankly, my knowledge of Skoda was limited to knowing they have had an impressive track record in the world of rallying and, despite having manufactured sturdy and reliable cars, have had to overcome scepticism from the general British car-buying public.

But. now is the time to overcome any preconceptions you may have. Skoda, part of the VW group, is well and truly into the 21st century and well up there with the rest of the major car manufacturers.

Once behind the wheel of my shiny new (less than 100 miles on the clock) test vehicle, I was to find out what a dedicated band of Skoda fans have known for a long time, Skoda builds an exceedingly good car.

Having driven away from T A Porter & Sons cautiously - well it was very new and shiny - I soon gave in to its capabilities.

It drove like a dream. Its 1.8 turbo engine was superbly flexible and oh so responsive. Along with its sleek lines and sporty performance, the 4x4 has a reassuringly solidly safe feel to it. Whatever the road or driving conditions its road holding was superb.

I also liked the ride quality which was on the harder side, so no wallowing effects.

The equipment spec is good - CD player as standard - as is safety: twin front and side airbags, ESP and ABS.

At £15,500 on the road (metallic paint £240 extra) it's certainly great value for money and very hard to fault.

I personally didn't like the interior trim which I felt was a bit basic. But, the engineering and total package more than made up for that.

I did have a bit of a problem with rear visibility - the middle headrest would have to come out.

But that and the colour co-ordination of the trim apart, overall it's hard to fault this model. Not only does it look good but its performance was more than impressive.

Any reservations and preconceptions I had were dispelled. And after more than a week of driving around in it, I really did not want to give it back.

LIANA KYPARISSIS
LIMITED EDITION