‘theidriving aforce Thursday, August 12th; 2004 Skoda Octavia TDi


The engine is l iv e ly accelerating the hefty hatchback rather than the boot its stub-tailed lines Octayia body through 60 m.p.h. in 11.6 seconds, ^


I


f jig_ Like its predecessor, it boasts a practical The old Octavia was renowned for


and IS supremely economical as well. Expect to


notch up combined economy figures in the 53 Possessing one of the biggpt pyloads m class but m.p.g. range. Combine that with a 55-litre fuel . the latest car comprehensively truinps it, ai^lable tank and you have a car that can cruise over 645 capacity gomg up by 36 litres to 560 litres with the miles between refills.


^ . ' t „ „ „ . . ^ i,„f rear seats in place. Bear in mind that this dwarfs Withl40Nm of torque to call upon, the 2.0-litre what is on offer from a BMW 5 Seri^, a Jaguar S-


TDI surges through 60 m.p.h. in 9.4 sec­ onds and runs on to a top speed of 129 m.p.h. A combined fuel economy figure of 47.9mpg and 159g/km carbon dioxide emissions are not bad showings either. All the latest


Octavias benefit from Volkswagen’s quest to endow the Golf chassis with Ford Focus-style driving manners. Even with the wick


Engine is iively and economicai - you s


T Y PE , a Mercedes E Class or a Volvo S80 and you will get some idea how huge it is back there. The Golf does not even compare. Fold the rear seats flat and you will then get a yawning 1,350 litres of available room. Passenger room is


can cruise 645 miles between refills


similarly generous - and that is impor­ tant since the prodi­ gious luggage space of the original Octavia required rear seat passengers


turned down a good few notches, it caimot help but to pay in kind. The wheelbase of the latest model feel extremely capable when stitching a series of has been teased out by another 66mm, endowing it bends together.


with admirable rear leg room even when the front The steering feels like a good hydraulically seats are occupied by long-limbed adults. Rear


assisted set-up, but is, in fact, electro-mechanically head room is better than the swooping roofline assisted. Many of the early versions of this steer- would suggest, helped in no small part by a slightly ing set-up felt unacceptably artificial, but the more generous seat back recline than in many such Octavia’s helm feels meaty and rewarding at speed, cars. The Octavia 2.0-litre TDi is a very good car reverting to fingertip light at parking speeds, indeed, the £1,300 price differential between the Impressive stuff.


two cars probably underlining this fact.


P you were a private buyer choosing on-speci- The rear overhang has been extended a little fur- flcation, the 1.9-litre TDi would appear a very ther to give the Octavia more of a three-box pro­ sound choice.


T h le days, however, things are very different bumpers and the gr^n and red vRS badges in the and the top vRS Octavia is one of the cars that has front


I bootkd. timed public perception of the Czech brand on its Inside, the height-adjustable sports front seats


head As with the plushest models in the standard are p^t-leather, the chunky three-spoke steering range, this car gets the VW Group’s proven 1.8- wheel and chrome-topped gear lever are also litre four cylinder turbo-charged engine, but this time in 180 b.h.p. form rather than in 150 b.h.p.


lime m lou u.u lui ------- -


guise. Just like entry-level versions of Audis 11 sportscar in other words - which should be a nice comparison to draw when you are justifying the purchase of a £15,000 Skoda to your friends. Here, instead, is a


handling package angled more toward safety and comfort than outright excite­ ment. Still, the Czech car


handles well enough to shock anyone who has not kept up with its maker’s rise in


all performance-minded motorists


leather-bound, while the pedals are covered with staiidess stwl pads.


A Skoda that deserves respect among


dials. Go for the estate version and you get a car that can carry 548 litres, or 1512 litres with the split rear seats folded. The load space is versatile too, with glide rails embedded into the floor to make load­ ing and unloading easier. There are also four fastening points to keep awkward packages from slid­ ing about. Greater refine-


PrestonsGroup.Com Prestons BMW Skoda Octavia vRS


'01282720742


- Prestons MINI 01282 72074


www.hillendale.co.uk


T savs a great deal about how far Skoda has pleased to find that this particular model also Nice touches include the sporty front and rear


« , L that the company even thinks about sell- cornK as an ^tate -- for a £700 premium, come


Hillendale ^ V Tel: 01282723731


Thursday, August 12tH, 2004 the driving force 9


I— 1-----TT Thesporty look IS finished off by a set of silver- rimmed instrument


Time for a change - so enjoy T


h e summer months have always been a popular time for British motorists to buy


a new car. Back in the days when the sole numberplate letter change of the year was on August 1st, this was a very big deal indeed. Garages had all-night parties on July 31st. Then neighbours anxiously scanned each others’ driveways the


next morning. I t isn’t quite the same today, thanks to


the new system introduced in 2001 that saw two numberplate reference changes a year introduced, in March and Septem­ ber. Nevertheless, a change of car in the


fortunes over the last few years - and there is plen- ment in the latest models has been made possible ty of performance on tap.


by extra soundproofing, revised engine mounts and You will find the five-door hatchback model those bulkhead changes. As a result, customers


good for 60 in just 7.9 seconds on the way to 146 used to earlier Octavia models will find that this m.p.h. - new performance territory for a Skoda, one is noticeably quieter. Lowered suspension, a stainless steel exhaust, 16 They may also notice that alterations to the in. alloy wheels, front and rear spoilers and race- bulkhead have freed up 22mm of extra leg room, style seats all remind the neighbours that you have without altering the excellent luggage capacity, bought something out of the ordinary.


In summary then, a Skoda that deserves respect Should you need the extra versatility, you will be among performance-minded motorists. cameras are k 1HEALLNEW SKODA OC1AVIA


IS HERE! This Weekend call in and Test Drive llie NewModel Octavia!


s i ^ i f r s T f T T T i 1 i r i i ■•r Brand New Skoda at REDUCED Prices!


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such as inattentive driving. vwvw.simpsons.skoda.co.uk The news editor’s punchy point has ^


been reinforced by the RAC Foundation, whose traffic and road safety manager.


factors, in descending order.


were: I Inattention


REDUCED I NOW ONLY BY £13451 0 f h o O n c i n o l


£13,990 iitim Burnley iJ P / o APR


B R IT A IN ’S obsession with speed cameras is killing us, sasrs magazine


NOTORIOUS: The speed camera in Essex which became famous across the country after it caught 2,000 motorists breaking the law in just 24 hours (s) •Failure to judge other person’s speed


Kevin Delaney, said the D oT report proves that speed is only one of a number


Autocar. The car title’s news editor, Tim Pol­


lard, said this week: “As the authorities strive to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink-driving, this con­ tinual focus on speed could be costing lives every day while the real causes of accidents go unaddressed.’-’


of reasons for accidents. “The biggest cause is inattentiveness,


or errors on the part of the driver (25.8% of all accidents), and the only way to deal with that is education,” says Mr Delaney. Autocar Magazine and the RAC Foun­


dation have been jointly campaigning for more driver education since the launch of their Talking Sense on Speed Campaign


The Autocar executive’s weighty com- last October, and ® ment is based ^ n e w ^esear^


Department of Transport (DoT), wtoh ^ found excessive s p ^ ^ ^


12 5»A of aemden^ putting^ roaTaccito^


more hravily hi Gwernment road safety S l y


or path • Looked but did not see • Behaviour careless/thoughtless/reck-


less • Failed to look • Lack of judgement of own path


• Excessive speed • Slippery road • Impairment by alcohol • Behaviour in a hurry. The RAC Foundation is calling for rev- enue from speed cameras to be spent on


drivers, after it was revealed that the number of motorists prosecuted for offences detected by cameras has increased from 1.1 million in 2001 to 1.5 million in 2002—a rise of 40%. Hard-core criminals are getting away


.................


with serious motoring offences and other crimes because cameras are increasingly replacing traffic police, the RAC Founda­ tion believes. Edmund King, executive director of


the RAC Foundation says: “These new figures show we need a new approach to tackle road safety. “ Sending out millions of fines and penalty points does not necessarily improve road safety. The RAC Founda­ tion is campaigning for the introduction of


guidi


k t s , than any of the more boosting the number of traffic police to lieu of a fine and penalty pomts. fight car crime and target dangerous


.KSRAi.l'ma'ii‘1!') « *


. . i , . . . . I zine [ jjijn


warmer months is s till something ingrained on the public consciousness. Hence the importamce of the new ‘54 reg­ istration that comes into e ffect on September 1st. I f that’s all the excuse you need to change your car, then why not. After all.


JONATHAN CROUCH looks ahead to the new ‘54 registration


there’s plenty of new products aroimd to make a trip around the dealerships worth­ while. The small car sector continues to be the


most important in terms of growth, par­ ticularly among sub-Supermini-sized city cars. Fiat’s clever Panda won this year’s European Car of the Year award and the franchise will shortly be launching the most sensible version yet, equipped with a 1.3-litre multijet diesel engine. I f you want an oft-overlooked alternative, then try Kia’s new Picanto - affordable, stylish and good to drive. The Supermini sector itself has stayed


pretty static, although the last few months have brought us cars like the revised Rover 25 and MG ZR models. Buyers in this categoiy are diversifying, tempted either by more versatile ‘Super- mini-MPVs’ (like Renault’s forthcoming Clio-based Modus) or superminis with a dash of “urban attitude” (like Volkswa­


gen’s Polo Dune, Citroen’s C3 XTR or Rover’s Streetwise). Plus of course there are supermini-based GTis. Some of the latest are SEAT’S Ibiza


Cupra and Peugeot’s 206 GTi HDi. Or you could go for a supermini-sized con­ vertible - say Vauxhall’s Corsa-based Tigra with its metal folding roof. Or the M IN I Convertible. Both of these cars have proved to be among the summer’s hottest tickets. In the family hatchback sector, Vaux­


hall’s new Astra has been making quite a big impact - but there’s no shortage of alternatives. Mitsubishi is just about to announce its all-new Colt, built in Hol­ land alongside the more eye-catching (but also more expensive) Smart ForFour. Toyota has substantially facelifted its Corolla range and MG Rover has done the same to its 45 and ZS models. I f you want something with a real value-for-money emphasis, then Kia’s


new Cerato might suit. The prestige end of this sector is a buoyant one too, with Audi about to launch the five-door ver­ sion of its A3, badged the A3 Sportback. Up against this car is BMW’s all-new 1 Series, the only rear wheel drive car in the sector and easily the best handling. Family hatchback-based mini-MPVs


are still a popular choice. Toyota’s new Corolla Verso now has seven seats, as does Renault’s new Grand Scenic. F ia t ’s facelifted Multipla has six seats, while s e a t ’s stylish new Altea is content to stick at five. Perhaps the most interesting newcomer


in this sector however, will be Honda’s FR-V, which arrives in a couple of months time. I f you’re after a larger MPV, Hyundai’s


has facelifted its Trajet range, while Mit­ subishi has announced a smartly styled newcomer, the Grandis. In the Mondeo-sized medium-range


sector, the big news is the arrival of Peu­ geot’s all-new 407, now also available in


estate ‘SW’ guise. I f space and value take precedence over


style however, you might want to check out Skoda’s impressive new Octavia.


Elsewhere in this sector. Rover has


facelifted its 75 and ZT models, while Ford has announced an impre^ive 155PS version of its Mondeo TD C i in Zetec-S


form. Nissan, meanwhile, has given its


Primera a thorough going over, with more equipment and extra value built-in as standard. Renault has done the same to


its Laguna. Executives are well catered for too. In


the compact executive saloon sector, there are facelifted versions of the Mercedes E- and Volvo S60. Saab’s 9-3 gets a cou­


ple of impressive new 1.9-litre diesel engines while Volvo’s new S40 and V50 models get a new 1.8-litre petrol engine


option. A new name on the scene is Cadillac,


which will shortly be launching in the UK with its appealing GTS saloon. Aspiring board members in search


of something larger will be interest­ ed by BMW’s new 5 Series Touring estate, a car which showcases the company’s all new 535d derivative with its awesomely powerful diesel


engine. Jaguar’s new S -T Y P E also has


twin-turbo diesel power - in this case in 2.7-litre form. Diesel power is also a key part of Audi’s new A6 saloon


line-up. There’s a facelift for Volvo’s V70


estate, while, if you want something a bit different with a dash of real class, what about the new 75-based


Rover V8? I f you’re looking for a sportscar,


there are plenty to choose from. In the roadster market, the big news is the arrival of Mercedes’ SLK. At last, it handles like a sportscar. Mind you, if you want a real


sportscar, you can’t do better than Vauxhall’s desirable VXR2 20 , a roller-skate which makes 60 from rest in just over four seconds, with han­ dling to match. Power in a different, brawnier form


is also on offer from Vauxhall in the form of the Monaro X T R coupe. I f an altogether more relaxed form of coupe transport is what you have in mind, Mercedes has facelifted its C- class sports coupe - although not so’s you’d notice.


• For something bigger and more luxurious, try BMW’s 6 Series coupe, now on offer in six-cylinder 630i form. This is a real Grand Tourer but for


a car that can combine GT motoring with track day prowess, you can’t do better than Porsche’s all-new 911. All of which leaves only the ever-


popular four-wheel drive market. In the compact sector, BM W ’s X3 has been so well received that most deal­ ers will quote delivery times running well into next year. That is likely to also apply to the


latest model to join this line-up, the 2.0d diesel. I f you don’t go in for badge engi­


neering, Hyundai’s new Tuscson could be worth a look. Those in search of family-sized 4x4


‘speed awareness courses’ across the country, following national guidelines, in


In Lancashire, 25,000 motorists have


already attended and benefited from such courses. These are not a soft option, as the motorist pays £85 for the course, and all the research shows drivers who have attended the courses drive more safely afterwards.”


transport that’s a l it t le larger will likely be tempted to wait until the all-new Land Rover Discovery 3 debuts in November. This is by no means an inclusive


list and every dealer you care to name will have other new arrivals to talk about. Take the time.to look aroimd and


drive a variety of cars in the sector you’re considering. Above all, enjoy it. That, after all,


is what buying a new car should be all about..


13'


14' 15'


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