Road Test: Skoda Octavia Elegance 1.8 TSI

Review by Feann Torr - 1/Apr/2008

It's difficult to start a Skoda car review without a joke, but I'm going to resist the urge.

Skoda had a less-than-perfect reputation in the past - hence the jokes - but things have changed. Dramatically.

For the past few years Skoda has been building award-winning cars in Europe. 

The British press has lavished praise upon the Skoda Octavia, the Germans are buying more of these than any other country and having just driven two of them back-to-back, it's easy to see why the Skoda's reputation has improved.

Skoda has also launched its new generation vehicles in Australia, and you'll start seeing more of them on road.

But are all the accolades warranted, and more importantly does this mid-sized car from the Czech Republic perform on Australian roads?

Let's take a closer look:

Drive: 4/5

As the entry-level petrol model (there's a slightly more affordable diesel version) in the Octavia range, the Elegance is also arguably the best.

Powered by a new 1.8-litre turbo engine that also powers the new Audi A4, the Octavia motivates very nicely.

Smooth power, impressive fuel efficiency and a mild growl mark the engine as one of the best in the business. 

Hooked up to a 6-speed manual gearbox that provides the car with a sporty feel, this front-wheel drive car can accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in about 8.1 seconds, on par with an XR6 Falcon or SV6 Commodore sports sedan. 

Top speed? Well in excess of 200km/h - something that may have many people asking, "Are you sure it's a 4-cylinder engine?".

It's also presents a bigger boot than both large Aussie sedans, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Sitting on 16-inch alloy wheels with shod with compliant 205/55 R16 tyres, the light 1325kg Czech car has good road holding and grip and drivers in search of a entertaining vehicle will find a lot to like here.

The ride quality is very progressive as well. I can see Toyota Camry buyers appreciating the way this car drives. It's just as compliant as it's Japanese foe, but without the body roll and wooden steering.

Not dissimilar to the way that modern Audi chassis are engineered, this Skoda has a refined ride but doesn't have ultra-soft suspension, so is able to keep body roll in check that can occur through faster corners.

In all, this entry-level Skoda Octavia has an accomplished, intelligently tuned chassis.

Accelerating out of corners in 2nd gear, the tach nearing 7000rpm, is very enjoyable. It handles smartly on well maintained roads, and only feels slightly less composed when winding its way along lower quality and poorly maintained country roads.

The ESP is pretty good, though somewhat intrusive when the turbo starts huffing during mid corner. A little more give in the ESP would allow the wheels to spin slightly and allow for a more seamless drive, but this is a very minor complaint.

Skoda also offer an AWD upgrade and though pricey at $5,500 and only available on the two diesel models, it turns the mid-sized Czech car into a more tractive vehicle, one that can compete with similarly priced AWD Subaru models.

Steering the vehicle through fast, twisting roads winding their way through century-old gum tree forests can be a lot of fun, especially with the ripping little turbo engine providing gracious thrust. But even at more sedate speeds and in far less picturesque surrounds, the Skoda Octavia Elegance is equally adept.

With climate controlled air conditioning, cruise control and two foot rests, it's a relaxed cruiser out on the highway and relatively quiet. You can have a conversation with other passengers without having to raise your voice and it's a frugal car too, sipping an average of 7.7 litres of petrol for every 100km travelled.

Off the highway and into the concrete jungle and Octavia is still a very practical vehicle. It measures slightly more than 4.57m long which is about the size of most medium cars today, but its width of 1.76 metres means that it can fit into tight-ish spaces.

Interior width and shoulder room do suffer slightly as a result, but overall it's not a deal-breaking compromise and I found the interior to be fairly spacious for the driver.

The steering is light and responsive and the mid-sized Skoda has a very good turning circle at just 10.2 metres. Though this model doesn't feature reverse parking sensors, it's still pretty simple to parallel and reverse park.

Braking is adequately handled by four disc brakes (288mm fronts, 255mm rears) backed up with ABS, ESP.

With cars like this, it's no wonder Skoda is the fastest growing brand within the Volkswagen group - and that includes Audi and Lamborghini who are both expanding like proverbial supernovae.

The car isn't perfect - rearward vision isn't best in class and the interior design could be labelled somewhat dull - but these are minor blemishes on an otherwise excellent report card.

With Volkswagen's help Skoda has crafted a incredibly impressive vehicle here, one that's rarely dull to drive.

Engine: 4.5/5

Though the Octavia RS is the hero model in the Skoda range, making use of VW's ripping 2.0-litre turbo engine, the 1.8 TSI is the car that will win Skoda a lot of new friends.

It's affordable, it's frugal, and it's a real buzz to drive.

With 118kW of power and 250Nm of torque, it's got plenty of pull - significantly more than the Mazda6 - but it's also refined. What's not to like?

As turbocharged engines evolve, they get more fun to drive and this is an exemplary turbo engine - one of the best in its displacement class. The turbocharger spools up very low in the rev range, making the car effortless to punt around in almost any gear.

The official numbers claim the 1.8-litre engine develops 118kW, but it feels more like 125 or 130kW of power are hitting the skids at 5000rpm. It churns out torque and power very smoothly, with only a tinge of turbo lag and rarely bogs down, even when you skip gears.

Drivability is very much a strong point.

It's very swift from a standing start and the 6-speed manual gearbox has a light shift, so you can flick it between gears without even thinking. The clutch has fairly long pedal travel, and sometimes you have to lift your foot quite high to find it, but that's probably the only less-than-perfect element of the powertrain.

Being one of the newest engines to emerge from within the VW Group, and also destined for the upcoming Audi A4, this 1.8-litre motor is frugal.

Skoda claims the Octavia Elegance with the 1.8 TSI engine will sip 7.7 litres of fuel per 100km on average, which is a very competitive figure. We recorded figures of around 8.0L/100km but that included a good deal of hard driving.

Puffing out 184 grams of CO2 per kilometre is also a fairly low number for an engine with a punchy 250 Newtons metres of torque.

With a basic but intuitive cruise control system, the engine ticks over at 2150rpm in 6th gear at 100km/h for highway crusing, but even at these speeds you can drop back to third or fourth gear when you need to overtake, no worries.

My favourite gear was probably 5th gear. It was a very versatile ratio, able to get good mileage in 60km/h zones, yet offering plenty of guts at around 70-80km/h with a strong turbo impact, showcasing the engine's elasticity.

What more can I say? It's a 5-star engine. Audi technology for a fraction of the price. 

Exterior: 3/5

The design aspect of the Octavia is perhaps the only weak link in this vehicle's armour. That's not to say the Octavia is has an ugly mug, just that it's identity could do with a bit more panache, for instance.

Best described as innocuous, the design is intentionally conservative so as not to put too much heat on Volkswagen siblings like the Golf and Jetta, with which the Octavia shares its floorpan.

It's not an unpleasant design by any stretch, but the angles around the front end and headlights have a bit of a 1990s look. It's not the kind of vehicle that people crane their necks to get another look at, but at the same token there were some very curious onlookers who were probably thinking "Did I just see a Skoda?"

Some of the more appealing design cues include the central feature line on the bonnet, projector beam head lamps, and the silver grille.

The silhouette of the Skoda Octavia is fairly nondescript, but it's far from offensive and will probably age well because of the lack of drama.

Very subtly flared wheel arches give the car more of a grounding and better frame the 6-spoke alloy wheels, and for mine the rear of the car - while conservative - has a more dynamic look than the front end, what with the somewhat sporty and gently sloping rear windscreen, discreet boot lip and large brake light clusters.

Alloy wheels and fog lights are standard on the Octavia Elegance sedan, giving it a slightly sporty look and feel. While the overall style of the Octavia doesn't set the benchmark for European design, it is a good place to start.

Interior: 4/5

Not too brash, but far from boring, the interior of the Skoda Octavia Elegance is a pleasant place to be.

While it's based on the same platform as the Golf and Jetta, and also uses a number of familiar items from the Volkswagen garage, the Octavia feels bigger than both of its cousins. That's because it is.

With more efficient packaging, the Octavia has a bigger boot than the Volkswagen Jetta (and the Commodore, and the Falcon for that matter), offering a whopping 560 litres of space. That's enough room for about 40 larger pizzas.

Though head room wasn't brilliant in my opinion, according to the stats the Octavia has more headroom, plus front and rear legroom than the Jetta as well.

The rear seats aren't huge, but neither are they cramped. You can fit four adults in the car without too much grumbling, and with standard features across the range like ESP, six airbags, and active heads restraints, the Skoda Octavia has safety levels on par with more expensive European vehicles such as Saab.

Other standard features like electric windows and mirrors and cruise control make everyday chores, well, less of a chore. All Octavia models get chilled jumbo and glove boxes, leather steering wheels, automatic air conditioning, alloy wheels, iPod/MP3 player audio input and CD stereos as standard across the range. 

The Elegance models get a few more extras, adding things like dual zone climate control, larger alloy wheels, an improved stereo with 8 speakers and light-me-home headlight assistance.

While the Octavia's interior has a somewhat bland motif, it's functional and ergonomic and the soft dash plastics - like it's VW cousins' - are better than what most Japanese cars offer.

The interior is populated with intuitive controls and well thought-out storage areas, and the instrument dials look pretty swanky as well. They're easy to read and look good at night with green back lighting.

Between the main speedometer and tachometer dials resides a small MFD (multi function display) which provides all your trip computer information, such as fuel usage, distance to empty, outside temperature and so on. It also shows you if and which car doors are ajar.

The front seats are fairly comfy and both driver and passenger pews feature manual lumbar adjust which is good to see. Though finished in cloth trim, the upholstery is fairly soft and has a good quality feel.

Cleverly designed air vents that can be shut flush either up or down epitomise what Skoda has done with the interior - everything's well thought out and intelligently positioned for ease of use.

Generally speaking it's a rather nicely crafted interior, and this almost entry-level model does a lot of things well.

There is a Volkswagen feel to the interior which is due to the sharing of various components (not a bad thing really), but there is enough of a unique 'Skoda' feel here for the new car maker to forge its own character.

Overall: 4.25/5

The new Skoda Octavia well and truly puts those decades-old jokes to bed. Simply put, the Octavia is a very good car. Think of it as a cut-price Audi A4 and you'll get a better idea of how it goes about it's business.

It's fairly well build, has good fit and finish and for what you pay it's exceptionally good value. 

And this Elegance 1.8 TSI model in particular is a real go-getter. The engine is just sensational and is the first application of VW's new 1.8 TSI in Australia. Eventually this engine will make it's way into other VW Group cars, such as the Audi A4, which is indicative of its pedigree.

But more than just a tip-top engine, the Skoda Octavia Elegance is nice to drive, it's easy to live with and is jam-packed with standard features.

Simply put, the new Skoda Octavia is no joke.