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Don't call me a taxi
AN awful lot of diesel-engined Octavias are serving as private hire taxis across the UK.
But dismissing the car as a cheap taxi would be to do it a grave disservice, because for a car so well-qualified for taxi use, the Octavia drives surprisingly well.
Based on the latest VW Golf platform and longer and wider than the old Octavia, the new TDi test car was a middle-of-the-range model priced at £13,800.
But for anyone looking for a totally sensible family saloon at a good price, it is probably the best one in the range to go for.
The 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine produces only 105bhp, making it one of the least powerful versions of the Audi unit, which can produce anything up to 150bhp or so.
In the Skoda, it is sufficient to get the car to 60mph from rest in just over 11 seconds and on to a top speed of nearly two miles a minute which, when you think of it, should be plenty of performance for all but the dedicated sports car types.
If it isn’t, then it should be a relatively simple job (a couple of hours) and surprisingly cheap (about £500) to have the engine-management chip changed to upgrade the power to, basically, anything you want.
Do that, however, and you will eat into the absolutely amazing economy of the standard car, which delivered just a whisker under 60mpg for me over a weekend in which, aside from the moment mentioned above, I covered a lot of miles with the foot well in.
The extra dimensions of the new model were particularly welcome when transporting people (up to five on one occasion) and more particularly luggage which, over the weekend in question, ranged from our new inflatable boat tender and its engine, to a power-washer and all manner of boat cleaning and polishing materials. The level of economy, low purchase price and the near certainty of long-term Audi levels of reliability explain why it is becoming such a Scottish favourite.
A straightforward five-speed gearbox comes as standard, which suited me perfectly as there was none of the never-ending gearchanging which comes with the six-speed that Audi uses, and the engine, even in this relatively mild state of tune, has massive low and mid-range pulling power.
So much so, in fact, that when I was feeling lazy or stuck in motorway traffic, I would often fast-track through first, third and fifth - something which might help explain such good fuel economy.
It also corners rather well, thanks, I suspect, to the immense rigidity of the Golf which lurks underneath the bodywork. This gives the engineers a solid base on which to hang the suspension for a good blend of ride comfort and cornering power.
Though the test car came cheap, there was no shortage of standard kit, which included climate control, electric windows and mirrors all round, anti-lock brakes with the main add-ons, a first-rate, six-stack CD stereo with four additional speakers compared with the entry-level car, a really useful computer and a sophisticated alarm system.
The last of these, though state-of-the-art, provided the main annoyance during my time with the Octavia, as it needed at least two prods on the remote control fully to unlock the car. As a result of which, I found myself comfortably behind the wheel on several occasions while my wife was vainly struggling to open the passenger door.
The thinking behind the system, that one prod lets the driver in without opening up the car to passing criminals or potential carjackers is certainly sound enough. It is just that the system can be annoying in use.
• GOOD POINTS: Cheap, fast, frugal
• POOR POINTS: Remote locking
facts
PRICE: £13,800
Length: 4.572m
WIDTH: 1.769m
ENGINE: 1.9-litre, turbo diesel
Co2: 143gpk
TOP SPEED: 119mph
0-60: 11.5sec
FUEL: 54mpg
WARRANTY: Three years/60,000 miles
INSURANCE: Group 7E
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