Skoda OCTAVIA TDi RANGE
Skodas Second Generation Octavia Offers Two Torquey Diesel Engines To Choose From. Are They Up To Snuff? Andy Enright Reports
Nowhere is the pace of modern automotive development quite so obvious than in the field of diesel engines. Drive a diesel that seemed state of the art a couple of years ago and it no longer seems anything like as clever. This would seem to put the TDi engines fitted to Skodas latest Octavia at something of a disadvantage, developed as they are from existing powerplants. The rest of the Octavia package has been shown to be well up to speed but what of these diesels?
Two engines are available. The first and set to be the most popular pick is a 103bhp 1.9-litre TDi. If youve got a bit more money to spend, the 138bhp 2.
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0-litre TDi is worth a look, offering a hefty slug more torque and power with very little economy penalty. There are a few other reasons why the 2.0-litre engine is the informed choice. Firstly its a good deal smoother than the 1.
9-litre engine, especially from standstill. Secondly its Euro IV compliant, which will be a deal maker for company car user/choosers because the 1.9-litre only manages this feat when coupled with the pricey DSG twin clutch gearchange borrowed from
Audi. These would seem to be convincing arguments but the 1.
9-litre model will doubtless rack up the numbers. If you were a private buyer choosing on-spec, the 1.9-litre TDi would appear a very sound choice. The engine is lively, accelerating the hefty Octavia body through 60mph in 11.
6 seconds, and is supremely economical as well. Expect to notch up combined economy figures in the 53mpg ballpark. Combine that with a 55-litre fuel tank and youve got a car that can cruise over 645 miles between refills. Behind the wheel, its a more mixed story.
Skoda have done a very good job smoothing the TDi units notoriously spiky power curve. Older
Volkswagen TDi installations felt as if you were driving a bungee cord, the lag and surge charcteristics hardly assisting dignified progress. The 1.9-litre Tdi is also the only diesel engine offered with the 4x4 Octavia Estate.
"Skoda have a winner on their hands here"
The Octavia 1.9s powerplant is a good deal more measured - when youre up and running at least. Pulling away is another matter. If you use too few revs, the engine will stall with a violent thunk.
Ladle just enough revs on and the engine will pull cleanly, albeit with a rather disturbingly resonant bass tone. Step a couple of hundred rpm above this threshold and the Octavia is afflicted by rather embarrassing wheelspin. Do a lot of stop/start driving and this will rapidly become a chore even though the manual transmission is positive and well weighted. The 2.
0-litre model seems a good deal more flexible in the lower ranges and coupled with the DSG gearbox, makes a surprisingly entertaining B-road driver. Its just a shame you dont get the Audis F1 style paddles. With140Nm of torque to call upon, the 2.0litre TDI surges through 60mph in 9.
4 seconds and runs on to a top speed of 129mph. A combined fuel economy figure of 47.9mpg and 159g/km carbon dioxide emissions arent a bad showing either. All the latest Octavias benefit from Volkswagens quest to endow the Golf chassis with
Ford Focus-style driving manners.
Even with the wick turned down a good few notches, it cant help but feel extremely capable when stitching a series of bends together.The steering feels like a good hydraulically assisted set-up but is in fact electro-mechanically assisted. Many of the early versions of this steering set-up felt unacceptably artificial but the Octavias helm feels meaty and rewarding at speed, reverting to fingertip light at parking speeds. Impressive stuff.
The multi-link rear suspension keeps the sort of bump and thump that often afflicts cars wiith more rudimentary torsion beam setups at bay. The rear overhang has been extended a little further to give the Octavia more of a three box profile. Like its predecessor, it boasts a practical hatchback rather than the boot its stub-tailed lines may suggest. The old Octavia was renowned for possessing one of the biggest payloads in class but the latest car comprehensively trumps it, available capacity going up by 36 litres to 560 litres with the rear seats in place.
Bear in mind that this dwarfs whats on offer from a
BMW 5 Series, a
Jaguar S-TYPE, a Mercedes E Class or a
Volvo S80 and youll get some idea how huge it is back there. The Golf doesnt even compare. Fold the rear seats flat and youll then get a yawning 1350 litres of available room. Not a car for the agoraphobic in other words and if you opt for the estate that seats folded capacity increases to 1,620 litres.
Passenger room is similarly generous and thats important since the prodigious luggage space of the original Octavia required rear
seat passengers to pay in kind. The wheelbase of the latest model has been teased out by another 66mm, endowing it with admirable rear legroom even when the front seats are occupied by long limbed adults. Rear headroom is better than the swooping roofline would suggest, helped in no small part by a slightly more generous seat back recline than in many such cars. The fascia wont surprise too many, again being a development of the old cars styling themes.
The venetian blind air vents and the no nonsense switchgear are recurrent themes but the quality has been improved still further. Whereas the old Octavias dash was very well screwed together but made of noticeably cheaper materials than the Golf, the expensively slush-moulded finishes of the current Octavia bear comparison with the best in class. The Octavia 2.0-litre TDi is a very good car indeed, the 1.
9-litre model less so. The hefty £1,300 price differential between the two cars probably underlines this fact. Wed opt for a 2.0-litre car with the DSG gearbox knowing that it still looks ridiculously good value next to the smaller and less feel-good Golf.
Skoda have a winner on their hands here but youll need to be in the know to pick it.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Skoda Octavia TDi range
PRICES: £12,780-£17,100 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 7E-10E
CO2 EMISSIONS: [2.0 TDi] 159g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0 TDi] Max Speed 129mph / 0-60mph 9.4s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 TDi] (average) 47.9mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: ABS, brake assist, twin front and side airbags
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4572/1769/1462mm
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