Well, on my latest European jaunt I was confronted with the usual offerings from Europcar - a petrol 1.6 Astra, Peugeot 308 in France - diesel of course, and upon my return to Heathrow a choice!
For those who don't know, Europcar operate an odd system where the cars are all parked in rows which are numbered. You complete the paperwork but its for no particular car, then you just go out an take your pick, and the car is allocated to you upon your leaving the compound.
Not much choice last night - usual rash of Astras and Merivas, and then a Skoda Roomster caught my eye. Not driven one before, so thought it was worth a try.
Well, I was mightily impressed. It was a 1.2 TSi, but I didn't know this at the time. Engine a little noisy and slightly thrashy, but not to bad, but it was so gutsy - the pull from 1200 rpm was really nice. Ride quality was excellent, nice airy interior, a little spartan, but had everything you need. M4 was quiet last night so had a fairly brisk drive back and the trip clocked in at a little under 40 mpg - think you could easily get this up to 45 driven a bit more sensibly.
One of those very honest cars that I really think could suit almost all uses.
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Scuse me, but Petrol I presume. I guess the clue is in the Tsi bit, but hey, we do live in the sticks doncha know.
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Cracking motors - told you so back in 07 !
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Yes, Petrol. Until checking the Skoda website I had no idea what engine it was other than petrol and the TSi badge on the back.
Apparently it was either a 86 PS or a 105 PS and looks like it was SE spec
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As Humph has mentioned before, how much car do you need? I could really see this being a car that covers all bases. Its not at all pretentious or fashionable, and just gets on with its job.
Would have liked to hang on to it a bit longer
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I bumped into former colleague who has also down-shifted (under a cloud) into pub ownership (he has three !) - he has a brand new Yeti 2wd - says it's ideal. A van in work time and a car in his time
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40mpg - or even 45 mpg from a 1.2 petrol is pathetic.
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I'll stick to my 35mpg 3.0 litre 258 bhp then !
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>> I'll stick to my 35mpg 3.0 litre 258 bhp then !
>>
Is yours a manual then R.P? I struggled to top 30 when I had an auto E90 330!!
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Manual - lacks torque - the only thing I dislike about it really.
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Sounds nice when revved though, so nice to have reason to do so!! Not really 'wafty' kind of car; I preferred a colleagues manual 325i to my auto 330i - you've got the optimum combination IMO. For torque the 33/335d wins every time - not the same as a petrol in line 6 though...
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Oh, yes Peter, and she can certainly pick up her skirts when asked. It was bought new by a petrol-head who studied form...I love the car - I don't think anything could have touched it for all round "perfectness" on the roads that link North and South Wales...
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>> 40mpg - or even 45 mpg from a 1.2 petrol is pathetic.
Like the other van/cars the drag factor is never going to be world beating.
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I war getting around 45mpg out of the Roomie 1.9 PD - I drove it though...:-)
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>> I war getting around 45mpg out of the Roomie 1.9 PD - I drove it
>> though...:-)
Yea one would, you wouldn't want to accidentally see your reflection in a shop window would you.
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Almost everything about the Roomster makes me want to like it but I'm shallow enough not to be able to live with its looks. Not through any sense of caring slightly what anyone else thinks of my car but just a deep visual revulsion at a personal level. Can't justify that at all. I really do believe it's almost certainly a great wee car despite it's appearance. I have a friend with a wife a bit like that. Great girl, one of the best but you just couldn't imagine, well, you know...
:-)
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Mikeyb would probably have been just as impressed with a Yeti 1.2 TSI - similar performance no doubt and its looks less of an acquired taste.
I'm not entirely sure why Skoda sells both the Yeti and the Roomster: one is supposed to be a crossover, the other an MPV...... but how many people outside the motor industry know the difference, given that neither of these is a 7-seater, and does it matter anyway?
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Better hope your friend isn't reading this Humph!!
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I'm more concerned about Humph's car and what he does to it when he thinks no-one's looking.
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Interesting assessment on the Roomster mikey. Like others above I can't settle to the Roomster looks but would have a Yeti which is on the new car shortlist for next year.
Compared with the C5 I found the Yeti interior a little "workmanlike" but I really liked the rear seat flexibility which is the same as the Roomster. To be able to remove the centre rear seat for our holiday needs would save carrying stuff on the roof (say compared to a Golf) which is a huge benefit.
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Mine was a Rommie Scout with the Privacy glass in the rear - it mitigated the looks to a certain extent and was a cooler enviroment for the dogs. I would go back to Skoda - may look at a Yeti actually...somehow they appeal more than a CRV...
I have some pics I took for E-Bay of my old car - I'll post them later.
Last edited by: R.P. on Wed 28 Nov 12 at 09:30
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I get the Yeti. Nice thing by all accounts. One would feel mildly obliged to at least claim to own a smallholding in Brittany and be an expert in cooking nettles and raising rare breed geese though. Such a thing could only reasonably be driven in a Guernsey jumper with holes in it.
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I get the Yeti too, but it seems less tatty-jumper than Cheshire-on-the-cheap, for those yummies whose budget won't quite buy an Evoque. Like Skoda's other stylish product, the Superb estate, this means it isn't actually that cheap.
The Roomster, on the other hand, has had the generally obligatory uglification treatment to keep Skodas from treading on the trailing haute couture hems of VAG's grander product lines, so they're allowed to sell those much cheaper.
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Bought a year-old 1.8TSI Yeti two months ago. It goes very well, very easy to drive (see later) a bit heavy on the petrol. But no worse than expected @ around 32mpg. We don't do many miles per year. I'd have preferred a CRV as I rate Honda but the distaff side got all nervous that it might be "too big". She should get a course driving a truck from Pat! Got rid of her Jazz. And the MINI Clubman: she wouldn't drive that, for no apparent reason. Possibly the controls might have been a touch heavier. At 315m we needed a vehicle that would be a bit more use in the snow and ice here. Set of winters all round fitted. With the ambulance station threatened to be closed/ decamped from Buxton to Chesterfield, I suspect it will be DIY time if there is a medical emergency in bad weather.
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Sit inside a Roomster, or an entry-to-mid level Polo or Golf, and you'd have a hard time telling which was which. Except the Skoda is cheaper to buy, more practical, and (in our part of the world, at least) supplied by an infinitely more helpful dealer.
The Yeti caught my eye as an eventual Forester successor, because I could have it as a 1.2 litre when the Panda goes. Must have another look at how the Roomster compares for, well, room...
As an aside, we were more than half-tempted by a new Yeti when the last Scenic was written off (it was replaced by a €1600 Forester instead, and we bought a 3 y.o. Legacy later on) The main thing that put me off was the narrow centre rear seat (also an issue in the Roomster).
In hindsight, though, anything smaller than a Land Cruiser Amazon seems to only have a shotgun seat in the middle, so I wouldn't let that put me off again - unless the panel knows better.
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That "pick any car from the row" system has been in use for some time. It's brilliant. I picked out a nice silver mk1 Focus 1.6 Zetec which was not only brand new (26 miles on the clock), but went on to become my company car for the next two months while the fleet manager got her act together :-) There wasn't anything "unusual" though. Corsa, Astra, Focus, Fiesta, and a couple of Polos, IIRC.
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Several years ago I went to Alamo at Atlanta airport and they ran that pick your own system .
I had booked a luxury limo and had a choice of 20 or so Cadillacs or Lincoln.
The Cadillac I picked was fun , a huge luxury barge , all bells and whistles included and with armchair comfort for four of us and our luggage , great for the interstate highways and with fuel then around $2 per ( american ) gallon it was comparitively cheap to run ...
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>> In hindsight, though, anything smaller than a Land Cruiser Amazon seems to only have a
>> shotgun seat in the middle, so I wouldn't let that put me off again -
>> unless the panel knows better.
>>
Probably the smallest car with a proper, individual MPV-style middle seat is the Peugeot 308 estate (SW?) 7 seater. Tempting proposition.
Like zis: www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211184281006
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>> >> In hindsight, though, anything smaller than a Land Cruiser Amazon seems to only have
>> a
>> >> shotgun seat in the middle, so I wouldn't let that put me off again
>> -
>> >> unless the panel knows better.
>> >>
>>
>> Probably the smallest car with a proper, individual MPV-style middle seat is the Peugeot 308
>> estate (SW?) 7 seater. Tempting proposition.
>>
>> Like zis: www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211184281006
>>
Fair few other choices have 3 proper seats rather than a bench. Renault Scenic, C4 Picasso any full size MPV (Galaxy, Sharan etc etc) s-max, new c max possibly?
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Thanks for the tip! Mk1 Scenic had a separate, but narrower, centre seat than the outer too. Not sure about the Picasso, but a mate has one so I'll check it out.
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>> The Roomster, on the other hand, has had the generally obligatory uglification treatment
Which, sitting inside it, is someone else's problem.
The exact opposite of an Alfa I sat in at the Motor Show in the mid-Eighties. An Alfa girl came round to ask me what I thought and I said it was horrible, due to the vast expanses of cheap, black plastic everywhere. A bit like a downmarket hearse. She replied that everyone said it looked lovely on the outside. My response was that, if I bought one, I'd be spending most of my time inside it and how everyone else felt about it as I passed them by was not a major purchasing consideration.
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A very few cars I've had made me want to polish them. Really it was just an excuse to stroke them. Not had one recently which had that effect mind. Last one was probably an early 90s BMW 525 in navy metallic. Can't imagine wanting to fondle a Roomster. Pat it maybe.
I used to kick the Espace sometimes, on the other hand.
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>> Mikeyb would probably have been just as impressed with a Yeti 1.2 TSI - similar
>> performance no doubt and its looks less of an acquired taste.
My views on its looks may have changed had I spent longer with it - I picked it up at 10 pm so it was dark, and they picked it up from home after I had left for work the following morning.
The roomy was a nice all round package, but I think it was the engine that most impressed. Would be interested to try that unit in a smaller package such as an Ibiza
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Had the invoice today - it was a 105PS model
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Skoda Roomster - Roomster - nice surprise - MD
