Skoda Octavia Scout. Within reason.

Škoda Octavia Scout: within the bounds of decency

In the Volkswagen family, the Czech brand traditionally plays the role of a modest but useful relative. It's not that it's deprived of new products — modern technologies are given to the "Scout" on par with the rest. The question is different: how this car is positioned.

Always the main advantage of "Škoda" was a reasonable price-to-quality ratio, backed by serious support from the parent concern with a world-renowned name and a rich baggage of engineering solutions. The Czechs without hesitation use and will continue to use the experience of their "elders" — but at the same time they guard their own reputation as a manufacturer of affordable cars. The result is logical: a solid product without cosmic price tags hits the market. A vivid example is the "hot" Octavia RS for $33,000, which is fast and at the same time quite suitable for daily use.

Today on test — the last (or rather, the latest) representative of this family, the Skoda Octavia Scout, which people have already nicknamed "Allroad for the poor." The Czechs themselves are unlikely to be offended by such a nickname: for the only trim available to us they ask $35,990, and for a car of this class that's quite decent.

As it's easy to guess, we have a station wagon with increased cross-country capability — that's how our dry official documentation classifies this vehicle. In "Škoda" they prefer another term — all-road vehicle, that is, a car for any roads, including those very broken country lanes, which, alas, are the majority in our parts. In the Czech brand's lineup there is already a passable Octavia Combi 4x4, but given the lively public interest in the new product, the appearance of the Scout is hardly a marketing miscalculation.

Externally, the car strongly resembles the original Octavia Combi — though nothing surprising: we've already seen a similar trick with Volvo, Audi, and Subaru. But unlike those variants, the Scout has neither special chic nor flashy, "screaming" details. Here you won't find massive overlays, inflated wheel arches, or "muscular" sills. More precisely, all this is present, but in much more modest volumes. In essence, it differs from the regular station wagon only by all-wheel drive and increased ground clearance. But the "indestructible" body kit and underbody protection don't make much difference here (and the latter, contrary to expectations, turned out to be plastic — that's how the Czechs fit into the budget). On the other hand, if such parts get damaged, their repair or replacement will likely cost less than with aluminum analogues.

Thoughts of savings don't leave even behind the wheel. The Scout's interior is almost entirely borrowed from the regular Combi — inside everything is high-quality, solid, and in places even expensive. The strict, graphic interior in the German spirit is elegant and restrained to the point of impossibility. However, the stylists tried to embellish it. The all-road vehicle got branded metal sill plates with engraving and a signature handle in front of the passenger seat. In addition, a distinctive feature of the new product is an exclusive interior of leather and Alcantara, as well as a full set of top equipment, including dual-zone climate control and a premium audio system.

However, the presence or absence of options in no way diminishes the ergonomic merits of the Scout. The practicality of this family has been written about over and over, but I'll repeat myself. It's more than spacious here — a full five-seat cabin doesn't suffer from a lack of living space, so a big family trip will surely go without difficulties. The driver's seat can be easily adjusted to fit a person of any build using the adjustments: for example, if you slide the seat all the way back, even the tallest won't reach the pedals — tested more than once during long trips. The 580-liter trunk doesn't even need elaboration: almost everything you might need on the road fits here. If not, you can always load extra on the roof, since the Scout is standardly equipped with roof rails. In extreme cases, the rear sofa folds down, and then the cargo volume grows by a cubic meter — all transportation issues are automatically resolved.

On the move, the Scout also left a pleasant impression. I'll note right away: for this Octavia modification, a 2-liter engine with 150 horsepower and direct injection is provided. A 1.9-liter turbodiesel would certainly have been appropriate here, but, alas, it's not offered to us. Well, we'll make do with what we have, especially since the engine is not bad at all. The dynamics, of course, don't blow your mind, but if you really "spur" the car, it still demonstrates some semblance of driver-oriented driving. In a calm pace, the car doesn't excite, but it drives decently and solidly. The 6-speed manual here is simply magnificent, but I would make the clutch pedal travel shorter — shifts take too much time. No complaints about the brakes. But the suspension could be softer. It's clear that the design was tuned for city asphalt, where the car will spend the lion's share of time: body rolls, despite the high center of gravity, are not critical at all, allowing corners to be taken at quite decent speeds. But on the other hand, the driver will often have to storm broken country roads, where passengers will be, to put it mildly, shaken. Although, perhaps, the blame for such stiffness lies with the standard 17-inch wheels with low-profile tires that this model is equipped with.

As for the Scout's actual off-road talents, by the standards of true off-road they are quite modest, but if you compare it with the "civilian" station wagon, the capabilities are impressive. The time-tested Haldex coupling is responsible for the connection with the rear wheels, which, if necessary, transfers up to 50% of the traction to them. Increased suspension travel allows the wheels to better grip the surface. But don't forget: no hard lockers are provided here, so you'll have to take mud or snow baths in the Scout with caution. If you adequately assess its capabilities, it won't let you down — and that's exactly what's expected of it. The Scout is not a geologist, and multi-day autonomous expeditions are not for it.

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Source – www.automania.ru