Faults:

The car actually had 45,000km more on it than the dash indicated; apparently very easily changed.

So I had the timing belt changed, and found out that the pulleys and water pump have never been changed.

The ride is very loud, which I have been told by the dealer “It is a Skoda, they do that”.

A/C is malfunctioning, cools OK, but loud.

There is a rubber plug on the last injector that cracked, so I spilled 10L of diesel on the road, dealer said “It is a Skoda, they do that”.

Yesterday the transmission went, no idea what it is, but was told “It’s either the clutch or transmission they do that”.

General Comments:

The Skoda dealer is backed up on repairs right now, so I have to make an appointment 2 weeks in advance.

I am not blaming it on the dealer, I just think that the car was not built very well.

Here in the Czech Republic, 1 out of 3 cars is a Skoda, and I have been told by 50% that the car is great and 50% say no more.

I am sick of hearing “It is a Skoda, they do that”. I wonder what else Skoda’s do.

What made me buy this car was the size of the trunk. We just had a baby girl and my 3 door Integra was not big enough.

Fuel economy is great, so getting the car to the dealer for repairs will not cost you that much.

I am doing my best to get rid of this car, and going back to Japanese cars again.

Faults:

A windscreen wiper blade split at 10000km. Glued back together.

Brake judder at 30000km.

Slight clutch judder between neutral and first emerged at around 40000km. will be seen to at next service.

The heating control panel lighting began to work intermittently at 45000km.

General Comments:

The car has been reliable and has given excellent service over almost two and a half years.

The car is well screwed together and the bodywork particularly solid.

Performance of the flexible 20v turbo is excellent and provides both swift overtaking on all roads and quiet cruising on the motorway. At the same time fuel consumption is.

Impressive at around 35mpg overall.

The gear change, brakes and steering are first class. There is a fair bit of body roll, but roadholding is good. The ride is also firm, but comfortable and the car copes well with the worst Czech roads can throw at the car. As a Brit abroad, I can say that this is far worse than you would find in Britain.

While very firm on first acquaintance the front seats are supremely comfortable on a long run: I suffer from disk problems and unlike every other care I have owned I can get out after a trip of 3-4 hours and 200 miles without a hint of back-ache.

The interior design is deliberately understated, even austere. I like it a lot!

Rear headroom is excellent, but leg and knee-room poor for adults. This familiar Octavia bugbear does not worry our children.

The boot is massive.