Skoda Octavia 90TSI wagon 2010 review

Getting Skoda circa-1970 mixed up with Skoda 2010 is like mixing up your restaurant table and sitting down with Margaret Thatcher instead of Monica Bellucci. The brand is owned and run by Volkswagen, is the most profitable arm of Volkswagen and regularly gets quality car and value car awards. What kicks it in the nether regions is a belief that it's a discounted Volkswagen and should be cheap. Rubbish!

VALUE

The bad news is that someone probably said that Skodas should be cheap because they're made in the Czech Republic. More rubbish. The tech-savvy nation - also known for pilsner and its citizens' ability to drink it in volumes - knows how to build things. If it wasn't for those crazy Russian occupiers in 1968-1990 and their slap-happy assembling technique, Skoda would have always had a quality name.

Explore the 2010 Skoda Octavia range

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• Skoda Octavia 2010 review
• Skoda Octavia 90TSI wagon 2010 review

The Octavia wagon here costs $29,290 as a seven-speed DSG automatic. That's not cheap but Skoda has refrained from stripping out the car, including alloys, cruise, eight-speaker iPod-compatible audio, trip computer and for those cold mornings, heated mirrors.

As a hauler, the wagon is Tardis-like, being relatively compact on the outside and roomy on the inside.

TECHNOLOGY

It doesn't break the automotive mould - having four wheels, an engine and steering wheel - but it has some tricks.

The engine is a weeny 1.4 litres but delivers the goods thanks to a turbocharger and, as a $2300 option, the direct-shift gearbox (DSG) transmission that makes the car more fuel efficient than the manual version. The drivetrain comes from Volkswagen's Polo and claims a miserly 6.5 litres/100km (I didn't try and got 7.2 l/100km) with low emissions.

The rest of the car is, well, a car.

DESIGN

Yes, the Russians did leave a legacy. Conservative is a word that springs to mind about the wagon's looks. It's functional, unobtrusive but doesn't get your attention in the way that, say, a Kia Sportage drags the eye.

Inside it's simple, utterly workable and beautifully assembled. There are hiccups - some switchgear has illegible markings - but the impression is solid, durable and resoundingly one of quality.

As mentioned, it's big on the inside with a boot that will accommodate vast volumes of luggage. This massive boot still has a bit left over for a full-size spare - can every other carmaker hear this?

SAFETY

No scrimping when it comes to family safety, too. The 90TSI gets six airbags, electronic stability control, four-wheel discs and ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution and anti-slip regulation. It's all gobbledygook, of course, but it means the Octavia is up there in the safety department with the big boys.

Its predecessor has an ANCAP four-star crash rating that appears to have been done before curtain airbags became standard. The test has yet to be repeated.

DRIVING

You wouldn't know this has a 1.4-litre unless you start pushing very hard. The wagon, at 1425kg dry, isn't particularly light but it gets along very smoothly and surprisingly briskly. It will perform well despite four adults aboard - a feat achieved primarily by the low-end performance of the turbocharger and the ratio spread of the gearbox's seven cogs.

Most notably, it feels very solid. The feedback through the steering wheel is positive and lacks the vagueness of many similar electro-hydraulic systems. Bumpy roads transmit virtually no noise and fail to produce any hint of body flex. This all results in a wagon that has surprisingly high levels of road adhesion and defies its rather bland appearance by being a bit of a fun car.

VERDICT

Makes sense for people who want durability, versatility and frugal ownership costs and less of the pizzazz and baubles of some modern cars. It's probably the next best thing to a Peugeot 404 or 504 or Renault 16 of the 1970s.