Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI Elegance

I've had four Octavia 1.9 tdi Elegance estates in a row. The present one has the DSG automatic gearbox; the other three were manual. All were bought nearly-new (about 6 months old) and all have been utterly reliable. The only warranty work I had to have done was a faulty cruise control on one car. Economy is brilliant, even with the automatic. It's a great load-carrier, with very versatile space in the back, where it's easy to stash things away safely. The main downside is the by modern standards noisy engine. There's also more road noise than I'd like. If you want to be first away from the lights, better go for the 2 litre diesel, but for me the 1.9 has provided an excellent balance between economy and performance.

3 months into my new purchase the TD 1.9 let us down badly. Turbo charger had to be repaired, ruining our first summer holiday in 2005. We had it repaired under warranty. In 2007 the car let us down again, on holiday, of course. Clutch needed replacing after a mere 40,000 on the clock. Now in 2010, both springs in front went one after the other. The second one whilst the first one was being replaced at the garage! The car has always been regularly serviced at a Skoda garage Marlborough garage in Isleworth. I do not know who is to blame the car or the garage. I suspect both.

My recommendation: stay clear of Skoda, at least this model. I thought Skoda, was a great Czech-built car, using VW engineering. Don't believe marketing!. read the reviews instead. Secondly never buy a new car. With a second hand car you have a much better chance of gaging reliability. So much for the (track) record

The fuel consumption excellent on the Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI Elegance, over 60 mpg on a trip and over 50 mpg around town!

A good family hatchback with many extras other models give as standard.