2.0 TDI 190ps DSG Scout

A great combination of practicality, comfort and power.

Changing over from the Octavia VRS, I didn’t want to sacrifice the level of power that I had become used to. I haven’t been disappointed: the Scout is fast and smooth through the gears, but also feels strong and solid. Surprisingly, the steering feels light despite the car’s obvious weight and it is manoeuvrable and easy to park. It’s a very quiet and comfortable cruiser, and it regularly averages high 40s in fuel consumption. Like every Octavia Estate, it is supremely practical, with a load space that would not shame a much bigger car. I bought it originally with towing a caravan in mind, attracted by its advertised 2,000kg towing limit, but once you start looking into the MPTLM calculation that obsesses the caravan world, you find that the Octavia’s Golf origins and its consequently lightweight underpinnings translate in theory into quite limited choices in the range of caravans that you can safely tow. Our smallish, single axle van was right on the limit of what we could tow with confidence. But, so much for MPTLM, we found it could tow the van well enough but it definitely did not have the heavyweight assurance of an SUV. Away from towing, however, the car is a brilliant all-rounder and feels tough and bullet-proof. It drives securely in the worst of weathers, its 4WD giving you lots of confidence regardless of how wet the road is. My main problem is wresting it away from my wife, who prefers driving it to her own car - ironically, a VW Golf!

Report as offensive