| Long Term Test | Skoda Octavia Scout |
| Arrival date: | | May 2008 |
| Price: | | £20,240 (including £350 for metallic paint) |
| Current mileage: | | 23,000 miles |
| Average economy: | | 44.9mpg |
Been anywhere interesting?
The past month has been the usual mix of country roads, motorway and town driving for the Skoda Octavia Scout and me. It did prove itself a more than worthy town car during a trip into Glasgow, which coincided with a huge Celtic football match. I'm no football fan and even less keen on traffic jams, so the Skoda acquitted itself well when asked to negotiate some of Glasgow's tight city streets to avoid the chaos on major routes. Thank goodness for satnav.
Anything stand out...?
Yes, and it may sound dull but it's really worth mentioning. Modern cars are not designed for the home mechanic, as witnessed by the sizeable plastic shroud covering most of the Scout's engine bay. However, Skoda has made it simple for the owner to check the essentials, with items such as the oil dipstick, screen washer bottle and coolant tank all easy to get at. I also found the handily placed battery with plastic cover useful when jump-starting a friend's car recently.
My weekly check routine involves all of these under-bonnet items, as well as making sure the tyre pressures are correct and looking over the tyres for any wear or damage. I also give the wiper blades the once over and check all of the lights are working as they should - there are warning lights on the dash for this, but nothing beats a proper look yourself. You may think I'm a bit pernickety (and my wife certainly does...) but I like the peace of mind of knowing the car has been looked over and cared for. These simple checks take a few minutes, but they give me a week's worth of relaxed driving, especially now many of the roads around my home more closely resemble boating lakes than proper thoroughfares.
...and for the wrong reasons?
With the Skoda racking up plenty of motorway miles, a good stereo is much appreciated. I've mentioned before that the Scout's stereo has clear, crisp sound quality, so I was annoyed when the small speaker set behind the driver's door release handle started to crackle. This was doubly irritating as it happened halfway through a long drive, so I was left with the choice of no radio or iPod, or putting up with the crackle.
I planned to get this problem sorted by my local Skoda dealer and was going to phone them when I returned home the following day. However, the problem seems to have cured itself and has not recurred since.
Where next?
Right now, I'm off out to give the Scout its weekly health check, but over the next few weeks it's more of the same blend of all-round driving. As Christmas approaches, I'm sure the Scout will head into town a bit more to be loaded up with presents, as well as fetching the Christmas tree. There's also more home DIY on the horizon, so the boot is going to be busier than Santa Claus in the next month.
