Car Review: Skoda Roomster Scout - Be prepared for the Scout

FOR generations small children have fought for the front seat of the car.

Sister on sister, brother against brother and, the worst of all, sister versus brother; immeasurable family torment as blood wrestled with blood for the vacant place next to the driver.

If only, as parents, we had realised the benefits of the Skoda Roomster, so much sibling angst could have been avoided.

The reason? The Roomster is just so nice in the back, thanks to papal swathes of glass and equally lofty roof height, that the internecine struggle is reversed – back is cool, back is back, back is where the kids want to be.

There’s a clue in the name, of course. Roomster’s purpose is to provide occupants with oodles of space and it does this exceptionally well in the rear and the boot, which is huge.

Its versatility extends to the range and this particular Roomy comes with a Scout moniker giving it the look of a vehicle with off road pretentions.

While welcome and fetching additions, they are only cosmetic, as I found out when I got stuck in a snowdrift and had to be freed by shovel wielding neighbours – there’s no 4x4 system with this particular Scout.

In all but the very extremes the Scout copes well enough and the whole car impresses with its blend of performance and supreme economy. Expect 50+ miles per gallon from the torquey 1.6 litre diesel and you won’t be far off the mark.

On paper the Scout shouldn’t really start any fires yet to drive it is remarkably rewarding. It handles well with great levels of comfort and surprising surety of foot. It is just so much better than you would expect from this category of car.

Driving dynamics are helped by great ride and slick clutch and gearbox. Scout’s friendly, easy to live with nature also wins through. There is reward from having countless storage compartments for your bits and pieces and space aplenty for people and luggage.

At a glance the Scout could be mistaken for its excellent cousin the Yeti with similar aesthetics and presence.

Dealer support also proved excellent as the test car came with a nail in the tyre wall which required a new tyre. MSB Skoda, of Darlington, came to the rescue and therefore deserves a mention in dispatches.

Snowdrifts and punctures apart the abiding memory of the Scout is all good because it provided so much more than the sum of its parts – and there wasn’t so much as a squeak from the children in the back; now that has to be a good thing.