08 Jun 07
It takes a lot to make farmers happy. If it's not BSE upsetting them, it's the chickens, and if it's not the chickens it's foot and mouth. And that's before you even start on the subject of supermarkets driving their prices down.
But this should do the trick. The Octavia Scout is a new version of the Octavia 4x4, and it provides a very seriously attractive alternative to the farmers' favourites, the Subaru Outback and Forester. Not just farmers, of course - those Scoobies are disproportionately popular among all sorts of folk who live in or visit areas where the roads turn into tracks and then into fields.
The Subaru duo have had this small but loyal market to themselves for a long time - until now. The Octavia Scout is not only a very good car, it's also priced to compete head-on with the Subarus, which start at £21,652 for the Outback and £17,677 for the Forester. The Scout costs £17,755 for the 2.0 FSI and £19,690 for the 2.0 TDI PD.
Like the 4x4, the Scout is essentially an Octavia estate with a Haldex four-wheel drive system and various other modifications that make it rugged enough for the daily challenges of rural life, while still retaining the compactness and affordability of a proper car, as distinct from an SUV.
But the Scout's Haldex system is a new, more sophisticated version that responds more quickly when it detects slip and summons up help from the rear wheels. The rest of the time it's front-wheel drive. Stability control is standard, along with Hill Hold Control (to stop you rolling backwards) and an automatic brake disc drying system.
The Scout's revised suspension and increased ground clearance make it 17mm taller than the 4x4, or 40mm higher than the regular Octavia estate. Its new bumpers, with underbody bash plates, make it 9mm longer than the 4x4 and its new wheel arches widen it by 15mm. And it's better specced than the 4x4, coming fitted with 17" alloys, cruise control, two-zone climate control and leather cabin trim.
