17 Aug 06
What the...? That's another thousand-odd miles gone and I'd barely realised, until l checked my notes. The Skoda makes so little fuss, and is so versatile, that you never have to worry about any of the trips you've got coming up.
Long journey? Big load? Four passengers? No problem. The Octavia has slipped so effortlessly and effectively into our daily routine that we hardly give it a second thought. It just exactly does what we want it to do, 24/7. No fuss, no problems, no sweat. It's plugged the gap in our motoring needs with a watertight effectiveness. Which is the biggest compliment any car can get, I reckon. Especially as our motoring needs - alright, my motoring needs - include fun. For a car to be practical, and good value, and very, very good to drive is a rare combination, but the vRS has it.
Only one slight hiccup this month. On a long and very early morning run up from Sussex to Norwich a fortnight ago, the vRS started beeping insistently at me as I neared Snetterton. The symbols for low oil and screenwash flashed on within seconds of each other. Half a litre of Castrol SLX oil and a load of blue alcoholic screenwash later and all was well. But the episode highlighted the fact that the Skoda owner's manual has some pretty strict instructions - all written in bold capital letters - about oil consumption. It insists that if the oil warning light illuminates you'd better stop right there and then to top up. Do not carry on driving, on pain of death. I guess it's a useful reminder that this 2-litre four is a relatively hard working engine, and perhaps we've no right to take it for granted. But we do.
I was heading up to Snetterton to chat to Nick Mason - Pink Floyd drummer, car enthusiast and acclaimed racing driver - who was having a punt in an A1 GP racing car. It may not have the power or outright sophistication of an F1 car, but an A1 GP car driven in anger looks and sounds the business. Amazingly quick too - as Colin Goodwin found out when he squeezed himself in behind the wheel.
