14 Nov 07
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's odd to be talking about beauty in the context of the Skoda Roomster, but the general principle is a useful one. I'm a big fan of the Roomster. Farah, our deputy editor, is not. She likes the idea of something this utilitarian and unassuming, but she's never managed to get comfortable in it and she's troubled by just how ugly it is.
We agree on one thing: we like its lack of thirst. An average of around 45mpg, despite Farah's heavy right boot, is pretty good. 'Anything that can travel between Brighton and Stansted and back - twice - between fill-ups can only be commended. I've done nearly 2,700 miles in it so far, and it's been a very cost-effective way to get around.'
Like me, Farah took the Roomster camping, in her case to a festival in Dorset. And like me, she was beset by rain. In fact, her weather was far worse than mine, so she was keen to use the Roomster as much as possible and canvas as little as possible. This highlighted the lack of length in the boot if the seats aren't taken out - there's not room for an adult to sleep comfortably. And if taking the seats out is an awkward procedure, putting them back in is even worse.
I needed two demos by Skoda personnel before I got the hang of moving, removing and replacing the Roomster's rear seats and now it seems easy-peasy. Farah has never had the benefit of that demonstration and just couldn't figure it out, so ended up making do with tipping the seats forward but not taking them out.
Her views coloured by this less than happy experience, Farah's award for the best camper van of the summer goes not to the Roomster but to the Peugeot Partner she took to Wales for another very wet weekend. 'Space for two to snuggle up nicely and listen to rain drumming on the roof,' she says.
