24 Jan 08
Next up, the comfort. Our passengers (Karin in particular), are quite a bit better informed and discerning than average about the way cars should go down the road. If they say there is a noise, ride or comfort issue, there very probably is. But they thought the Roomster was terrific, a very comfortable way to cover big miles at speed. I think Karin was particularly taken with the fact that you can recline the rear seats for a more relaxed (read 'sleeping') position.
Then there's the fuel consumption, of which there is astonishingly little. Even at those speeds, with a pretty much full load, we averaged 41.5mpg on the way down to St Ives. On the way back, traffic was heavy and our speed dropped right back - so our average came up to 46.1mpg. And schlepping around London, I rarely drop below 38mpg.
The luggage space isn't brilliant, though. Sure, it's plenty tall, as has been noted before, but a tad shallow. We just made sure that any items stacked higher than the seatbacks were light, and hence, unlikely to cause a problem in the event of an emergency stop. And yes, we still got everything in.
It turns out that the Roomster is a pretty good device for navigating St Ives, too. The outward visibility is about as good as any car I've driven, which makes faffing around in impossibly narrow lanes less stressful. And as a platform for viewing some of Cornwall's finest vistas, it takes some beating.
I find it works well in London, too. That great visibility is a boon, and the Roomster's actually a good deal shorter and narrower than a three-door Ford Focus.
It could be more fun to drive - there's a fair bit of body roll and understeer. And I find that I still have a residual hint of defensiveness over the Skoda badge (yes, I know, I know, but that's people for you). And it does look a bit odd, admittedly.
But I still think it's brilliant.
