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| Enough luggage space to shame a small van |
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On the one hand, this is a voluminous load-lugger with enough bootspace to shame a small van. We're talking 605 litres even with the seats up - and when the rear seats are down, it's a massive 1655 litres. On the other hand, the GreenLine Estate is an 'eco' variant, with quite startling fuel economy for a car of this size: 64.2mpg, no less, and healthy CO2 emissions of just 114g/km. And the good news doesn't end there: this 4569mm-long behemoth manages 0-62mph in 11.9 seconds, which all makes for a remarkable combination of amazing economy, incredible luggage space and highly adequate performance.
Meanwhile, the list price is sensibly 'Skoda' and the build quality makes its VW Group heritage plain. So why couldn't I bring myself to love this car? Fact is, I love Skodas; I love the Octavia; I love the Octavia Estate... but the GreenLine failed to delight. As with most eco variants, there's a price to pay and in the GreenLine it's excessive turbo-lag. For me, the lack of response at low revs is a passion-killer.
I don't expect rocket-powered motoring when you're getting 60-odd miles per gallon, but nor do I expect to pull out of a junction, put my foot down - and find that almost nothing happens. It's like pressing on a wet sponge. Keep your foot down and the turbo finally starts spinning somewhere around 2000rpm, with the result that there's a shove in your back as that hefty 184lb ft of torque makes itself felt - but you have to keep the revs up to get satisfaction. And what does that style of pedal-happy motoring do to your fuel economy? It's all a bit confusing, as the paperwork says max torque comes in from 1500rpm, but it certainly doesn't feel like it.
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