So this week I tested two very different cars - a Toyota GT86 and a Skoda Octavia Tdi. The reason is I will soon have to return my company Mazda so it's time to look for a new car that can cope with 15K+ business miles and the family at weekends/holidays... My wife has a Micra C+C so we don't have a 'sensible' car at home.
So the Toyota. All the rave reviews and the oncoming 40th birthday made me think it might be time for a mid-life crisis car. A proper one (Porsche etc) is too expensive so the Toyota seemed to offer something similar for less - a lot less. It is certainly a handsome car in the flesh, but the interior is nice, but nothing special for me. The rear seats are a complete joke (smaller than the micra) and although there is a major not to practicality in the form of a big boot and folding rear seats, it has a shallow boot opening like most saloons. All that said, the purpose of a coupe is to be un-practical but fun so to the driving. I took the auto version as gears are grossly over-rated for me these days - i'll either be in town on or on the m-way, where auto's make life easy. It was swift, but you have to rag it like a 2-stroke bike to get much excitement, and it's not really worth the bother in my opinion - it needs to feel more urgent. It does handle nicely and i'm sure it's great fun on a decent B-road, but it's noisy on the dual carriageway. Steering is very direct and solid feeling. Overall though, I don't think it rewards enough for the sacrifices it demands - it needs to be faster and/or more special to have so little room and be that committed a drive. (Either that or I'm getting old - see next section!)
And the Skoda.... I drove a 2.0 Tdi SE with DSG gearbox. It reminded me of my old 02 plate Audi A6. Some complement for a budget hatchback. It had loads of room, was quiet, pretty swift and was comfortable. Yes, plenty of people will find it dull - I find it relaxing. As I say, it was like my old Audi and I loved that car - I could do a 4 hour run, stop for a brew, then get back in a do it again. The gearbox is unobtrusive, in sport mode it makes the most of the limited rev range of the VAG diesel to make good progress, handling is as you'd expect - safe and predictable and more capable than most of us need.
Looks like the MLC will have to wait another 10 years for when the kids have their own cars and I can ditch the rear seats completely.... Short of a super deal on something (end of life Mazda3 maybe) the Skoda looks a good bet for the next car.
So the Toyota. All the rave reviews and the oncoming 40th birthday made me think it might be time for a mid-life crisis car. A proper one (Porsche etc) is too expensive so the Toyota seemed to offer something similar for less - a lot less. It is certainly a handsome car in the flesh, but the interior is nice, but nothing special for me. The rear seats are a complete joke (smaller than the micra) and although there is a major not to practicality in the form of a big boot and folding rear seats, it has a shallow boot opening like most saloons. All that said, the purpose of a coupe is to be un-practical but fun so to the driving. I took the auto version as gears are grossly over-rated for me these days - i'll either be in town on or on the m-way, where auto's make life easy. It was swift, but you have to rag it like a 2-stroke bike to get much excitement, and it's not really worth the bother in my opinion - it needs to feel more urgent. It does handle nicely and i'm sure it's great fun on a decent B-road, but it's noisy on the dual carriageway. Steering is very direct and solid feeling. Overall though, I don't think it rewards enough for the sacrifices it demands - it needs to be faster and/or more special to have so little room and be that committed a drive. (Either that or I'm getting old - see next section!)
And the Skoda.... I drove a 2.0 Tdi SE with DSG gearbox. It reminded me of my old 02 plate Audi A6. Some complement for a budget hatchback. It had loads of room, was quiet, pretty swift and was comfortable. Yes, plenty of people will find it dull - I find it relaxing. As I say, it was like my old Audi and I loved that car - I could do a 4 hour run, stop for a brew, then get back in a do it again. The gearbox is unobtrusive, in sport mode it makes the most of the limited rev range of the VAG diesel to make good progress, handling is as you'd expect - safe and predictable and more capable than most of us need.
Looks like the MLC will have to wait another 10 years for when the kids have their own cars and I can ditch the rear seats completely.... Short of a super deal on something (end of life Mazda3 maybe) the Skoda looks a good bet for the next car.
