Skoda Octavia Scout

People who get paid lot of money to launch new cars use bizspeak like ‘brand positioning', ‘target demographic' and ‘conquest sales' as they explain the science.

We who know nothing - pretty much every journo in the room - sit there, scribble it down, and dutifully regurgitate it. Because it all makes sense when an expert tells us how it works. Of course it does.

Basically, it's an Octavia all-wheel-drive wagon, jacked up to sport 180mm of ground clearance and fitted with a bit of look-tough faux 4WD plastic trim. Tough it ain't, but practical it is, especially if you don't like calling the Dent Doctor every time some inconsiderate git backs into you at the supermarket. There's also a sump guard to deal with those pesky speed bumps.

Go-forward is provided via VW's trusty, torquey little 2.0-litre turbodiesel, hooked up to a six-speed manual, with on-demand all-wheel drive in high range only. There's no ‘automatic transmission' box to tick on the order form, though, which could dent the public's enthusiasm somewhat.

Out on the smooth Victorian blacktop the Scout did it easy. The 103kW, 320Nm four-potter turbodiesel is a no-brainer in this context, the six-speed box is light and smooth and the all-wheel-drive system, which uses a Haldex coupling to drive the rear wheels, works seamlessly on the tar and on the loose stuff. Think you're going to outclimb a Land Cruiser? Think again, but it'll get the boat out of a slippery ramp without fuss.

The Scout is a solid, chunky piece of kit that's nicely balanced and it's not entirely useless when you ask it to go around corners, thanks in part to sticky 225/50 Dunlop SP Sport road rubber on 17-inch alloys. Can't really give you an idea of how it rides on bumps, because there aren't many of those in Victoria. Those tyres will also limit your off-road capabilities, so plan your Simpson Desert odyssey accordingly.

Given its compact size (think of it as a Golf wagon) there's plenty of interior space, all the safety gear, a thirst that wouldn't get a Range Rover out of its suburb and typically VW - sorry, Skoda - attention to detail. Take, for example, the 12V power socket in the luggage bay and the cargo nets and hooks fitted as standard kit. Nice, thoughtful, clever, see?

But perhaps Skoda needs to define its image a bit more clearly. After all, it's soon going to have to launch the Superb and the Yeti. The possibilities are endless, really...

Apart from an overly ambitious price - $39,990 is about five grand too much - it's a decent drive and easy to like.

Bill McKinnon