Thinking of crossing over, Mondeo as a tow car

[LordThornber]

I work (sort of) at a Skoda main dealership.

 

Blimey did I get my eyes opened at the modern Skoda. Build quality is very high indeed, the Octavia is the UK's No 1 choice for taxi drivers, take from that what you will, but build quality, reliability and hard wearing will obviously figure high.

 

The Skoda Superb, well even if you don't have a scrap of intention of buying one, go into a dealership and sit in the front then the rear of one. I challenge you to find more room in a car short of getting into limo territory.

 

Martyn

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

I think it is very relevant comment if that is the case,both taxi,and private hire blokes tend to be ahead of the game when it comes to reliability and durability. I was in fact a Hackney carriage driver in Birmingham for 35 or more years before moving to Cymru, although we were only allowed to use FX4's at that time. I well remember the fact that the mainly Asian guys on private hire would at that time only ever be seen in the likes of Toyota's or Nissans, when the rest of us were driving round in either Ford crap,or BMC junk, it took a while for us to catch on ! !

So I will look at the Skoda if that is now the popular choice amongst them,I was aware they are only Skoda in name from what they were in the 70/80s and are well regarded now. ;-)

[Derek Uzzell]

Tracker - 2011-12-16 8:53 PM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2011-12-16 8:47 AM

It's a strange-looking thing, but very practical. I can't say I enjoy driving it much, but I knew that would be the case when I purchased it. It was cheap to buy, there's a local-ish dealership and servicing is inexpensive. Good enough for me nowadays...

 

That's an interesting point and it depends to a large extent what you want from a car and whether you enjoy driving for driving's sake or just do it because you need to and that different perspectives will need to be considered before buying any car just because it will make a good towcar?

 

 

The reason I don't greatly enjoy driving the Skoda is down to specific elements in its design. It's brakes are fierce with a non-linear progression and there's a significant height-difference between brake-pedal and accelerator-pedal. I'm habituated to heel-and-toe down-shifting and the combination of the Skoda's unprogressive brakes and different pedal heights makes this impossible. Down-changing on the Skoda means adopting a 'learner driver' technique that I don't relish but can't avoid.

 

Power delivery is also irritating as the motor does not react to the accelerator-pedal in the way I want it to. If you lift off the throttle while accelerating, the motor's response lags slightly. I've mentioned this to the mechanics at the Skoda dealership and been told that it's normal for the model-range (diesel- and petrol-engined) and (supposedly) a gear--changing aid. I have experienced something like it before on petrol-fuelled Datsuns and Toyotas where a 'damper' was fitted to the carburettor. My wife's Corolla had one and I disconnected it, but I can't do anything about the Skoda as it's drive-by-wire. I'm assured that there's no software revision to address this.

 

With hindsight I might have been better buying the Tiptronic version, as I test-drove that rather than the manual one. Throttle 'response lag' obviously isn't an issue with an automatic and, as down-shifting is done for you, I could then concentrate more fully on the unprogressive braking. But we were deliberately buying cheap and my wife has no experience of driving automatic-gearbox vehicles.

 

For me the Roomster's brakes, foot-pedal ergonomics and throttle-reaction are all design flaws that detract from the overall driving experience. I can live with them, but I'll never get used to them and every time I need to down-shift for a corner or accelerate hard up through the gears I wish those unwelcome characteristics were different. Otherwise it seems to be a well screwed together car (though I doubt it will last as well as our Golf) and it's got masses of room in the boot for shopping and transporting junk to the recycling centre, which is what it's used for most of the time.

 

(I forgot to mention the Roomster's dashboard 'computer screen' that's (literally) unreadable unless the lights are switched on. Another design gem, though not one that concerns me while driving.)

[LordThornber]

Derek Uzzell - 2011-12-17 8:08 AM

With hindsight I might have been better buying the Tiptronic version, as I test-drove that rather than the manual one. Throttle 'response lag' obviously isn't an issue with an automatic.

 

Derek, whilst obviously I'm not going to be negative about the brand, the DSG on the smaller engines actually has only too real "throttle response lag" as you put it.

 

When you're driving them every day, (as I do) it's not an issue as you are aware and used to it, but for the newcomer to either DSG or autos in general. well, as they said in Hill Street Blues, "be careful out there".

 

And basically at junctions and/or puling out in traffic, give yourself an extra half second. Of course you wouldn't buy a 1.2 for tugging.

 

On the larger engines, it's not noticeable at all.

 

As for the Roomster, well whilst it's not the raging success like the Yeti, it's obvious that folk buy them for your similarly stated reasons, more form over fashion. A hugely practical vehicle, staggeringly versatile.

 

Martyn

[Guest Tracker]

About 10 years ago I had two Skoda Octavias in succesion over a four year period and I have to say they were two of the best cars I have ever had. Neither was new and both gave faultless service over many thousands of miles of often rapid progress with their 1.9 tdi engines giving me adequate performance, decent comfort, an enjoyable drive - and almost 50 mpg.

 

I only changed to an suv due to my wife's need for a car that was easier to get in and out of and I must confess that now having converted I would find it hard to go back to an lower riding car - unless it were a Jaguar XF Touring when they eventually arrive - yum yum!! - but that's well outside my budget for a good few years unfortunately.

 

I can highly recommend Skoda to anyone as great cars with the bonus of having a VW pedigree and being less expensive than many other brands.

[Keithl]

Tracker - 2011-12-17 10:38 AM

unless it were a Jaguar XF Touring when they eventually arrive - yum yum!! - but that's well outside my budget for a good few years unfortunately.

 

Rich,

 

It's going to be called the XF Sportbrake when it arrives and there are some recent spyshots Here.

 

I must say it looks good and is long overdue.

 

Keith.

[Guest Tracker]

Thanks Keith - I take Auto Express each week and have been following the promised XF Estate for several years now in eager anticipation - trouble is they will need to be 2 or three years old before I can justify the cost and I can't see many owners wanting to part with theirs so soon unless it is a troublesome 'Friday afternoon' car - if they still make them!! They certainly did with one of the older S Types that I had recently - without doubt the most troublesome car I have ever had - but still a joy to be in and drive - when it wasn't on a recovery truck!!

[Derek Uzzell]

LordThornber - 2011-12-17 9:31 AM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2011-12-17 8:08 AM

With hindsight I might have been better buying the Tiptronic version, as I test-drove that rather than the manual one. Throttle 'response lag' obviously isn't an issue with an automatic.

 

Derek, whilst obviously I'm not going to be negative about the brand, the DSG on the smaller engines actually has only too real "throttle response lag" as you put it...

 

True enough, but my Roomster's motor doesn't really 'lag' when the accelerator-pedal is pressed. What it does is 'over respond' when the accelerator-pedal is lifted off. It's as if the electronics choose to provide a certain amount of power during acceleration and, once that decision has been made, taking your foot off the accelerator doesn't immediately cause the acceleration to cease. I can drive around this by lifting off the accelerator well before making a gear-change, but the indirect relationship between what the motor does and what I would prefer it to do offends me. My wife (not technically minded) has remarked on it and also dislikes the characteristic: nor does she like the initial fierceness of the brakes when they are applied.

 

I'm familiar with DSGs' foibles, but the Roomster test-drive I took involved a vehicle with 'conventional' 1.6 litre petrol motor and a Tiptronic gearbox not a DSG.

[BenH]

1footinthegrave - 2011-12-15 6:28 PM

 

DMF failures, now back to the drawing board.

 

DMF issues are almost always avoidable if you just keep an eye on things. As with the timing belt, check the owners' manual for its lifespan. There are lots of cars on the market that have been sold because the DMF is at the end of its life and people don't want to shell out to get it fixed. Most of the failures that I've read about have been by people who said "the car had done about 75,000 miles" etc. Parts can only last for so long, so just be sensible about the age and the workload it has taken on.

 

I used to work on Car Mechanics magazine and we'd always tell readers that there was the manufacturer's mileage number when they recommend changing parts such as the timing belt and DMF, then there was our number – usually about five or ten thousand miles less than the manufacturer's advice. Just be aware of how long a DMF is likely to last for before you buy.

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

Yes, thanks for that. I really do think we go backwards in many respects. I had a 2 Litre Sierra, a cracking car I thought, no such thing then as the possibility of having to buy or fit a new flywheel, and the cambelt change was a walk in the park that could be done by the average DIYer in about 30 minutes. Oh well, progress eh.....................

[BenH]

Haha, I guess the benefits of technology advances come with the negatives of more parts and more complications. Pros and cons, etc.

 

What else have you been looking at?

[Guest 1footinthegrave]

BenH - 2011-12-19 11:06 AM

 

Haha, I guess the benefits of technology advances come with the negatives of more parts and more complications. Pros and cons, etc.

 

What else have you been looking at?

 

Christmas puddings and crackers LOL, think I'm going to leave it now till after the silly season, mind you I do keep coming back to the Mondeo TDci 140 Bhp, DMF problems or not ;-)

[Dave225]

It is a good car as the sales figures indicate. Obviously if 2nd hand then look at the car itself as you would any vehicle. I doubt anyone actually buys new as the depreciation is awful, better to get a 3 year old with full service etc.

[Stewart Hendry]

We switched from a motorhome to caravan in Feb this year. Firstly decided the van we wanted ie, Bailey Unicorn Valencia which has a fully loaded weight of 1565KG, then moved on to the car choice which was dictated by the van weight. Looked at the Mondeo, but it was too light. (I have never towed before and the Mondeo's weight would be approx 97% of the vans which is not ideal). I ended up with a 2011 model Freelander TD4 which has the Mondeo 2.2 engine. The car weights 1785kg minimum and with 150bhp is sufficient. It also has a 150KG max loading on the towbar which was another key aspect.

The trade in from the MH plus the family Golf and a bit of spare cash got us the current rig.

 

Once on site the caravan is great as we have the car and our bikes, but what a faff in between. We are still motorhomers at heart but having the car and the bikes gives us so much more freedom than the MH.

 

All the best, Stewart

[Lord Braykewynde]

Many years ago after holidaying in Cornwall and looking at motorhomes at a dealers in Helston we decided to get one. Once home we took a ride to Golden Castle to look at their motorhomes and couldn't believe what they wanted for a ten year old rust bucket. The other half of the dealers is taken up with caravans and my wife persuaded me after much nagging to go take a look because I wasn't too keen on the idea of towing.

I was gobsmacked. I could buy a brand new van for the price of the rust bucket. It was then that I decided to look more into the pro's and cons and after joining forums and asking friends the caravan was the winner. I don't regret making the choice and I actually enjoy towing, probably because there's something nice at the end rather than going shopping. I might consider a motorhome someday when I'm old and decrepid but at the moment, like someone else posted, I'm still enjoying the freedom that I get by having my home from home in one place.

Friends of ours have just changed over to a caravan and Val said she always hated the motorhome although John was a bit dubious about changing. Now he doesn't regret it at all and considering the joking insults he threw at me about tuggers he now has to eat humble pie and I do like to remind him now and then (lol)

What I tow with is a Kia Sorento. Before that I had a VW Passat Estate but the Kia is better than the Passat in all departments except fuel consumption. Apart from towing we don't use it much except from driving locally so the cost of deisel isn't an issue, yet 8-)

I don't know if you've considered this model 1footinthegrave but I've yet to talk to anyone with a bad report about them.

I did have one problem regarding a leaking seal on the steering rack but it was replaced by a new steering rack under warranty and while this was being done we had a courtesy car. Excellent service all round.