Skoda Roomster 2012 review

Skoda Roomster isn’t for everyone, its unusual styling is the result of very practical interior design. Australia is a rather conservative market so the Roomster failed to find many buyers when sold here between 2007 and 2010. Now Roomster has been reintroduced and the importer of the Czech marque hopes it will be more successful this time around.

PRICE

For starters Skoda is using the best sales incentive of all to get back into the market. It’s slashing the price to just $22,490 or about $4000 less than previously. Add $2300 for the seven-speed DSG automatic transmission over that of the standard five-speed manual. These prices don’t include on-road costs.

ENGINE

As well as the big price drop the Roomster adds appeal by having a new-design turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine with an official fuel consumption reading of just 5.5 litres per hundred kilometres. Diesels are no longer being imported, but couldn't have beaten the new petrol unit by much.

DESIGN

Roomster has also benefited from a facelift, though this does nothing to the challenging shape of side profile. These days Skoda is controlled by Volkswagen but still has a fair degree of independence, particularly in the styling department. Anyone who complains that all cars look the same should immediately add Roomster to their short list.

The chief designer tells us, “We wanted to make our Roomster look like an aircraft at the front and a house at the back.”

DRIVE

Handling of the Roomster is good, the steering is neutral at normal to higher-than-average cornering speeds. The added height of the Skoda over that of a conventional hatchback is noticeable if you push hard, but this is a people mover not a sports hatch.

Skoda Roomster is only 4.2 metres long yet provides stretch out space for four big adults. It’s relatively narrow, so three grownups in the rear will be uncomfortable. But, three children have room to move. The back seat has a 40/20/40 per cent arrangement so one of the junior travellers should ideally be smaller than the others.

The window line is significantly lower at the rear seats than the front, resulting in huge side windows that let even small children get an excellent view of outside. This is a major factor in boredom reduction so parents who cringe at the thought of hearing “Are we nearly there?” should also be adding Roomster to the aforementioned short list.

The boot is huge and a pair of large suitcases can be carried with ease. The rear seats can be folded down to further increase cargo space. They can be folded individually, either in a single motion, or double folded. The three seats can be removed individually in a matter of seconds to give an almost van-like space.

A popular option is to remove the centre-rear seat. Then you have the choice of a good sized gap between the two rear seats, or you can slide them closer together. A further option is to fold down the backrest of the centre-rear seat to create a small table with built-in padded armrests and holders for drink containers. There are numerous interior features such as storage drawers beneath the front seats and stowage areas for sunglasses, mobile phones, diaries and suchlike.