Skoda Roomster S 1.4 TDI Road Test Report
Performance 
Under the ridged Skoda bonnet is a durable, dependable, and completely uninspiring 1.4 TDI unit which develops a not-so-mighty 70bhp and gives the Roomster a very pedestrian performance. But with a car like this it isn’t about the power available under the accelerator pedal, and it’s a good job too as put this car in a drag race with just about anything else on the road and you’d be mad to gamble on it winning. Zero to 62mph takes a leisurely 16.5 seconds and for the sake of your stake you better hope it goes up against the Volkswagen 1.2 Fox in the drag race as that takes a whole 1 second longer to reach 62mph! So we know it won’t win any racing cups but that really isn’t an issue for most people, and happily behind the wheel in most driving situations the car performs perfectly adequately. Acceleration isn’t swift but it’s assured with a decent level of poke in the first 4 gears as you get up to a variety of road speeds. First gear and when the rev counter creeps towards 3000 revs is when the engine is at its nosiest and in all aspects the engine sounds, well lets say ‘industrial’, that is, it isn’t very refined and engine noise is something you will have to live with if you opt for this car. Motorways should hold no fear with the Roomster perfectly at home between 65-70mph, although there’s precious little scope of anything extra for overtaking. Fuel economy is a real plus point, with 53.3mpg recorded as its combined economy figure, although a CO2 emissions figure of 139g/km isn’t going to win it any eco-awards.
Ride & Handling 
We’ve established that you aren’t going to be getting to your destination particularly speedily, so the stresses and strains on a car’s handling aren’t that apparent in the Roomster, take everything sedately and the car doesn’t do anything wrong – steering is devoid of excitement but perfectly pitched, and feels like very much like other Skoda’s. The ride is pretty forgiving and it certainly doesn’t come with stiff sports suspension; it will soak up the usual smaller potholes out there with ease. With its high sides you can expect a bit of a van lean to creep in when you’re cornering but it isn’t a big problem and the same goes with wind buffering, yes its evident but doesn’t cause any problems.
Build Quality & Reliability 
Without doubt one of the redeeming features of the Skoda Roomster. The build quality is terrific, everything looks and feels sturdy and well made, the unspectacular aesthetics are matched inside the cabin with durable plastics the order of the day on the dash and doors. The seats are comfortable and materials all feel robust. The overall impression is of function over form, nothing fancy, no over elaboration, just the basics, placed exactly where you would expect to find them. Which is all great if you’re used to no-frills approach to consumerism – what’s the point of fancy packaging if it’s all about the travelling from A to B?! For many people that is exactly what a car is used for, for others however the lack of bells and whistles will be a turn off. Skoda has decided to make a few optional extras available for the car, including air con, rear parking sensors, and cruise control. Reliability on the Roomster is also excellent, and dodgy, “Friday afternoon” Skoda’s are about as common as hen’s teeth. The engine might be underpowered by its also very well made and a real staple of the VW group so you know that it’s an engine which will happily rack up the miles without complaint.
Safety & Security 
The car performed well in its Euro NCAP tests – attaining a top mark in Occupant safety (5 stars) and 4 stars for Child safety and comes with driver, passenger front airbags and curtain airbags as standard. Security options include central locking and an immobiliser, however you’ll have to fork out extra for remote locking and an alarm, as they are both options. A nice surprise, and a rarity these days in this cost saving and weight saving world is the full size spare tyre, which comes on all Roomsters.
Space & Practicality
Yet another strong category for the Roomster! The amount of room and flexibility this car comes with is exceptional. Obviously there’s just a little bit of a clue with the name, but rest assured the car, on what is a pretty small footprint this car has oodles of room for four full sized adults – there’s none of this knee bashing in the rear for the tall people out there or cramped shoulder space, with the rear cleverly designed as more of a two seat set up rather than trying to shoehorn a third full seat into the back. Instead Skoda has opted for a large, wide arm rest which can be pushed up into an emergency third seat – perfect for short journeys should you pick up a stray on the way. Up front both driver and passenger get plenty of room, and it’s easy to move the wheel and seat around to find your perfect driving position. Space in the boot is also very good, with plenty of vertical space, as well as it being a good square shaped area. It’s a whooping 450 litres with the rear seats up, but (and it’s a very good but) with this car also available as a van in some European countries (you can clearly see some Commercial Vehicle DNA in the design), the rear seats are actually entirely removable, which means the total boot space is cavernous, at 1780 litres. If its flexibility you’re after then you can put a big, fat tick in the box for the Roomster.
Ownership & Value
The Skoda Roomster’s OTR price is certainly pitched to be eye-catching, the S 1.4 TDI PD on test drive weighed in at £12,690, while you can grab a 1.2 petrol engine Roomster for about a thousand pounds less than this diesel. For the amount of space, and the overall quality of the car then this represents a very good deal. Throw in the diesel’s decent fuel economy figure and low insurance grading (3E) and this car isn’t going to burn through your hard earned cash. For people wanting a long lasting, flexible car with bags of potential boot space or families looking for plenty of rear space all wrapped in a quality finish – and crucially can look past the lack of oomph from the engine, and the “marmite” aesthetics then the Roomster should be definitely on your test drive list.
Performance
We drove the bottom of the range 1.4 TDi 70 BHP diesel unit, which within the diesel offerings, is the cheapest and least powerful but it returns 62.8 MPG on the motorway and 53.3 MPG on a combined run making it one of the most economical of the bunch. Acceleration wasn’t breathtaking but the car performed well when up and running on the A-roads and motorway journeys. The vast majority of sales of the Roomster must be made up of diesel engine cars although there are 1.2 , 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engine variants to choose from as well. The 0-62 time is 16.5 seconds for the variant we drove, but don’t let that put you off as it is not an accurate representation of what the Skoda Roomster is like to drive.
Ride & Handling
The Skoda Roomster appears at certain angles to look a little like a small van which has been converted into a passenger car and there are certain moments, such as when going around corners that it slightly resembles such a vehicle in its handling and ride. That said, modern day vans are notoriously fun to drive when un-laden so it might not necessarily be a bad thing. The ride is fairly firm without being overly so and the chassis retains a fair amount of rigidity despite the height of the car. The steering feels direct and the Skoda Roomster gives the feel of being a simple machine to drive, own and run.
Build Quality & Reliability
The Roomster is an extremely solid vehicle which we believe will give good ownership prospects in terms of reliability and time spent on the road versus time in the garage. The interior is neat and simple, especially on the basic ‘S’ spec which we drove. There was very little in the way of features to actually complicate matters and that alone should keep the repair bills down! Skoda has done very well in the past winning awards for ownership including the JD Power survey in which it came 2nd in 2007.
Safety & Security
ABS and dual rate brake booster help in terms of handling but the lack of remote central locking on our car was a major drawback. Airbags are supplied for both the driver and passenger as well all-round curtain airbags.
Space & Practicality
Practicality is the Roomster’s strong point with plenty of space for all passenger plus a generous boot space. With the rear seats folded, you have a luggage capacity of 1555 litres, remove the seats and that increase to 1,780 litres. The slightly heightened driving position gives great visibility, however one drawback of the design is that the A-pillar is large enough to create a significant blind spot on the driver and passenger side.
Ownership & Value
At £12,090 on the road the Skoda Roomster 1.4 S diesel is an extremely good value family car and although it offers virtually nothing in the way of frills it does offer plenty of room, rock solid reliability, quality VW underpinnings and cost effective running costs. As a method of getting kids and yourself from A to B it would be hard to beat it.
Performance
The performance is less than adequate; on urban roads its acceleration was virtually non-existent and when driving in rush hour traffic the lack of ‘nip’ is a real hindrance. The diesel engine is also a bit of a disappointment as the guttural noises emanating from the engine are definitely more van than car. On the motorway it was fine up to 60 miles an hour (when it eventually arrived at those heady heights) but as you push on towards 70 it struggles to accelerate past anything in the outside lane. Given that it appears the Roomster is designed to carry passengers and/or any other ‘stuff’ one assumes it will be even more sluggish when laden with more than just a driver. At least it is safe to say that the performance is not going to frighten a nervous driver.
Ride & Handling
The ride is relatively comfortable and it has the feel of a bigger car due to the height in the back and size of windows. It handles the scourge of sub-urban driving (speed bumps) smoothly enough and the dashboard display and radio are both easy to use and lack fuss so it is not necessary to refer to the handbook every five minutes. The trade off for this comfort is felt when cornering at any sort of speed and in particular above 60mph on the motorway where any significant curve in the road leaves you feeling that a teeter onto two wheels is inevitable. However the cornering is not notably worse than many other MPVs and is markedly better than some; more load weight or passengers in the back may help.
Build Quality & Reliability
The build quality is more than sufficient, particularly in the front of the car where the interior has a strong feel of solidity and yet it is not entirely basic or just functional. In the back the interior of the Roomster appears robust enough too but would it remain so over the typical life of the car with the myriad of tasks it could be asked to perform? Externally it has the look of a very solid motor with high plastic sills alongside for added protection against the regular bumps and scuffs you have to expect with a vehicle you want to work for you and not just use for your daily commute. In addition the body coloured wing mirrors and alloy wheels give a nod towards being design conscious.
Safety & Security
With a 5 star NCAP rating it is unquestionably a safe car to drive - although with only 2 stars for pedestrians you would rather be inside a Roomster! Obviously given the limitations on performance this is always going to be a car for the steady driver and it is certainly not going to lead you into any difficulties by being too lively to handle. As it is designed as a family-friendly vehicle, it is good to know that the car has all the safety features you would expect and that it scored maximum points for side impact and passenger tests.
Space & Practicality
This is really where the Roomster wins out which, given the name, should come as no surprise. Unlike many mid-range cars there is no need to compromise rear leg room to accommodate those in the front. The head room in the rear is also a real bonus and there is no need to crack little Johnny’s head on the frame of the door as you put him into his car seat. The seats are also high enough off the ground to make it easier for elderly passengers to get in and out with ease. The only negative is that the middle seat of the three is smaller than the other two. The seats are also foldable and removable (although they are heavy and not easy to store without a garage) – this gives you the flexibility to make use of the dual purpose Roomster as a small LCV when needed. However the space in the back even without the seats is not quite as much as you might first expect.
Ownership & Value
With expected low(ish) depreciation the Skoda still represents relatively good value for money when you consider the three year warranty, long service intervals and the fuel efficiency of the diesel model. Obviously this is not a car for the style conscious; it is also not the vehicle for someone purely wanting it as a workhorse or as a vehicle just for the commute and daily school run. However for someone who needs an affordable car that can combine all of these tasks and more and if that someone can get over the lack of performance, then it is a definite contender.