Skoda Roomster test drive since 2006 -

Above the orderly

Skoda Roomster. Price: from 399,000 rubles.
VW Golf Plus. Price: from 531 700 rubles.

Oleg Kalaushin, 37 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience of 18 years. Personal car: Renault Logan
 



Skoda Roomster
Skoda Roomster appeared in our market relatively recently. Extravagant and impudent, he literally blew up consciousness, bringing a confusion into the hearts of those who have already made their choice. But is he so good as it seems? Maybe, except for extraordinary appearance, there is nothing behind the soul? In order to understand this issue in detail, we decided to conduct a confrontation with a more eminent representative of this class. And not with anyone, but with the older brother of Skoda, with Volkswagen. Golf Plus, according to our ideas, a good orderly in this case.


Let's start, as usual, from the appearance. As we have already noted, Roomster is an extraordinary personality for this indicator. For a long time, we did not have to see such an echoing design. The feeling that Roomster was asserted in the morning of the first of January. It has something from the bus, and from the truck, and even from the plane. However, if you recall that Roomster was really created from what happened, namely from Fabia and Octavia, then there is nothing surprising in this. Yes, and discourages the appearance only at first. Later, the car even starts to like. But even more bribes that, most likely, after many years, the appearance of the model will remain extraordinary.


The Roomster salon will meet you with high -quality materials and a good level of equipment, however, in comparison with the Volkswagen salon, it does not go little gloss. However, this is the only thing that Roomster does not go to Golf Plus. Indeed, the rest of the Czech from the German is not much different, and sometimes surpasses the opponent. Take at least the organization of the same luggage compartment. Let's start with the little things. For example, the rear regiment can be installed at different levels. The second row of seats in Roomster does not consist of two asymmetric seats, like Golf Plus, but of three, and each of them can be moved or composed, which allows you to more effectively transform the interior. If necessary, they can be removed from the car, thereby receiving a cargo compartment with a total volume of 1780 liters, which is 330 liters more than that of the opponent. By the way, the latter can be considered a serious achievement in the layout, because Roomster, although not much, is still shorter and already Golf Plus. He was a success only in height. The latter does not affect the internal volume of the car. It is no more closely than in Golf, and at all more, there is even more. There is an explanation for this: the wheel base of Skoda is more than Volkswagen. And the extra millimeter in the wheelbase is, as you know, several good centimeters in the volume of living space. And this is also a great stability of the car on the road.
 

Successfully connecting two of their bestseller, namely Skoda Fabia and Skoda Octavia, the Czechs brought something to the market that in the near future will have excited the minds of potential owners for a long time. The car is interesting not only in terms of design, but also in terms of functionality. And the price is quite adequate.
 





Driving
A successful car for almost all sidelines. Of course, there were not enough stars from the sky, but it was not possible to celebrate the negativity.

Salon
Spacious and functional, you can only complain about excessive modesty in its design.

Comfort
At the level and is quite consistent with the class of the car. There is even a panoramic roof in maximum configuration.

Safety
There is only one pillow in the basic configuration.

Price
Adequate to the amount of the car.
 





Volkswagen Golf Plus
Volkswagen in terms of appearance is much more calm. And not by status to him, in fact, to flirt with the public. Golf Schilda on the trunk lid is enough to become lustful. In addition, calm design allows him to be his own in almost any company, whether it be a youth party or a Babkina club joy. Now imagine what you would look like, you would at least not understand you at the Roomster event at the Roomster, but for the most even for a barrier you would not have allowed you.
 

Solid and expect Golf and from the inside. Quality and once again the quality is what you like first. Perfected elements, pleasant to the touch texture, exceptional ergonomics all these components, without which today the German car cannot be imagined. And now we’ll multiply this on the desire to make a car really convenient in all plans, and we will get Golf Plus. And although he just left Golf not far, after all, there is only one platform, nevertheless, there is more functionality in it. Take at least that due to a more vertical landing there is much more space. Does not suffer from a lack of space and a luggage compartment. In addition, it can be increased by pulling the rear passengers closer to the front row. The seats moving in the longitudinal direction allow you to do this without difficulty. If a large area is required, then the seats can be folded at all, thereby releasing it for loading as much as 1450 liters of volume. By the way, their kinematics is such that it allows you to get a completely even cargo surface. In general, it is convenient and practical.


On the road Golf Plus and Skoda Roomster behave approximately the same. Unless Volkswagen reacts a little faster to the driver’s teams. However, this manifests itself only in modes close to extreme. Normal measured riding puts these cars on almost one level. Their dynamic characteristics are similar.
 

But noise insulation, oddly enough, is better for Roomster. In Golf Plus, it also corresponds to the car class, but the noise background, according to Skoda, is slightly smaller. Moreover, the main source of noise in both cars is the rear arches.
 

So what to prefer? An unambiguous answer, as you know, will not be able to get. Undoubtedly, Golf Plus is more prestigious than Roomster, and if this is an important factor for you, then, of course, it is worth a closer look at it. Golf is Golf, especially if it is also a plus. In the end, the quality erected to the cult is worth a lot. And if you are primarily interested in practicality and extraordinary in the car, then Roomster is definitely your option. Moreover, the price with Golf plus configuration will be significantly lower.
 



Driving
Despite the fact that the car has grown in height, it actually does not differ in control and predictability from just Golf.

Salon
Materials and build quality at a high level. Before everything, whatever it is, it’s nice to touch.

Comfort
Cozy and spacious. Of the shortcomings, only weak sound insulation can be noted.

Safety
Six airbags and ASR ASR in the database. More than enough.

Price
Given the rich basic configuration, it is acceptable.
 
Our verdict
During the editorial test, we came to the conclusion that the VW Golf Plus is a solid German machine captivating the quality of execution, good driving characteristics, as well as a rich basic configuration. However, despite this, we tend to give preference to Roomster. Skoda successfully embodied everything that is expected from a universal car, and we are talking not only about functional virtues, but also about the quality of execution. Especially taking into account the more humane price compared to the cost of Volkswagen Golf Plus.
 

 
 
 
 



 
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [January 2008]