Clever And Effective
by David Finlay (11 Apr 07)

I suppose the surprise will wear off eventually, but the Roomster still seems like a remarkable car for Skoda to build. Nothing the company has produced for many years led us to believe that this quirky compact MPV would appear on the scene, and no doubt it will attract quite a number of new customers to the Czech manufacturer.

The whole point of the Roomster is that it provides a lot of room within a fairly small package. There is a lot of room for four adults, plus one much smaller person in the small central rear seat. As for luggage, Skoda is - I think, but I'm sure I would have remembered anyone else doing this - the only company to claim that one of its products can carry a small flock of sheep.

I can't confirm this, not having had the nerve to ask any of the local farmers if I could borrow some of their sheep, but you can't argue with figures of between 450 and 530 litres (with the rear seats upright and in a variety of positions) and 1780 litres (with the seats folded up and over to provide extra space for stuff).

It's worth bearing in mind that these volumes are dependent on the Roomster's considerable height. The load area isn't particularly long, and I found that a keyboard which can normally be placed front-to-back even in hatchbacks one size up had to be placed diagonally in the Roomster. This is a car which is better suited to carrying tall objects than long ones.

Speaking of height, the last Roomster I drove (see road test) felt a bit bouncy when I was pushing it on, but that car had the 1.4-litre petrol engine. The version tested here uses the 1.9-litre TDI turbo diesel, and I think the extra weight below the bonnet line must drag the centre of gravity down by a significant amount. Whatever the reason, this one certainly handles more impressively, while remaining just as easy to drive in town.

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