Waving not drowning
Well, a bit like yachting, since you ask. After the VW T-Roc R’s puppy-on-a-leash propensity to attack any surface with all the vim of a 200bhp RIB, the Octavia estate goes about its business more in the manner of a tidily-sailed sloop, slipping easily along at a somewhat more leisurely and considerate pace over the worst our roads have to offer with a pleasing insouciance.
I’ll take the commensurate extra bodyroll. It’s by no means excessive and perfectly suits the car’s dynamic mission statement: ‘I can keep this up all day long at a quiet, comfortable and perfectly respectable lick. You may still want a stiff drink after 400 miles, but you certainly won’t need one.’
In other news, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the sole purpose of a lane-keep assist system is to prevent you from careering into the world’s grubbiest teddy bear attached to a vast radiator grille as you forage about the dashboard trying to switch the damned thing off.
Mercifully, though you do have to deactivate the Skoda’s system every time you climb aboard, there’s no touchscreen tomfoolery involved, merely two jabs of the right thumb. Not ideal, but better than most.