Skoda Scala

GOODBYE

£ 18,585/£20,420/£158pcm

WHY IT’ S HERE

Is this more than just the VW Group sticking to the script?

DRIVER

Esther Neve

UNBELIEVABLY, IT’S ALREADY TIME FOR US TO BID FAREWELL TO THE Scala. It genuinely feels to me as though it has just arrived. Which I’m taking as a good sign, an indication that, since the software reboot, the Skoda has been ticking all the boxes and giving excellent service.

Many miles have been covered in the Scala since it arrived – not just by me, but by colleagues as well – and the general vibe is one of increasing satisfaction. OK, it’s fair to say that the Skoda isn’t going to set anyone’s heart on fire... instead it’s more of a slow burn. A dawning realisation that it quietly and simply gets on with the somewhat unpleasant and unnecessarily complicated business of tackling city streets, rat runs, scary country lanes and monotonous motorways.

Both I and my friends with families have been impressed with the Tardis-like space in the Scala – plenty of room in the back seats and a boot that somehow magics up what feels like twice the amount of storage you’d imagine it would ever offer.

Another good news story is the Skoda’s steadily improving fuel consumption. While some of my more lead-footed colleagues have struggled to get more than 40mpg out of the Scala, I’m regularly seeing high-forties being returned. It just goes to show how the evolving technology of a baby three-cylinder turbo engine can make a real difference to economy and, by default, the environment. Provided you don’t drive like you’re on a race track...

One last thing. I can’t make my goodbye to Fungus without mentioning his fabulous paint. Quite literally the first thing people comment on when they see him, and the single most defining feature of the car. Some have hated it, but most people have embraced the green. As have I. And I’ll miss it.