(2020) SKODA OCTAVIA vs SKODA OCTAVIA SUPER (1964)
Your dad still making those Skoda jokes? Time to show him this
SURELY YOU’RE NOT GOING TO PUT THESE HEAD-TO-HEAD?
Of course not, there’s 40 years between this pair of Octavias and it’s difficult to imagine how much everyday motoring has improved since the original – so named because it was the eighth car Skoda built after WW2 – was launched back in 1959.
We’ll spell it out by pondering the spec of this brilliantly beige 1964 Octavia Super – the 1.2-litre 4cyl engine produces 46bhp and drives the front wheels through a backwards 4spd gearbox. Top speed is 74mph, there are hydraulic drum brakes all round, unassisted worm and nut steering and, although there are coil springs up front, the rear suspension is a transverse leaf spring.
This is probably the precursor to the Skodas that your parents still joke about, but it’s a fantastically simple thing and despite being designed behind the Iron Curtain it’s actually rather good looking. Check out the fins. A touch of Americana, comrade?
HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
It’s quite the event, given modern UK road surfaces are uncannily similar to Soviet-era farm tracks. It’s comfortable on a decent stretch of road, but through corners and on rutted sections it’s not uncommon for all four wheels to bounce in different directions. It’s more a feeling of lack of wheel control rather than poor damping, though, and it’s glorious fun to operate. It could do with a taller gear to help it to 70mph, but it’ll happily coast at 45–50mph.
And how’s this for a neat touch – the small chain next to the handbrake releases a blanket that covers the radiator, protecting it from the harshest of Czech winters. That simple practicality is evident on the modern-day Octavia too, with an umbrella in the driver’s door and an ice scraper in the fuel cap.
WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO MENTION THE NEW CAR?
If we’re being honest, the brolly and the scraper are the most interesting things about it. That’s not to say it’s a bad car. This one is an SE L First Edition hatch with a 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine, a six-speed manual and a huge amount of tech.
WHAT TECH ARE WE TALKING?
It’s serious stuff that was almost exclusive to Mercedes a generation ago. Predictive cruise control recognises speed restrictions and corners and automatically adjusts your speed accordingly, whilst an exit warning stops you opening the door on cyclists and the collision avoidance system can perform evasive manoeuvres without any driver input. Clever.
Like in its Golf and Leon siblings, though, the sheer amount of driver assistance and the VW Group’s decision to shun buttons in favour of sub-menus is a major own goal. Putting it up against a car from the Sixties only serves to amplify that. See, the old punchline can teach the new tech-whizz a few tricks after all.