Engine choice

If it was a petrol engine you fancied then it was a choice of 1.2-litre three-cylinder and 1.4-litre four-cylinder units with 70bhp and 85bhp respectively, or a four-pot 1.6 with a healthier 105bhp and 155Nm of torque. All claimed more than 40mpg, but slashing around five seconds from the 0-62mph time compared to the smallest engine it was clear that the

1.6 was a far stronger performer and the better option if you planned on using the Roomster’s carrying capacity to the full.

The alternative was a trio of oil-burners, from a threecylinder 1.4-litre TDI with 70bhp or 80bhp to a beefier 1.9 TDI PD unit with 105bhp and 240Nm of torque. All of them offer nigh-on 50mpg in everyday use, but bear-in-mind that being Eu4-compliant none of them will escape charges in London’s Low Emissions Zone (indeed, the same applies to any of the Roomster’s diesel engines so think hard before dismissing the petrol alternatives).

Mild efficiency improvements followed over the next few years – Skoda claimed the 2008 1.4 TDI was the lowest-emitting MPV in the UK at the time – until the 2010 facelift that saw the original 1.4/1.6-litre petrol engines replaced with notably more economical 1.2 TSI units with outputs up to 105bhp.

The diesel choice was now a 1.6 TDI common-rail unit with 90bhp or 105bhp and the promise of 60mpg, and all were now Eu5-compliant.

The only other notable addition was the economy-focused Greenline II model of 2010 which featured a 3-cylinder, 55bhp 1.2-litre common-rail diesel claiming 67.3mpg and 109g/km

CO2 emissions. That was thanks to a Stop-start system, energy recuperation, low resistance tyres and a gear-shift indicator.