Want an affordable family car with more space than most and relatively good looks? Chances are you're looking at the Skoda Octavia III. Of course, auto reviews will tell you that the best engine to have is a 2.0-liter TDI diesel, with good fuel economy and power, but we know it's also very expensive.
The engine we'd get is the new 1.4 TSI with 140 horsepower. It's a brand new engine belonging to the EA888 family and has cylinder deactivation, making it quite the fuel sipper. Depending on where you buy it, it's only about €3,000 more expensive than the basic 1.2 TSI 86 and in most countries is cheaper than the 1.6 TDI despite being just as frugal.
But the really awesome thing about this engine is that it's got tons of performance on hand. Official figures say 0 to 100 km/h takes 8.4 seconds and top speed is a respectable 215 km/h.
Howver, we've found two owner-videos where the Octavia III 1.4 TSI impresses. In one of them, The standard sprint takes just 8.1 seconds, indicating this is one seriously fast car for what you're paying.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News