The affordable new Skodas and VWs, ranked
With COE prices on the rise again this week, Skoda and Volkswagen’s latest cars are making a timely entry. Which one should you score on the rebound?
OBVIOUSLY the laws of gravity don’t apply to the Certificate Of Entitlement (COE) market, where what goes down must come up. After falling sharply in late May, COE premiums rebounded this week, presumably causing pain to would-be car buyers (to say nothing of the grief sellers must feel).
Volkswagen Group Singapore might have an analgesic. In fact, the dealership for Skoda, Volkswagen and now Cupra (the sporty arm of Spanish brand Seat) could have four.
These antidotes for high COE prices come in the form of cars that sneak under the engine size and horsepower thresholds that determine whether a car can be registered with a Category A certificate, instead of the Category B one meant for relatively powerful cars. The former tends to be cheaper – this week’s COE auction saw prices for Category A and B land at S$98,001 and (are you sitting down?) S$120,702, respectively.
Sourcing cars with engines suitable for Category A is hardly a strategy that’s unique to Skoda and Volkswagen. For years, Audi, BMW and Mercedes have pulled off the same trick, with varying degrees of success.
Now it’s Skoda’s and Volkswagen’s turn. Both brands recently introduced four Category A versions of existing cars (five, if you count two variants of the VW Golf), and unleashed them on the motoring press with an epic drive halfway up Johor state, through rural back roads of the interior and then down along the South China Sea to the Desaru coast.
The aim? To show that cars with little under the bonnet can still be fun to drive, even to horsepower junkies. After long hours behind the wheel, The Business Times ranks them all.
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Fourth: Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TSI R-Line
The baby of VW’s sport utility vehicle range, the T-Cross is compact enough to be a doddle to drive, even in tight parking spaces, yet it’s still a roomy car inside. The back in particular offers a surprising amount of headroom and legroom, although three adults might find it tight because the T-Cross isn’t a wide car.
Up front, hard plastics are a reminder that the cabin was built down to a cost, and some controls (such as the gearlever and physical air-con buttons) make it look dated. The car’s compact footprint means the dashboard feels slightly squished toward the front occupants, too. But the T-Cross is a masterclass in how to make a car’s controls feel easy to use, and navigating its controls feels intuitive.
With 115 horsepower, the 1.0-litre turbo engine gives the T-Cross a decent amount of pep, particularly in city traffic. It’s the car’s pillowy handling that puts it in last place on our ranking of the Skodas and VWs here. You can get just as much versatility from the other cars here, but with a nicer drive, although at S$165,900 (with COE), the T-Cross is tempting for the high-rise real estate alone.
Third: Volkswagen Golf 1.5 eTSI
Surprise, surprise, the iconic Volkswagen Golf only gets third place here. Fans of the car might be incredulous, given its place in motoring history as a handsome, solidly-built and fun-to-drive hatchback.
Sure enough, on the twistiest back roads of Johor, the Golfs were easily the most engaging of the bunch, combining the best ride quality with the tautest handling and reassuring surefootedness. The communicative steering made it a joy to exploit the Golfs’ playful agility, too.
That’s Golfs (plural) because Volkswagen offers two versions in Category A, with the entry-level Golf Life priced at S$175,900 and a better-equipped Life Plus trim costing S$8,000 more.
But with manual seats upholstered in cloth (apparently for sustainability’s sake), a relatively small infotainment screen and manual tailgate, both can feel basic. No complaints about the peppy 1.5-litre engine, however. It feels energetic yet sips slowly from the tank, doubtless aided by a mild hybrid electric system that boosts the acceleration.
Yet, with the smallest boot and the least cabin room in this company, the Golf feels most like something for the driver first and the family man, second. In the more budget-minded Category A segment, the Skodas offer more car for the money.
Second: Skoda Scala 1.0 TSI
For a compact car, the Skoda Scala isn’t all that compact. In fact, it has an enormous boot for its class, plus plenty of rear legroom, courtesy of stretched proportions that make it more like a small station wagon than a hatchback.
Traditional gearlever aside, its cabin feels very contemporary, and its controls get the physical-digital balance just right to make things both easy to use and pleasing to the eye.
In the top-of-the-line Monte Carlo trim, the Scala might seem steep at S$178,900, but it does offer plenty of kit: dual-zone climate control, an electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, a powered tailgate, a panoramic roof, plus a cosmetic bodykit with sporty black trim and 18-inch wheels.
The 109-horsepower engine feels flaccid at high revs, but with sporty tyres the Scala itself clings to tarmac with enough tenacity to keep up a heroic pace through corners, despite its soft suspension.
Cheaper versions with less equipment are available, starting at S$153,900, but the Monte Carlo best embodies the plucky underdog spirit that seems to define Skoda as a brand.
First: Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI e-TEC
At S$174,900, the Skoda Octavia is hands down the best all-rounder of the bunch, and easily one of the best ways to get the very most bang for your motoring buck. It’s the largest car here and feels like it, meaning it trades some agility for generous cabin room and an enormous boot.
But beyond mere size, the Octavia also offers the classiest travel, especially in the test car’s Style trim. Soft-touch plastics, shards of chrome, adjustable cabin lighting and solid build quality all give the cabin a premium feel. Its digital instruments are plain but clear, while its 10-inch touchscreen system is a joy to use.
Other worthwhile features include eight airbags (two more than the other cars here) and wireless smartphone connectivity.
Despite being the biggest and best-equipped car of this bunch, the Octavia manages to be the most fuel efficient, too. Some of that is down to the mild hybrid system, which also helps the low-end acceleration, although the Skoda is by no means a fast car. Still, the Octavia 1.0 is a pure value champion that belongs on the must-consider list of family car hunters in Category A. Ultimately, it exemplifies how a litre goes a long way.
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