Beyond the Usual Choices: A Closer Look at Skoda Octavia Combi TDI

One of the biggest differences between these two cars is that while the Skoda Octavia RS TDi —whether or not it is a Combi— is a specific model, the BMW 320d gains specificity depending on the optional elements that we mount, and on the tested unit that you see in the photos BMW seems to have thrown the house out of the window: almost everything aimed at conceiving a car with a more dynamic appearance and sportier performance has been added as an option, so basically we are dealing with two vehicles with the same spirit and philosophy. Of course, differentiated by many nuances.

With the intention of reflecting the true essence and personality of each brand and model, for the BMW we have opted for a propulsion version —there is also an xDrive for 2,550 euros more—, while Skoda explores the versatility of its model not only in the functional area, but also dynamic, combining its RS finish with a 4x4 all-wheel drive. An apparently double-edged sword for an apparently greater weight than its rival that could diminish the qualities of a sedan with sporty aspirations, and because it could make it lose one of the great advantages of this model, its unbeatable price —more than that, the huge difference that exists between them. But if on the one hand, the scale confirms a lot fewer kilos in favor of the Czech car, on the other, the reality is that the price difference widens even more as we configure a 320d Touring in the image and likeness of the Octavia Combi RS TDi.

This model and version of Skoda is quite a temptation, although at the close of this article, they confirm bad news regarding the continuity of the RS Combi within the Octavia range: although it will remain in force, it will be momentarily discontinued and will accept orders punctual according to the availability of components, something that at the moment does not happen with the gasoline version. It would be a real shame to lose such a car although the C sticker attached to its front window I don't think is going to give it much breathing room in the near future. After the introductions, it's time to roll up your sleeves and analyze everything that makes these two relatives so special.

PRESSURE COOKER

Let's ignore technical similarities and differences —one of them, the micro hybridization of the BMW that provides that advantageous ECO label— between their already well-known two-liter four-cylinder diesel engines and let's go to the really common or differentiating aspects in their use. The most obvious in terms of manifestation of power is the reliance on supercharger blowing that Skoda's 2.0 TDi has to feed power to all four driving wheels, and the effect is all the greater the faster you intend to accelerate from a standstill or from low speed. In these situations, there a situation that raises some doubts because it is as if the gearbox clutches voluntarily allowed a certain amount of slippage before achieving a joint connection with the transmission.

In practice, you will feel that the engine revs more than expected and desirable while the car literally remains stuck until, suddenly, power is transmitted to the wheels and the car acquires the desired acceleration starting to leave meters behind. and meters at the same voracious pace that his rival would. Verified that effect, which is not impressive, in the telemetry of our "fifth wheel", they are actually tenths that if they are eternal in an acceleration test, which you will rarely do on the open road, in more normal and usual conditions they double that time of reaction and force you not to let your guard down when, for example, joining a roundabout with a somewhat tight space - I have had to abort more than one similar maneuver - or do the same at a Stop starting from a standstill. Once that obstacle has been overcome, it recovers, as I tell you, the strength and drive that its two good hundred horsepower and the abundant torque that it also offers at low revs possess.

It is something that does not happen, or almost completely dilutes, with the car already minimally launched and that I think is due in equal parts to the greater need for blowing that its supercharger has compared to the BMW engine and also self-protection for safeguarding the transmissions —in exchange, as has been said, for a slight and controlled clutch slippage— and achieving, at the same time, more progressive acceleration from low gears. Yes, there is some pleasantness left in use, especially in urban driving. It forces you to be somewhat aware to avoid compromising situations but seen from another perspective, what a mechanical personality this operation brings to the Octavia!, even more so if we have activated the virtual sound function —Sport mode or personalized configuration in Individual mode— that Accompanies the acceleration "empty", without effective arrival of power, with a pleasant and serious gurgling of a fat engine and Percheron.

Really stimulating. By the way, run go if this Octavia RS TDi runs, as much as the BMW does, recovering once it "takes breath" the tenths and meters lost in the start, always with a feeling of great strength and power. More at a normal circulation rate than fast, the change has left us hanging on occasion or other, doubting which gear is appropriate for that specific situation and causing the occasional jerk. Driving fast, the handicap is a wide jump from third to fourth gear where the engine revs more than desirable, although the strength of this 2.0-liter allows it to easily recover from this "trap" that has been imposed. In any case, the ease of getting the full potential of this engine is commendable, either for pure performance or because the chassis also makes it easy for you to maintain very attacking driving if desired. By the way, it is a luxury to be able to control the temperatures of all the vital organs of the engine or even the transmission at all times, something that is greatly appreciated in a car that many drivers will give a sovereign beating or subject to marathon tests. on highway.

"MICROBALLAST"

Let's link with the BMW engine to give way to the consumption comparison. And no, this engine is not perfect either, but it almost borders on honors if we value in its fair measure what it runs, its feel and operation, and how little it spends. Actually, the particularities to question are not due so much to the engine itself but to how its micro hybridization affects certain conditions of use, but let's go by parts. It remains one of the most explosive turbodiesels at this power level. Its ease of turning up and the strength and oiliness that it also has at very low revs are still characteristic, but micro hybridization also provides certain side effects that have just convinced us completely.

One of them affects the operation of the brake pedal: it is simply unmanageable to drive in the city, without any tact to modulate the braking at low speed. Another equally affects consumption on the highway —or any road where you drive at average speeds of between 80 and 100 km/h— and homogeneity in the rhythm you want to keep when you drive smoothly to the "trantran" taking advantage of the inertia of the car, and the two things are closely related to each other.

And it is that, at these speeds it is somewhat difficult to maintain a stable rhythm in anticipation of the track because the retention offered by the battery recharge in regenerative phases slows down the advance more than is desirable, forcing the car to constantly relaunch to recover the cruising rhythm. It is true that it has different programming in which this micro ballast is seen more or less clearly, and that it also depends on the type of road, the traffic -it also has adaptive operation taking advantage of the information from the radars- or the driving mode, but The effect is there and when the small lithium-ion battery that uses the 48-volt network runs out, it reappears, increasing the engine braking effect. In a way, the Octavia RS TDi offers similar operating characteristics in its ECO mode, where the inertial advance function is activated that occasionally leaves the engine at idle while we do not accelerate, but it is as simple as going directly from this program that, said Incidentally, it makes the engine respond in a somewhat lazier way.

Precisely for this reason, this BMW has "misplaced" us when it comes to making the different consumption paths until we find the "magic key"... and no, it is not using the EcoPro mode. Of course, go ahead that this car, both actually, spend very little, but after signing an extraordinarily good consumption on the highway —rhythms nailed between 120 and 130 marker—, we are completely unbalanced by means of more than 5 l/ 100 km on the highway —variable rhythms between 80 and 100 km/h—. Something doesn't match... Right?

On the highway, the two engines in general, but the BMW one more in particular, seem to have that sweet spot of performance just at 120 real km/h, spinning low revs in the optimal torque zone. You feel it in the "rhythm" of the engine, it is where it sounds the finest, almost without any vibration, almost without mechanical noise that could disturb the atmosphere inside the cabin. And already from these speeds, without such a great effect of energy recovery when you stop accelerating, being able to take advantage of, then yes, many and many meters of advance by pure inertia without almost losing speed. In this case, the resistance of the all-wheel drive Octavia RS is much more noticeable. At these rates, or rather, at the mechanical rate that the engine rotates and with its long eighth gear engaged, the BMW also guarantees greater mechanical reactivity than the Czech car.

Its instantaneous consumption is the best demonstration that we travel taking advantage of one hundred percent of the mechanical performance potential that the engine offers in terms of efficiency. We have come to sign quite favorable averages on motorways with a layout of 4.1 l/100 km after having traveled 160 km, but our usual route, more demanding in terms of altimetry, finally leaves a much more representative and realistic average of 4, 9 l/100 km, a truly impressive value for the dynamic qualities of the 320d Touring. But let's go back to the more changing rhythms of the road. To the already mentioned resistance to the advance of micro hybridization is added a constant set of gears between the sixth and eighth, a constant relaunch of its more than 1,700 kilos, also the roller effect of its optional wheels with different measurements on the rear axle and large section rubber in contact with the ground. To spend less here, you have to drive something more "on the attack".

And so we have verified it in three different routes, the slowest of them, concluding 145 km with an average of 5 l/100 km, feeling that sometimes there is a lack of fluidity and mechanical self-confidence to drive that calm; curious. Two additional routes taking more initiative in driving, taking advantage of its impeccable behavior to not slow down in almost 75 percent of the curves, and punctually using the gearbox in manual mode to maintain a higher gear than what the car understands as optimal. we ended up signing better consumption averages than that first record: 4.6 l/100 km was, finally, our reference value for the BMW, two-tenths less than an also meritorious Skoda Octavia Combi RS TDi, always more homogeneous on all routes.

The biggest handicap for the Skoda car will be the rigorous city, either because of its disadvantages in use as it is a C label, because of somewhat higher consumption, or because of its lazier reaction when it comes to putting the car in motion. , but also with it, you will cover almost a thousand kilometers using a single tank if you drive them as if they were conventional family sedans capable of offering you extremely high comfort and pleasure of use. But they also have another side, the sporty, stimulating driving that you can experience at the controls of either of these two cars, especially if the layout is minimally wide and chains long straights with long-support curves because that is really their natural habitat.

BOOK

A normal BMW 320d Touring changes substantially in appearance and dynamic performance with the M-Sport package, at a cost of 3,118 euros, and a previous step is necessary to add the M-Sport Pro package for an additional 1,778 euros. Basically, it is the car that you are seeing in the photos, complemented by the variable adaptive suspension and a set of 19-inch wheels with 225/45 R19 tires on the front axle and 255/35 R19 on the rear. Thus, externally, this imposing family car is characterized by the aforementioned set of wheels that leave the bodywork very close to the tires, glossy black exterior trim, red brake calipers, M rear spoiler, and other small great details. Inside, the pedals, door sills, and M belts stand out, a different upholstery with sports seats upholstered in Alcántara and Sensatec —different from the leather ones in our car—, the aluminum applications on the dashboard or the sunroof, while At the chassis level, the M-Sport suspension in the optional package is linked to variable sport steering, further adding to our adaptive suspension unit.

They are, without a doubt, elements that make it a completely different car from how you buy it as standard. The Skoda, for its part, arrives already atomized by its RS finish with a wolf aspect that for the test unit has been complemented with 19-inch wheels in size 225/45 R19 —between 705 and 820 euros depending on the design — and 475 euros for the DCC adaptive suspension, a real gift for how little it costs and how well it works. With this wickerwork, these two cars cannot have a more common personality... and be so different at the same time.

As a starting point, both are superb vehicles for traveling at the pace of the German highway without sacrificing an iota of functionality offered by any other version of the range, with superb poise and supreme comfort if you properly adjust the different configurations that their suspensions, although in this sense, we do not fully understand the concept applied by BMW: Comfort and Sport have an "ad hoc" configuration clearly differentiated by their rigidity and there is no place to choose one firmness or another if you decide to configure your parameters from the Individual mode, from where you can adjust the engine, transmission or direction to your particular criteria to establish your preferred "set-up".

Skoda, however, allows you to configure and save a configuration by modifying absolutely all the parameters that allow adjustment, among them, multiple possible steps of the variable suspension -too many from my point of view-, two of them with which they allow you to choose a greater rigidity than the one that I would select in the case of directly accessing the Sport mode, by the way, the most balanced to drive fast once you leave the city.

As I understand that your life does not pass exclusively between curves, the biggest difference between the two cars from my point of view, configured as these two units are, is that the BMW conveys a greater sensation of agility and sportiness through its chassis while the Skoda does it by temperament and the operation of its mechanics... but these extremes begin to touch once we stop traveling quietly and start exploring its true qualities.

DRIVING VS PILOTING

The Skoda is simply monolithic in a straight line and at high speed. It does not matter how you have adjusted the firmness of the damping because its ends work superbly —the most rigid one is even very comfortable for traveling if the asphalt is moderately good—, it does not matter if the pavement is curly or bumpy, but disfigured transversely because the Octavia RS only requires steering without the slightest effort. A serenity that contrasts with the characteristic nervousness of the BMW 3 Series, to a greater extent the sportier the configuration of wheels, suspension, and steering you have mounted or configured.

As it is, the 320d Touring seems a more stimulating car due to the extra stress introduced by a front axle that responds to the slightest hint or slight movement that we make with the steering wheel, such as changing our gaze to the screen to adjust the air conditioning. By geometries, falls and basic definition of the front end, the BMW also tends to "sniff" more with the nose than the Octavia RS when the road is not flat. And its short and quick body movements also generate that feeling of restlessness, of a reactive and agile car.

The Octavia is synonymous with superb stability and driveability. It's as simple as that, but I guarantee that it won't be a fun car at all. You just have to know how to measure that point where you can no longer bring the front end to the waist because it begins to open up the trajectory in the tightest turns. If you take that point, you devour curves at a frantic pace as if it were a line marker, you just have to brake at the right moment, turn to the apex and open the throttle without fear that nothing will disturb its behaviour. It is true that it moves vertically more than its rival or that even opting for the firmer regulation of its adaptive damping, it swings more, but no parasitic movement will detract from your confidence. And as you can imagine, the more slippery the ground is, the more confidence the Skoda driver will gain compared to the BMW driver.

For the critical thing that is the combination of wheel with rear profile 35 and suspension in Sport mode, it must be recognized that the quality of rolling of the BMW is also amazing, although it transmits the irregularities of the asphalt too clearly. For better or for worse, the BMW needs a lot of precision to be able to drive it fast without being overtaken, basically because the behavior in slow corners changes a lot depending on the point at which we accelerate and the power we apply. Breaking the adherence of the rear end with only gas is not easy due to the excellent traction that this car has with these wheels unless the ground grips little - traction control improved a lot in the previous generation and is hardly intrusive except when it is really necessary to stop the slip—or take advantage of the inertia of the car to achieve it, although it does make it easier to round off the turn if you apply a little bit of gas at the right moment.

Of course, its critical point, although only on a slow and very twisty layout, is in the front end, since if you accelerate too soon —and hard— you tend to make it drag too easily. Keeping up with the Octavia RS will imply, on this type of road, sacrificing some speed at the entrance of the curve, making a millimeter line towards the apex, and progressively applying gas as we undo the steering wheel because any erratic movement we make provides movements of much more disturbing bodywork than in the case of the Octavia, a car with a more homogeneous attitude.