Czech manufacturer’s big, frugal hatchback offers impressively low running costs without compromise This jolly green giant is the eco-champion in the Skoda Octavia range. Officially, the manufacturer calls this the ‘Greenline III’ but, unlike the third installment of the Godfather trilogy, this big hatchback is even more brilliant at what it does than the two versions that preceded it.The headline performance figures aren’t measured in bhp and lb ft, but in mpg and g/km. According to Skoda’s own statistics, the 1.6-litre TDI CR engine under the bonnet of the Octavia Greenline – the same basic lump as in some other variants – returns 88.3mpg on the combined cycle and emits just 85g/km of CO2. By comparison, the Octavia Greenline II achieved 64.2mpg and 114g/km.Those figures make the Octavia Greenline an attractive proposition for company car drivers. It sits in vehicle excise duty band A, meaning it is free from car tax, and attracts a benefit-in-kind rating of 13 per cent. That means a 40 per cent tax payer would be eligible to pay £1125 per year in company car benefit.In this variant, the engine produces 5bhp more than the one in the standard 1.6-litre TDI Octavia and is connected to a six-speed manual gearbox with long ratios instead of the regular car’s five-speed ’box.As is common with eco-biased models, the Skoda Octavia Greenline comes with a raft of features focused on reducing its fuel consumption to a mere sip.It has low rolling resistance tyres fitted to 16in alloy wheels, stop-start, mildly sleeker aerodynamics and a brake energy recuperation system. This variant also has a Greenline logo on the gearstick. We’re not certain what the benefit is, but perhaps it reminds drivers to execute fuel-saving cog-shifts between the six ratios.
from Autocar RSS Feed http://ift.tt/R8WJxD
via
IFTTT
