Things as a Skoda owner I'm sick and tired of hearing

For the last two and a half years, I’ve owned a Skoda, the first being a Fabia Monte Carlo estate, then another normal fabia estate before moving onto a Mk1 Octavia which tragically died. Now I’m the owner of my fourth and fifth Skoda, a Mk1 Octavia and a Mk2 FL Octavia VRS. You could say that I’m pretty much a Skoda fanboy which is probably very accurate seeing as I’ve owned 5 of them in that space of time. But if there’s one thing about being a Skoda lover that really grinds my gears, is the amount of stick and annoying things people say about them, and I’ve devised a list of things that as a Skoda owner, I’m sick and tired of hearing.

"Oi Mate, you a Taxi?"

So the most obvious one for me, for those who may not know, possibly one of the most recognizable taxi on the streets of the UK is a Skoda. Now this may not sound like a problem. But when you pick up your drunk mates in town at 2am in the morning, the most common phrase to be uttered from my lips is “Sorry, I’m not a taxi”. Now this is parted of with either a “OK fair enough mate” or someone who may know a thing or two about car would say “Mate, it’s a Skoda, you must be a taxi.” Just because it’s a Skoda, doesn’t instantly make it a Taxi.

It's a poor mans Volkswagen

Aaah yes this one, while it is true that in the early days of VW ownership, Skoda was considered being the cheaper brand to VW, today its seen as being pretty much on par in in some cases better than it’s cousin from Wolfsburg, and as well as being a slightly more respected manufacturer in recent times too (apart from Dieselgate, but we’ll gloss over that fact)

they're so unreliable and a total laughing stock

The 80s, a time when Peugeot were a respected brand for building cars that could cross the desert with no problem whatsoever, meanwhile in Eastern Europe, Skoda’s were a total laughing stock. The old jokes where the best “what do you call a Skoda with a sunroof? A Skip”. “What do you a Skoda with twin exhausts? A Wheelbarrow.” or my favorite: “A man walks into Halfords and says “I’d like a windscreen wiper for my Skoda Please?” the man behind the counter says “That sounds like a fair swap”.

Now days, Skoda’s are a serious carmaker with a reputation for good honest cars, and many varieties of tuning capeabilities, unlike peugeots, which just crash a lot and break down all the time.

Why a Skoda? Why not just go and buy a Volkswagen?

Eurgh, here we go again, as DJ Khaled once said “Another one”. Its funny this because when I do get heckled for driving a Skoda, it’s usually done by people who drive Golfs and Audi A3s, so isn’t it really a little bit hypocritical that you slam an Octavia for being crap when its really the same car?

Reason I would have a Skoda over a VW is that it’s the same quality and machinary, for less, you go through auto trader or gumtree, and you’ll probably find cleaner and more mechanically sound Skoda’s than VWs for the same price, just because the badge is different, doesn’t make it any worse.

They're driven by old people

Ok so fair enough, there is a reasonable amount of Skoda Owners in the UK who are of the retirement variety, but look at how old a lot of Honda and Nissan drivers are, jump on that bandwagon why don’t you. But in more recent years, Skodas have been appealing to the younger audience, cheap insurance, funky looks, good driving style, it’s not the old peoples car, its starting to become a young persons choice.

I bet you can't pull with a Skoda

for the record:

1. I’ve towed my own car out of the mud, as well as my mates Peugeot when it gave up the ghost, and it totally destroyed a Vauxhall Astra in a tug of war contest.

2. Girls surprisingly dig the Skodas I’ve had, so, boom!

in conclusion, yes, it can pull, not just chicks, but people out of trouble too.

So thats it really, these are the things as a Skoda owner I have to put up with and somehow keep a sane mind, I may joke about them, but they do mean a lot to me. And to prove my last point, I end this post with a picture to prove that yes, chicks do dig the Skoda.