Or, if you can, don't buy any car.
And I know, depending where you live that may not be possible.
this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
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I'm making this work, sort of, in that I live in a one-bus-a-week village but swapped my car out 3yrs back for an electric moped.
Its so much cheaper and nice that a car isn't lying around unused. I was ready to suck up the cost of hire cars/taxis but have maybe had 1 or 2 in that period.
Like you say, it has to work for you but I think most don't realise how car ownership doesn't have to be a thing
Didn't expect someone to agree who lives in a village, interesting and kudos to you! I live in suburbs of a big city with good public transport options. And whenever that's not enough there's a commercial car sharing provider at a parking space down the road. Plus cycling of course.
Simply clever
edit: Skoda is a brand I've literally only heard of (from here in Australia) because they advertise constantly on the Tour de France every year. Their tagline is burned into my brain.
This is neither a good nor a bad thing. It simply is.
One could say that their advertisement is - simply clever. Bot I might be biased Czech citizen.
There are some simply clever ideas indeed, like
- 5 little knobbies at the bottom of the drink holder, so you can open a bottle of water with one hand without looking
- a little umbrella in the door/under seat, because we never have one handy if needed
- ice scraper in the fuel cap, accessible from outside and can be stored when wet
- little plastic flap at the inside of the windshield, which can hold the parking tickets
- standard wall plug between seat
- ...
The usermanual even has a section with these simpy clever things ;-)
ice scraper in the fuel cap, accessible from outside and can be stored when wet
As an Australian, I cannot express how little I care for this feature. ๐
The other ones you mentioned sound pretty neat though.
They're nice practical cars and good value for money but a bit boring. I test drove a few recently but went for a faster VW Golf in the end because the Skoda's were a bit too bland. Same issue with Kia.
Skoda's progress is pretty impressive. In the 80s they were still producing miserable commie shitboxes. Nowadays they're on par with the other big EU manufacturers.
Not a big surprise, Skoda is fully owned by Volkswagen since 2000.
Cars can get very confusing.
My car is a German brand, at the time of production owned by Volkswagen (like so many brands). Based on an American design, produced in South Korea and "finished" in Germany. That way it could be sold as a German car, but I suspect the finishing was only paperwork and applying stickers.
I own a Skoda (and am pretty happy with it). When I bought it, the advice was basically "never buy an actual VW": Skoda and Seat are nearly identical cars at a massive discount. Why get a Golf when a Leon or Octavia is right there...
Fun fact, before commies took over, ล koda was so ahead of time with its cars. Even now that they are owned by VW, they have the best designs and quality out of the VW group.
Bit of a shame they got Volkswagened. Their cars now look roughly the same as other Volkswagens brands.
Well, it's good if you want to buy Volkswagen Quality without paying Volkswagen prices.
Exactly, I couldn't be happier with my Octavia. Well rounded, practical family hatchback with a VW engine and all the mod cons; it hasn't skipped a beat in 5 years and going strong. Will be looking to buy Skoda again next time.
Everyone likes a bit of VAG, surely? ๐
Just VW isnโt it?
Volkswagen, Volvo, Citroรซn, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mini, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lamborghini, Maserati, Koeningsegg.
I have French Skoda, aka Dacia
Good news!
Yes, but cheaper.
Skoda is part of VAG, which is currently buying engines from Ford.
Of all the Volkswagen Group brands (Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Jetta, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, ล koda) Skoda is top tier. Octavia RS wagons are one of my favorite current production cars on the road
Jetta is just a car model (VW) while Cupra is basically a model line that is sporty (Seat) at least it used to be
Nowadays Cupra is basically a brand, they don't say Seat on them anywhere. Yeah Jetta is just one VW model.
Cupra is its own brand now, they've started making cars that are not based on SEAT's lineup.
Yes and No. Jetta although being a VW model, it is also the creation of a joint venture between VWAG and FAW group, Covering only Russia, China and Iran. The brand name was chosen based on all of the car line ups originated from just being rebadged Jettas, but has since expanded to other platforms
Oh I didn't know that
Skoda are (or, were?) the go to for taxi drivers in Ireland because of their reliability. See a lot of Dacia these days
Lmao it's true, every taxi driver here drives a Skoda Octavia.
In the UK every taxi is a Prius for the same reason.
Old Mercedes is the choice for taxis in this neck o' the woods.
I also enjoy the EU meme templates
Simply clever
Most Fords are produced in Europe
Most European Fords are produced in Europe, so you are supporting local jobs and production if you buy Ford in Europe but still ultimately American owned.
Theres better and worse choices you could make if you're trying to buy european.