Distance: 2,771 km
Dates: 20 Dec to 3 Jan, 2025
Location: Poland
Up front: The premium cloth seats are comfortable and both front seats are power operated. The Harmon/Kardon audio system is balanced but there’s no wireless AppleCarplay. The benefit of a wired system is that it connects instantly every time.
Climate controls are on the screen in a permanent position, so it could have been physical buttons for added safety. There is also no one-touch adjustment for instrument panel brightness or to turn off the auto engine start/stop feature.
In the back: While the front row has two USB-C outlets, there is no way for rear passengers to charge their electronic devices. The rear bench also doesn’t recline, which in other premium cars doubles as adjusting boot space.
The boot can fit three medium suitcases, but they won fit under the hard load cover. There is also nowhere else to store the hard cover since it won’t fit under the false floor. There’s also no button to set the opening height for the tailgate, which would be a plus in low parking lots in Europe.
Driving: The mild hybrid paired with a three-cylinder only has 163 horsepower, making it two seconds slower and 20% less powerful than the cheapest Skoda Octavia mild hybrid. Since all the power goes to the front wheels, the tires spin on hard acceleration. The turbo also takes a good half a second before chipping in extra power, making highway overtaking a chore.
While this powertrain was good enough to compete with Infiniti and Acura when it was first released in 2017, it’s no longer competitive in the hatchback class.
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