The Škoda Roomster is a high-roof small family car that Škoda Auto built from 2006 to 2015 in a single generation. Styled by Thomas Ingenlath and Peter Wouda, it was praised for its interior flexibility and, with the Praktik panel van, became the practical backbone of Škoda’s small-car range before the Yeti took over the same ideas.
Škoda Roomster at a glance
| Maker | Škoda Auto, Kvasiny |
|---|---|
| Production | 2006–2015; last car 30 April 2015 |
| Factory type | 5J (Praktik 5J8) |
| Body | five-door, five-seat high-roof hatchback |
| Length | 4,205 mm; wheelbase 2,617 mm |
| Luggage | 450–530 litres, 1,555 folded, 1,780 with the seats out |
| Seats | VarioFlex, 40–20–40 split, sliding and removable |
| Engines | 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol; 1.4, 1.6 and 1.9 TDI |
| Gearboxes | five- or six-speed manual, six-speed automatic, later DSG |
| Facelift | 2010 |
| Praktik | two-seat panel van from March 2007 |
History of the Škoda Roomster
From concept to Kvasiny
The production Roomster grew out of a concept car of the same name shown at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2003. The study was slightly shorter than the production car, 4,055 mm against 4,205 mm, but had a longer wheelbase and a single sliding rear door on the passenger side, which gave way to two conventional doors. The production car was presented at Geneva in March 2006 and went on sale in the Czech Republic on 1 June 2006; for its first month 843 cars were delivered. It was assembled in Kvasiny, where from 2007 it ran on three shifts with one car leaving the line every six minutes, between 120 and 136 a day. In 2011 production moved to Vrchlabí and in 2013 it returned to Kvasiny. Škoda departed from its ‘one platform for many cars’ rule with the Roomster, preferring to differentiate the model from its group sisters; it shared the PQ34 platform and components with the second-generation Fabia.
The VarioFlex interior
The Roomster’s selling point was its cargo arrangement, marketed as VarioFlex. The three rear seats split 40–20–40, could slide lengthways and, once the middle seat was removed, move sideways to give two passengers more room; they reclined up to seven degrees, folded forward or came out altogether to leave a flat floor. The load surface itself could be raised or lowered by 250 mm. At launch the engines came from the Volkswagen Group: a three-cylinder 1.2 of 47 kW, later 51 kW, the 1.4 of 63 kW and the 1.6 of 77 kW with an optional six-speed automatic, plus three-cylinder 1.4 TDI diesels of 51 and 59 kW and a 1.9 TDI of 77 kW. Buyers could combine body colours with a white, black or silver roof, and a Scout version with off-road styling appeared late in 2006. A single-piece panoramic sunroof was optional.
Facelift, Praktik and the end
The facelifted Roomster was shown at Geneva in 2010 with a revised front end, new fog lights, a new steering wheel and revised headlamp internals. The 1.4 and 1.6 MPI petrol engines were replaced by 1.2 TSI units with better consumption and lower CO2, the Aisin automatic gave way to a seven-speed DSG and the diesels moved to common rail with four valves per cylinder; the GreenLine version with the 55 kW 1.2 TDI used 4.2 l/100 km and emitted 109 g/km. The Praktik, launched in March 2007, was a five-door two-seater panel van with 1,900 litres of load space, a payload of 550 to 640 kg, a movable bulkhead and a full-length roof rack; it was never sold in right-hand-drive markets. A second-generation Roomster based on the Volkswagen Caddy was developed and then cancelled in December 2015, with about 100 prototypes built, so that Škoda could concentrate on the Kodiaq. The last Roomster left Kvasiny on 30 April 2015.
Design and features
- VarioFlex seating: three separate rear seats that slide, recline, fold or come out completely.
- Tall body: a high roof and deep glass give more headroom and boot space than a conventional hatchback.
- Group engines: petrol and diesel units shared with the rest of the Volkswagen range.
- Praktik van: a two-seat commercial version with 1,900 litres of load space.
Škoda Roomster versions
- Roomster (2006–2010): the original range with 1.2 to 1.9 engines.
- Roomster Scout: off-road styling package from late 2006.
- Roomster (2010–2015): facelifted car with 1.2 TSI engines and DSG.
- Roomster GreenLine: 1.2 TDI with 4.2 l/100 km.
- Praktik (2007–2015): panel van version, Type 5J8.
The Roomster shared its platform with the Škoda Fabia and its seating ideas passed to the Škoda Yeti. More cars are in the Škoda collection.
Video: Nissan Note vs. Skoda Roomster – Vergleich – Test
Video by Motorvision Deutschland on YouTube.
Sources
- Škoda Roomster, English Wikipedia: development, VarioFlex, engines, facelift, Praktik
- Škoda Roomster, Czech Wikipedia: sales dates, production rates, dimensions, end of production
