Skoda Scout road test -gather round the camp fire, lads

The British Steam Challenge, Charles Burnett's bid to beat the land speed record for a kettle is a classic story of men In sheds led by a visionary with a good strong hammer.
The original record of 127.7mph was set by Fred Marriot in 1907 driving, or puffing or whatever, a Stanley Steamer, which sounds like it may have also done a nice line in healthy vegetables.
This latest attempt is a Boys Own story of Empire-building ingenuity with the added dash of romance that the test driver of Primus One is Don Welsh, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell.
Actually, the car is called Inspiration and essentially water is boiled using camping gas. No trees were injured in the making of this car.
On the face of it this should be welcome. But it's not. Before you can say Stephenson this idea will be taken up by the barmy green army and James Watt and his inspirational cup of tea paraded as the saviours of the age.
For heaven's sake be careful. The lethal combination of camping stoves and water has turned countless car boots into blazing saunas in English lay-bys.
An everyday steam car is not new ground. In 1996 VW developed ZEE, a steam engine designed to fit in a Skoda Fabia.
Bringing things nicely to another Skoda. The Octavia Scout.
The Scout is an alternative, for those who need some low key 4x4 scrambling ability, to the ubiquitous crossover.
Riding 40mm higher than the standard Octavia estate we are talking gravelly caravan capers here, this is not one for muddy farming types who get their cloth caps off ebygum-bay.
Powering all this a a choice of two-litre petrol of turbodiesel engine. The six-speed petrol Scout reaches 60mph in 10 seconds, tops out at 122mph and averages 35mpg. At 207 gm/km you will be paying tax in band F.
Traction is by an automatic clutch which kicks in the all-wheel drive when it detects slippage.
On the road it's sharp enough with plenty of mid-range power in reserve. Strandard 17 inch alloys make for a firm ride but you won't arrive home feeling you have gone a week on a camel.
Equipment is a big plus. The list of braking and traction aids reads like companies in the banking sector. ESP, ABS, MBA, MSR, ASR, EDL, HBA. You tell me.
There is also privacy galss, parking sensors, cruise, lots of chromed prettiness, electric windows, air bags and the famed Jumbo Box , an air conditioned storage compartment betweenthe front seats wth an MP3 socket for cool music.
There are a lot of good things cooking at Skoda these days. With an acceptable level of options, sat nav and Xenon headlights steering for instance, fitted to FSi its cost heads towards £20,000. Umm, the Scout may be a tasty alternative to crossovers but it's not one to get all steamed up over.