Our favourite classic Skodas

Like some other classic car brands – hello Triumph, Rover, Peugeot – the Czech automotive giant Skoda started out producing bicycles. For much of the 20th Century, however, Skoda produced a series of well-liked, affordable cars for the Czech domestic market and beyond.

By the 1980s, some of the Skoda range was starting to look and feel a little tired, and the brand found itself the butt of jokes here in the UK. Despite that, Skodas were still relatively common sights on Britain's roads at the time.

History – and the firm's wholesale reinvention under Volkswagen – has been kind, however, and now some of the models from that time, such as the Rapid coupe, have 'classic car' status attached to them. Own a Skoda Rapid these days and you'll be looking after it – using it sparingly, and protecting it with some specialist classic car cover.

Here are some of our favourite Skodas from down the decades.

Skoda Popular (1933-1946)

The entry into the Skoda range, beneath the larger Favorit and Superb models, the Popular was one of the first of the marque's cars to benefit from independent all-around suspension. This trio of models took Skoda from its position as Czechoslovakia's third biggest-selling car maker in 1933, to pole position just three years later.

Displacing 902 cubic centimetres (cc) and producing 18 horsepower, the Popular was available in various formats including saloon, four-seater convertible, and two-seater roadster, plus a commercial van.

In 1934, seven Czech drivers – including a professor, a baron, and a racing driver – drove four Popular soft-tops all the way from Czechoslovakia to India, taking four months to enjoy the scenery.

Two years later, a Popular entered the Monte Carlo Rally, managing a second-place finish in the 1,500-cc class. Off the back of this success, Skoda cannily offered the Popular Monte Carlo variant, featuring a 1,386-cc engine that put out 31 horsepower.

Skoda 1000MB (1964-1969)

If you mentioned Skoda in the same breath as Germany's hallowed Porsche back in the 1980s, you'd probably have been laughed out of the garage. However, the comparison can readily be made – specifically between Skoda's good-looking Sixties saloon, the 1000MB, and the iconic Porsche 911, launched the very same year.

Yes, the two cars both shared a major engineering feature. As its name indicated, and like the Porsche, the 1000MB featured a 1000-centilitre, rear-mounted engine. That engine size meant that this was no performance car, but add in a four-speed gearbox and independent front and rear suspension and the 1000MB became a tidy little handler, with driving manners to match its neat, good looks.

The 1000MB was full of admirable little touches, too. We love how one of the smart little badges on the front wing also functions as a fuel cap – and the way that the flush front grille hinges downwards, revealing the 1000MB's spare wheel inside.

Skoda 110R (1970-1980)

The Alfa Romeo Montreal, the Citroen SM; the Range Rover, the DeTomaso Pantera and the MK3 Cortina. Yes, the year 1970 introduced some bold and brilliant new designs into the automotive industry.

Does Skoda's little 110R coupé earn its place in such exalted company? For us, yes it does. For one thing, Skoda stayed loyal to the rear-wheel drive format while, this side of the Iron Curtain, the car manufacturers of Western Europe were migrating to front-wheel drive in their droves.

Then there are those looks. Of the cars produced by Skoda at the dawn of that decade – which also included the 100 and 110 saloons – the 110R was definitely the most stylish, with its steeply raked rear windscreen and long rear overhang.

Indeed, in profile, the car has a dash of an early 1970s Alfa Romeo – and certainly has more style than we tend to associate with this solid, but hardly pulse-raising marque. Those grilles above the rear wheel arches are a lovely slice of early 1970s flamboyance, too.

Skoda Rapid (1984-1990)

Hang on – so after acknowledging that Skoda were something of an automotive joke during the 1980s, we're including, in our list of classic Skodas, one of its most recognisable cars from that low period?

Well, yes. You see, while its saloon sibling, the Estelle, was not particularly well-loved, the Rapid coupe won itself a loyal following from the off.

Once again, those slightly improbable Porsche comparisons were bandied about. Autocar magazine dubbed the car "a beginners' course to the Porsche 911", thanks again to that rear-mounted engine and rear wheel drive.

That, in turn, got the car its popular (and ironic) label of "the poor man's Porsche". And indeed, the Rapid and Estelle (or 105/120/125 as they were known on the Continent) did stack up large quantities of rally wins during the late 1970s and 1980s, lending a certain sporty cachet to the Skoda name.

There was even a convertible version for the UK market: the cars were imported from Czechoslovakia and converted by Kentish firm Ludgate Design & Development, then sold through Skoda dealerships. At £5,000, this was your cheapest way into the convertible sector back in 1985.

Skoda Felicia II (1994-2001)

Not necessarily remembered as a classic Skoda, the 1990s Felica was nonetheless something of a watershed car for the marque. For one thing, its appearance coincided with Skoda's takeover by the VW Group, meaning that the little Felicia was both the last Skoda built on one of the company's own platforms, and the first one to benefit from the new association with an efficient, powerful German automotive giant.

The Felicia was, in fact, an update of Skoda's previous small family hatch, the Favorit. The latter, a rather boxy 80s small hatchback, was given a more up-to-date look, with a more attractive front end and a bigger choice of engines, including 1.3 and 1.6-litre petrols and (another first for Skoda) a chunky 1.9-litre diesel.

Volkswagen had purchased Skoda in 1993, and one of its first moves was to demand that the then-current Favorit hatchback get an update and move slightly upmarket from its bargain-basement reputation. Those 1980s Skoda jokes were still a vivid memory, and VW wanted to drag the brand upmarket.

After the Felicia, work would begin on a range of VW-based Skodas, spearheaded by the excellent Fabia and Octavia. The Felicia was, then, both the last 'true' Skoda and, in its step-up in quality from the Favorit, a taste of things to come.

As well as that first diesel engine, the Felicia boasted some other firsts, including some new safety and convenience features that its 1980s and 1990s predecessors were notably lacking – such as air conditioning, anti-lock brakes and a driver's airbag.

It was a fine and much-loved car and was quite a common fixture on Britain's roads in the 1990s and 2000s – especially among both first-time drivers and older, less image-conscious owners. These owners tended to do serious miles in their Felicias, meaning that most of them were driven to the ends of their lives and relatively few survive today.

The site Carlogbook gives us a figure of 1,734 Felicias still owned in the UK, either on the roads or laid-up. Many of those still around may have been home serviced (Haynes published a Skoda Felicia manual in March 1999), meaning that some short cuts may have been taken, so it's a good idea to have any Felicia looked over by a professional before you buy.

We also like the fact that the car got its official launch on Prague's iconic Charles Bridge. The latter helped Prague to become an important trading connection between Eastern and Western Europe and, similarly, the Felicia bridges the gap between Skoda's Communist past and its new identity under the prosperous Volkswagen wing.

Skoda Fabia (1999-present)

The first-generation Fabia might have been the single most crucial model in overturning Skoda's image from 1980s joke to the discerning choice for budget buyers.

Launched in 1999, that first Fabia took a quantum leap in quality over even its Felicia predecessor. Skoda's new model could safely be compared to other cars in the newly dubbed supermini class, such as the Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Fiesta and the Fabia's own stablemate, the VW Polo.

This was when we were introduced to the new Skoda branding ethos: cars with identical mechanical underpinnings to their VW counterparts, often just a tad more spacious – and selling for a decent slice less. The base-level Fabia, for example, was not only cheaper than any VW Polo – it even undercut the VW from the class below, the tiny Lupo city car.

What Car?'s Car of the Year for 2000, the Fabia came in a range of engines, from a one-litre petrol right up to a 1.9-litre diesel. All proved reliable, and the car started winning Skoda the army of admirers it still has today.

Skoda Octavia vRS (2001-2019)

In its various iterations – Mk1 (2001-2004), Mk2 (2004-2013) and Mk3 (2013-19), the sporting vRS version of the large, sensible, and eminently practical Skoda Octavia has epitomised Q-car cool.

This was a car, after all, that came from the tried-and-trusted VW Group stable. Indeed, it was essentially a VW Golf, built out into larger dimensions but somehow undercutting the latter on price. It was also about as reliable and capable as you could hope for in a car – both hatchback and estate forms had massive boots, and the large, robust interior was perfect for meeting the many demands of family life.

Most engine choices in the Octavia range were clearly aimed at economy rather than fun – the Mk2, for example, had frugal 1.2 and 1.4-litre petrol engines, plus a 1.6-litre diesel. The vRS, though, has something slightly different in mind.

Available, interestingly for a 'hot hatch' engine, in both two-litre petrol and diesel guises, the vRS turned the Octavia from a sensible family car into, well, a sensible family car that could generate 197 brake horsepower (168 for the diesel) and sprint from 0-60mph in a mere 7 seconds.

The sporting variant bore a series of nicely subtle differences from its sensible siblings – a neat little vRS badge on the front grille, and a small rear spoiler. This was a potent, but sensible hot hatch whose relative understatement somehow made it all the more desirable.

We think each generation of Octavia will start lining up for classic car status as soon as it becomes a little rarer. If you're a proud Octavia owner, you'll probably still be getting many daily miles out of it – but for the future, look after it well and start looking into some insurance for your classic car.

Skoda Yeti (2009-2017)

SUVs or crossovers – those cars that look all rugged, chunky, and all-terrain, but which (often) will fare no better off-road than your standard VW Golf or Ford Focus – are huge business in the UK today. SUVs made up just over 21.2% of total vehicle sales in the UK during 2018, a huge step up from 6.6% back in 2009.

Two cars can be credited with kicking off the SUV boom: the ubiquitous Nissan Qashqai, and Skoda's engagingly chunky, foursquare Yeti.

It's difficult to appreciate now, but when the Yeti first appeared back in 2009, those very upright looks were somewhat challenging. It was nicknamed the 'Tonka truck' and, while most observers admired the looks, some found them almost too much like something a five-year-old might pull around a sandpit. Now, the Yeti's shape looks very attractive, and quite pioneering in the way it made 'rugged' something to aspire to.

Arguably, more recent SUVs – such as the Kia Sportage or Hyundai Santa Fe – haven't totally followed that lead, going for somewhat more swoopy looks that mix earthiness with elegance. However, we'll always admire the Yeti's unapologetically practical looks. And what a great name!

Classic car insurance with Lancaster

We're big admirers of the Skoda brand here at Lancaster. And we're pleased to offer classic car insurance for many of the models we've mentioned above, plus others from the marque's long history.

Whatever classic marque you favour, we'll be proud to provide classic car insurance for you.

Benefits of insuring with us can include:

• Two-year agreed valuation
• Laid-up cover
• Choice of repairer
• Car Club member discounts up to 25%
• Limit mileage discounts

Contact us today for a classic car insurance quote.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.