GONE are the days when you knew exactly what to expect from Skoda.

After almost a century of the humdrum, these days, it's a case of expect the unexpected.

And so we have the Octavia Scout, adding to what is already an expansive range of models.

Basically, a chunkier version of the Octavia with added ground clearance, the Scout aims to be a jack of all trades, equally at home on the tarmac or off it.

The car certainly looks the business, with black sideskirts, chunky bumpers and skid plates.

Its ground clearance is 40mm higher than that of the Octavia Combi and 16mm greater than the Octavia Combi 4x4.

To give an air of exclusivity, the Scout brand is embossed on the door sills and its 17-inch alloys will make it stand out equally as well in the company car park or the local agricultural show.

Its considerable load space is designed to cope with most tasks required of it, be it just lugging the monthly shop back or taking the family on holiday.

The Scout comes in two forms - the 2.0 TDI PD diesel and the 2.0 FSI petrol, both of which are four cylinder types.

The diesel, where Skoda anticipates the majority of sales will come from, comes has a diesel particle filter.

Whichever engine you choose you will find it paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Once you leave the road and hit the tracks, drivers will be thankful for the inclusion of Skoda's tried and tested fourwheel drive system.

A Haldex clutch shares drive between the front and rear axles when traction is lost.

The petrol version of the Scout is priced just shy of £17,800, while its diesel brother will set you back around £19,700.