ŠKODAEuroTrek2016:
gravel,mudandscary
vampirestories
Onapproach,thelayerofcloudislifting.Metrebymetre,thegroundisgettingcloser.A
quickjudder,afaintscreechfromthetyres,touchdown.WelcometoRomania,orSibiuto
beprecise.Thecitywithapopulationof150,000istheculturalcentreofTransylvania–
thatmythicalregionintheheartofRomania,whichisalmostcompletelysurroundedby
theCarpathianMountainsandtheirfoothills.
O
utsideinfrontoftheterminal,averyspecialwelcomecommittee
isalreadywaiting:21ŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUTSgleamfantasticallyinthe
middaysunasiftryingtooutshineeachother.Thepaintworkisstill
ascleanasawhistle.Butthatisabouttochange.Threedaysandaround
900kilometresofadventure,mudanddirtawaitthemandtheircrews.
TheŠKODAEuroTrek2016leadsthe21two-personteamsthroughsomeofthewildest
mountainouslandscapesEuropehastooffer–fromthestartingpointinSibiu,through
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ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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theTransylvanianvalleyintodeepestTransylvania,andtotheDanubeDeltaontheBlack
Sea.Onthethreeverybeautifulandequallydemandingstages,thecrewsandtheir
vehiclesscalethesteepmountainsoftheeasternCarpathians,experienceexcitingriver
crossingsandovercomenumerouschallenges.
Oneparticularchallenge:therouteconsistslargelyofdirtroads,muddytrailsandrough
graveltracks–idealterrainfortheŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUTwitha2.0-litre,
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29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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top-of-the-rangedieselengineand6-speedDSG*[A1].Thankstoitspowerfuland
efficient135kW(184PS)engine,generousgroundclearanceandinnovativeall-wheel
drive,theversatileoff-roadestatenegotiatesdifficultgradientsandslipperypassages
withease,asitwilldemonstratemanytimesinthedaystocome.Incasetheneed
arises,thevehicle’ssparewheelandwheelchockarestrappedtotheroofrack.Afterall,
theŠKODAEuroTrekisnotawalkinthepark,butratherarealendurancetest.
Eeriebackdrop:theEuroTrekstopsoffatBranCastleindeepestTransylvaniawhereVlad
theImpalersupposedlyoncelived.Drăculea,akadracula–amust-seeforeveryhorror
fan.
Guaranteedgoosebumpsat‘Dracula’sCastle’
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29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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“LadiesandGentlemen,startyourengines.TheŠKODA
EuroTrekadventureisbeginning.”
Beyondthecityboundary,youcatchafirstglimpseofRomania’sruggedside:thewellpavedstreetsgivewaytoextremelyroughtrackswithpizza-sizedpotholes–filledto
thebrimwithwaterfromtherecentdownpour.Slalomaroundthepotholes?Notan
option.Insteadyourinnerchildawakensand,withinminutes,thefirstthick,muddy
waterdropletstracetheirwayacrossthebodyworkoftheelegantestate.Thebrilliant
silver-coloured,metallicpaintworkremainsclearlyrecognisablefornow.Butthetrip
acrossRomaniahasonlyjustbegun.
Timeandtimeagain,theall-wheel-drivevehiclespassold,horse-drawncarts–
single-axlewoodencarts,fullyladenwithhay,scrapmetalorshoppingandpulled
bysmallPanjehorses.Oldmeetsnew.Althoughonforeignsoil,theteamssomehowfeel
athome:wherevertheŠKODAEuroTrekappears,itisalwayswarmlyreceivedbylocals.
Awarmwelcomeonroughroads–hospitalityisofparamountimportanceinRomania.
Nevertheless,youmustalwayskeepyoureyesontheroad,ascountlessstraydogs,
roaminghorsesandcattlerequireyourfullattention.
Afterabouttwohours,theEuroTrekcrossesanoldrailwayviaductandbrieflystops
totakeinthepicturesquepanorama:rich-greenmeadowsshimmerdeepinthevalley
andareenthronedbythelight-blueskyabove.ThedeterminedŠKODAconvoyisnow
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ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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headingforthathorizon,asthenextwaypointisanoldagriculturalfarmbelowthe
legendaryBranCastle.AneerilybeautifullocationindeepestTransylvania,untamedand
mysteriousatthesametime.NotsurprisingbecauselegendhasitthatVladtheImpaler
or‘Drăculea’usedtolivehereinthe15thcentury.‘Dracula’sCastle’isaplace
ofpilgrimageforfansofthefamousvampire.ItsitsinthemiddleofEurope’slargest,
continuouslyforestedarea,framedbytheFăgărașmountainrangewithitsnine,snowcapped,two-and-a-half-thousand-metrepeaks.Aquickglanceupatthesky–
thankfullytherearenobatsinsight.
Upintheclouds:anoldrailwayviaduct
spansthevalleynearȘincaNouăamidstthe
picturesquecountryside.
ŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUT:all-rounderwithimpressiveoffroadcapabilities
Theworld-famousTransfăgărășanHighway,whichisamongthemostspectacular
routesontheplanet,iscloseby.Butasyouwouldexpectoftrueoff-roaders,the
ŠKODAEuroTrekisseekingadventureoffthebeatentrack.TheOCTAVIASCOUTsare
therebyleavingtheasphaltandfollowingdeserteddirtroads.Thecomfortableestate
transformsintoacleverscoutthatskilfullydemonstratesitsstrengthsondifficultterrain.
Theall-rounderhasanelectronicallycontrolledmulti-plateclutch.Thesystemreacts
toallpossibledrivingconditionswithinmillisecondsandinvariablydistributesthepower
toallfourwheelsdependingonthesituation.ThatprovidestheOCTAVIASCOUTwith
outstandingtraction,excellentdrivingdynamicsandgreatactivesafety.Whendriving
acrossdirttracks,stonesandgravel,theunderbodyprotectionofthestandardRoughRoadpackagepreventsthedrivetrainaswellasthebrakeandfuellinesfromgetting
damaged.
Thedirtroadtothenextstopoverisarelativelysteepinclinethatdoesn’toffermuch
griponasurfacesoftenedbyrain.TheŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUT’sadvancedall-wheel
drivealsoovercomesthischallengewithease.Fountainsofmudfromtheclimbers
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29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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infronthaildownonbonnetandwindscreen.Thankstotheplasticmouldings,which
comeasstandard,thebodyremainsunscathedfromthebushesandundergrowth.After
severalslipperykilometres,theOCTAVIASCOUTproudlydisplaytheirnewwarpaint:
‘Off-roadBrown’,whichyouwon’tfindonanylistoffeatures.Youhavetoearnit.Then,
theconvoysuddenlycomestoaseeminglyinsurmountablehurdle:arivermeanders
throughthepicturesquelandscape.Butthat’snottheendoftheŠKODAEuroTrek–
thankstothevehicle‘sgroundclearance,whichwasincreasedby40millimetres,the
OCTAVIASCOUTchannelsitswayconfidentlythroughthewater.
TheWildWestbeginsontheotherside:inthemiddleoftheRomanianplain,you
suddenlycatchsightofAmerican-stylecoveredwagonsandaranch–‘Maggie’sRanch’.
TheAmericanownerofthehotelofthesamenamehasbroughtasmallpiece
ofPennsylvaniatoTransylvania.AwelcomeopportunityfortheEuroTrekcowboystorest
afteralongday’sriding.
Driftworks:onthewaytotheDanubeDelta,
theŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUTprovesits
driftingabilities.
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ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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Sonnyboy:whetheronasphaltoroff-road–
theŠKODAOCTAVIASCOUTimpresseson
anyterrainwithsuperiordriving
characteristicsandahighlevelofcomfort.
Thesaloon’sWesternsaddlebarstoolswithcowhide-coveredseats,andbuffaloskullson
thewallgivethatauthentic‘JohnWayne’impression.Thosetravellingonfourhooves
insteadofall-wheeldrivecanleavetheirloyalcompanionsintheon-sitehorsestables
whilstrelaxingintheswimmingpool.Thepriceforthismuchluxury:around50eurosper
nightinadoubleroom.Strangersquicklybecomefriendshere.ButtheŠKODAEuroTrek
hastogetgoingatdawnthenextday.Ontonewadventures.
Excitingimpasseatdizzyheights
Daytwoofthejourneybeginswithyetanotherhighlight:the14-kilometre-longLake
Siriudamispicturesquelysetamidgreenforestedhills.Onthe155-metre-highdam
wall,theŠKODAEuroTrekparticipantsstopforashorttimeandtakeinthespectacleof
nature.Adrenalinelevelsincrease20minuteslater:asuspensionbridgewithvery
narrowwoodenplanksspanstheBuzăuRiver–it’stheonlywaytocross.Withfolded
wingmirrorsanddelicateacceleration,the21muddycompanionschanneltheirway
through,accompaniedbytherhythmicclatteringandcreakingfromthewoodenplanks.
Thereisonlyenoughtimeforaquickglanceatthebeautifulriver;concentrationisonce
againontheviewahead.Goingslowcanbethatexciting.
Thingsgosignificantlyquickerafterthat:theŠKODAEuroTreksetsofftotheDanube
Delta,whereEurope’ssecond-longestriverflowsintotheBlackSea.Whilsttravellingon
theroadtowardsTulcea,whichconsistsmostlyofdirttracks,theOCTAVIASCOUTstake
totheroadatfullgallop.Usingtheferries,crossingtheDanubeissignificantlyeasier
ŠKODAStoryboard:
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29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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thanthegameof(thesuspension)bridge.DaytwoendsinDunavăţudeJos.Here,the
participantsswitchfromcarstospeedboatsandexplorethehugerivermouth–the
beautyofthelandscapewillleavealastingimpression.Thelastdayonceagainsends
theteamsonajourneythroughtime.Alongwithotherinterestingspots,the150kilometre-longrouteleadstotheruinsofEnisalaFortress,whichsitsenthronedhigh
abovethevitalwaterway.Inearliercenturies,itwasusedtocontrolshippingtraffic.
Today,theEuroTrekkerscanenjoythefantasticviewoftheDanubeDeltafromhere.
OVERTHEPASTTHREEDAYS,THE21ŠKODAOCTAVIA
SCOUTSHAVESUCCESSFULLYCOMPLETEDACOMBINED
DISTANCEOFABOUT20,000KILOMETRES.
Alittlelater,theŠKODAEuroTrekentersthehomestraight.Theadventurefinishesat
theairportinConstanta.Theimpressivebreakdownstatisticsaftertheequivalentof
travellinghalfwayaroundtheworldovermostlyroughroads:onetyrewasdamaged.An
unforgettableexperienceineveryway.
Wouldyouliketolearnmore?
Pleasecontacttheresponsibleperson.
ŠKODAStoryboard:
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ŠKODAAUTOa.s.,Tř.V.Klementa869,
29360MladáBoleslav,CzechRepublic
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