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Yamba, The New Byron Bay

By MURRAY HUBBARD

One of the great well-kept secrets on the northern New South Wales coast is Yamba. The reason for its hermit-like existence is just an hours drive north and is in the form of the over-rated, over-publicised township of Byron Bay.

For those in south east Queensland though, it could well be Yamba is the new Byron Bay: minus the overt drug problems, hairy armpits, traffic and parking problems.

With the Tugun bypass in place, as well as the new highway scooting around Kingscliff, Pottsville, Brunswick Heads, Bryon, and Bangalow, Yamba is now under a three pleasant three hour drive from the Gold Coast.

On our road test we decided to take in Yamba, the Scottish town of Maclean and the pretty little sugar village of Harwood in a day trip using Skoda's Octavia RS TDI wagon.

Our first stop in the Octavia was north of the Clarence, a place called New Italy, where a strong coffee and loo break beckoned.

We all found the seats in the Octavia RS a little hard, so the break was a welcome relief.

What I did like was the Volkswagen-sourced 2.0 litre TDI engine.

Plenty of grunt, mated to a slick six speed DSG dual clutch transmission, courtesy of Volkswagen, and the fuel guage reluctant to move anywhere near as fast as the car.

It was easy to cruise at 100 kmh and return in the mid to high 6.0 litres/100 kms.

That's with four adults aboard. One of the trademarks of diesel engines is that load has no where near the impact on economy that it does in petrol powered cars. We also noticed there was a fair amount of road noise intrusion into the cabin, making conversation between the front seat and rear passengers a little difficult.

We arrived in Yamba in late March, the day after it was officially declared Australia's best town. With clear blue skies, a gentle breeze and the Clarence River, that links the three towns sparkling like champers, we were not surprised those who judged the town were also impressed.

As a day trip we hardly needed boot space, but if we had it was all there: 580 litres and big enough to hold a picnic.

We did use it a few days later when dropping friends to the airport and their luggage made little impression. With the rear seat backs folded the cargo area balloons to 1620 litres or enough space to hold your office Christmas party.

The RS has been the surprise package for Skoda Australia. People have been prepared to pay more to get the RS than opt for the garden-variety Octavia. Which means Skoda have had to re-think its Australian market plans. The car has similar interior design to Volkswagen which means it's practical and workable.

The hard ride was due to two factors. The seats were firm and secondly so is the lowered suspension, capped off by 18 inch, low-profile alloy wheels.

Cars are about compromise and what the RS lacked in some creature comfort it made up in handling. The steering is direct and it points well. Cornering is a breeze and the car holds on vigorously on the sharpest of bends. Long sweepers proved a joy.

The RS adds quite a sporty appear to the standard Octavia. In addition to the alloy wheels there's twin chrome exhausts, RS bumpers, RS design sports seats, three-spoke leather steering wheel and Electronic Stability Program.

The 2.0 litre TDI engine belts out 350 Nm of torque which explains the car's willingness when it was asked to perform overtaking or quick accelerations tasks. It simply gets out and does the job.

Being a direct injection engine with a relatively low compression, engine noise is insignificant. At cruise speed there is no audible engine noise in the cabin.

The roof of capped off with silver roof rails. Inside the cabin there's a host of generous equipment which is well organised and user friendly. Having said we can't understand why the RS does not come with a multi-function steering wheel.

There's dual zone air conditioning, six disc CD with eight speakers, MP3 auxiliary socket, multi-function trip computer and remote central locking. With standard inclusions including rear parking sensors, heated front seats, light assistant for coming/leaving home, front armrest and cooled storage space, cargo net and hooks, there plenty of bang four your buck.

Options include xenon lights, electric glass sunroof, front parking distance control and satellite navigation system.

Not that we needed satellite navigation to find our way between Hardwood, Yamba and Maclean. Harwood is an interesting village that owes its life to the sugar refinery.

Maclean is best known as the township where all the power poles have the family tartan painted on the base, reflecting the town's largely Scottish heritage.

The Clarence is the home base for prawn trawlers and is a wide, magnificent river, a fisherman's paradise. Yamba can be hectic in holiday time, but is a gem destination in the off season, which is most of the time.

It has magnificent sea views and boasts numerous caravan parks and good motels and hotels, restaurants and clubs.

Skoda Octavia RS price as tested: $43,790.