01/06/2008 07:58. THE most telling joke from the bad old days of Skoda ran like this: How do you double the value of a Skoda? Answer: by filling its tank with petrol.

Perhaps, with the price of fuel where it is today, that is no longer a joke. Certainly, the cars that come from the Czech manufacturer are now taken seriously and have become recognised as well-made, reliable and good value for money.

In today’s brand-conscious world, Skoda comes closest to a classless “people’s car”, the idea behind the original Volkswagen.

And it is Volkswagen, which is now an aspirational brand in its own right, that has wrought the revolution at Skoda.

The German giant first became involved in 1991 when the Czech and Slovak republics were one country and Skoda was state-owned.

Initially Volkswagen had only... // Times Online