Skoda has released a useful infographic for anyone planning on buying a real Christmas tree this year.
The guide, called the Skoda Spruce Scale, aims to help any Skoda owner buying a tree to decide whether their planned purchase will fit into their car or not, potentially avoiding damage to both tree and car.
Size matters
Taking into account the interior lengths with the seats folded of all the models in Skoda's range, the guide compares the cars with some of the different heights of tree on the market.
At the smaller end of the scale, the Kamiq crossover will manage to haul home a tree between 4.5 and 5.0ft tall. Although Skoda says that the upcoming new Fabia will also manage a tree of a similar size, that model hasn't arrived just yet, though owners of the outgoing hatch will likely fit a 4.5-5.0ft tree just fine. Fabia Combi drivers will be certainly be able to accommodate a tree of that size and probably a bit taller.
Moving up the scale, the Karoq and Scala models are able to fit trees of between 5.0ft and 5.5ft while the electric Enyaq iV and Octavia estate will manage anything from 5.5ft to 6.0ft.
Oddly, Skoda says that the Octavia hatch will swallow a tree of between 6.0ft and 6.5ft despite the fact that its 1,580 litres of load space is smaller than the 1,740 litres of the estate. This may be down to the liftback's length rather than overall volume.
The Skoda Kodiaq (should that be Ho-Ho-Hodiaq?) will also manage a tree between 6.0ft and 6.5ft, while the stars atop the Skoda tree are the Superb liftback and estate which will easily accommodate a tree of 6.5ft in height.
The Spruce Scale, the company says, is "designed to prevent family arguments or emergency car park tree surgery" at what is often a time of high pressure and stress for families.
Tips for transporting Christmas trees
Most Christmas trees will come pre-netted, but if you're choosing one that isn't, the vendor may be able to net it for you. This makes it much easier to transport and helps to protect both the tree and the car.
Regardless of what you're driving or whether you're transporting a Christmas tree on the roof or inside the car, make sure it's well tied-down with ropes, straps or bungee cords. For those without a roof rack, for safety reasons it's better to try transport the tree inside the car rather than just tying it to the roof. This also helps avoid damaging the paintwork.
Even if the tree is inside the car, make sure the load is secure as you don't want it moving around the cabin in the event of sudden braking. This is especially important if you're carrying an oversized tree with the boot open, though, for safety reasons, that isn't recommended.
Make sure that if you are carrying a tree inside the car that it doesn't affect your visibility to such an extent that you can't see what's immediately behind you.
The Skoda Spruce Scale does make a fair point in that you should always aim to buy a tree that fits the car in which you intend to carry it. If your car won't accommodate the size of tree you want maybe consider choosing a tree that'll fit your car, having one delivered or even buying an artificial tree instead.