What's all this about?
Geneva is coming, the Skoda Octavia MkIII has just had its midlife facelift and so the Czech outfit has decided to upgrade the fastest vRS model... again.
What do you mean, 'again'?
When it launched in 2013 with the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot engine out of a Volkswagen Golf GTI, the third Octavia vRS had a healthy 220hp. That was hiked to 230hp for the vRS 230 of 2015, a car which also benefitted from an electronically controlled limited-slip differential (LSD). And now we have the vRS 245.
So we've got 245hp?
We've got 245hp. And an additional 20Nm, which, in the words of its maker, makes the vRS the 'most powerful Octavia yet built' (ahem... are we forgetting the Bonneville land speed record car?). That makes it the most accelerative too, the 245 hatch hitting 0-62mph in just 6.6 seconds, while it's also capable of flexing from 37-62mph in fifth gear in just 6.4 seconds and 50-75mph in the same ratio in 6.6 seconds. There's an estate model, naturally, which records comparable stopwatch times of 6.7, 6.6 and 6.8 seconds, with both of the new vRS 245s requiring a 155mph speed limiter.
How else has Skoda changed the vRS for the 245?
While a six-speed manual is standard, a seven-speed DSG is an option, and that's a first for Skoda, as it previously had to make do with the six-cog twin-clutch box. Like the 230, the 245 gets the LSD and a set of striking 19-inch alloys, while it has a rear track that's 38m wider than its predecessor. Optional Dynamic Chassis Control multimode dampers will be offered, too, but perhaps the biggest obvious change comes at the gloss-black-detailed front end of the 245, which now has those, um, idiosyncratic split headlights of the updated Octavia. That's progress for you...
Are you not a fan of the headlights?
Not really, but there's not a lot we can do about it, is there?
Suppose not. So when do we get to see the Octavia vRS 245?
It'll debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, with first deliveries expected later this year.
Matt Robinson - 6 Feb 2017