Our view:
We, like many people, were always big fans of the old
Skoda Octavia vRS and the particular blend of attributes it offered to buyers, especially in a market awash with rival hot hatches that were all seemingly hell-bent on going around a certain track in Germany faster than anything else remotely comparable. And we're also deeply impressed with the new
fourth-generation Octavia in its standard guise, so we had high hopes for a week with the latest iteration of Skoda's performance flagship (if you don't count that brilliantly mental
Superb Sportline Estate with the 272hp engine, that is).
As ever with a vRS, there are choices of body style, with this five-door Hatch complemented by an even-more-cavernous Estate, and then a selection of drivetrains. For now, there's only the option of a DSG seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and front-wheel drive, but even those statements will have to be altered soon, as a manual gearbox and a 4x4 powertrain both come on stream in the future. Anyway, this 245hp TSI petrol is the launch version, using the tried-and-thoroughly-tested EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is presented here in a modest 245hp/370Nm state of tune and paired only to the DSG. That's the same power as you'd get in a standard
Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI, mind, although of course there are more potent versions of the Golf to go at; we've got a GTI Clubsport review inbound for you in the coming days, too.
It is this very 245hp TSI engine which will receive the six-speed manual 'box in the fullness of time, while a forthcoming 200hp vRS TDI will be DSG-only, but will have the option of four-wheel drive. Sitting alongside these two and marking a first for the vRS legend is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) derivative, the vRS 245 iV, which teams a 1.4-litre TSI unit to a decent electric motor. Plenty of choice in the Octavia vRS line-up, then, and surely something to suit all needs.
And yet, we find ourselves why you could possibly want any more from an urbane, civilised, decently rapid hot hatch than this vRS 245 TSI provides. Because it is
sublime. Accepting that it does not set out its stall to give you the raciest possible experience at the wheel, the Skoda is - in our opinion - class-leading at what it does. It used to be that the Golf GTI could not be surpassed as the pinnacle of daily-duties hot-hatchery, and that was certainly true of the
Mk7 Volkswagen versus the Mk3 Octavia, but this time around the Skoda has beaten the Golf at its own game.
All the things that used to stand about the Octavia still hold true. It continues to represent exceptional value for money, with a starting price of £32,285. That compares to the Golf's £33,525, which immediately puts the Skoda ahead and means you can fit things like Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC, £1,040), a Head-Up Display (£700), metallic paint (£595) and a space-saver spare (£185), and still not be much more ahead of the GTI's basic figure. Although why a driver fatigue sensor is a £45 option on the vRS is beyond us; it should be standard-fit in the first place, but then charging such a nominal amount for it seems utterly daft and only compounds the manufacturer's original, erroneous omission of the tech.
But while we're sure the PCP monthlies stack up in favour of the Golf somehow if you spend ages adjusting deposits and the length of the finance agreement's term, the Skoda is wonderfully well-equipped for its outlay - and, again, without going through the online configurators of the two models, we feel comfortable in saying that broadly speaking, the Octavia gives you more toys for your money. All of 19-inch Altair alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, an Alcantara padded dashboard panel, dual-zone climate control, Columbus 10-inch infotainment with satnav, full LED Matrix headlights with Adaptive Front Light System, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and go, Progressive Dynamic Steering, the 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital cluster and Smartlink support (wireless for Apple CarPlay, wired for Android Auto and MirrorLink) are on the menu, among much more. And the key option is DCC, which isn't cheap at £1,040 but is probably still a necessity when it comes to ordering time.
Before we touch on the driving, the outside and interior of the Octavia vRS are both completely, er, superb (sorry, we're mixing our Skoda models, there). The ill-fated experiment with quad headlights on the facelifted third-gen Octavia has, quite rightly, quietly been dropped and the Czech chariot has never looked better than it does right now. It still has its idiosyncratic fastback shape, which immediately marks it out in and amongst a sea of competitors with upright back-ends, and while we would normally
always advocate an estate over its equivalent hatchback, the boot is so gigantic in this five-door (600 litres with all seats in play, a simply whopping 1,555 litres with the second row folded down) that we're not entirely sure you'd need the wagon. Apart from for purely aesthetic concerns, that is.
It's the passenger compartment where the Octavia vRS scores most heavily, though. There is no other way of dressing this up: the Skoda has a finer, more interesting and higher quality interior when compared to a Golf GTI. Its infotainment system is laid out in a more intuitive fashion and the company's masterstroke was putting some physical shortcut buttons on the console, just beneath the screen, which allow you to access key functions in an instant; one of these is marked 'CLIMA', helpfully. The swathe of that wing-shaped dashboard simply looks nicer than the GTI's plainer affair, while the use of contrast-stitched Alcantara for most of it along with other excellent textures (such as the steering wheel's dimpled leather, the dotted backing to the interior door-handle recesses and then that main pattern on the lower door cards, for instance) confidently conveys the air that the Skoda is now a truly prestige product, instead of a cut-price alternative to the mainstream. It continues to be absolutely vast within, no matter which row of seats you're occupying, and there are no significant ergonomic or visibility issues for the driver either. Finally, that steering wheel itself; it's not the classy two-spoke affair in the regular range of the Octavia, and its rotating cylinders (which are beautifully knurled) take a degree of familiarisation, but once you've got to grips with it (literally and metaphorically), you realise it is just about perfect. Which is important, because it's your main point of interface with the car.
No doubt about it, the Octavia vRS has a sector-defining cabin. And it's also head of the pack for refinement. With DCC fitted, this car is no less comfortable on a rolling cruise than the 150hp TDI wagon we tried back in 2020. You won't once be forcefully reminded that it's on 19-inch alloys at all corners and tyre roar in the back of the cabin, something which used to plague older vRS Octavias, seems to have been completely eliminated here. Get it on a motorway run and you should enjoy excellent fuel economy, too - our tester hitting smack on its quoted 40.9mpg combined average on a run down the A1. A few strops in the Skoda for the rest of its 200 miles in our care saw the overall figure tumbling to more like 26.9mpg, but then therein lies the rub.
Because this is an Octavia vRS which is sharper, more involving and genuinely enjoyable, to a greater degree, than any of its forebears. So you feel like you
do want to give it a thrash on a quiet B-road, more often than not. The genius here is that it sacrifices none of the strengths it had previously to attain this extra kinematic acuity, so the fact that it has keener turn-in than before, more of a sense of balance to its chassis, damping with an extra degree of fluidity and breadth of operational ability... it's all wonderful. Sure, you'll get more visceral driving experiences from the overtly showy rivals, like the
Honda Civic Type R, but for what the Skoda sets out to achieve its handling is about spot-on. With the progressive steering, which is always well-weighted and lovely to use, as well as 15mm-lower Sports suspension and a VAQ electronically controlled limited-slip diff on the front axle, about the only way Skoda could make this better is to do an analogue of the previous
vRS 245 model. And, as you've probably already worked out, that car has 245hp, so maybe we could be in line for a 270-280hp hotter-than-hot Octavia this time around?
Here's hoping. However, it doesn't matter how this performance-car line evolves from here, the fact of the matter is that the Skoda Octavia vRS 245 TSI as tested is now the new benchmark for refined, comfortable, everyday hot hatches. It won't ever sear down a back road with a driving experience that'll live with you for the rest of your natural days, but then by the same token it won't ever crash its occupants about when traversing lumpier tarmac, nor will it break the bank to run, nor will it deafen you with excessive tyre noise, nor will it prove to be useless when you've got to take two taller adults along as passengers in the back of the car, nor will it infuriate you in the extreme when you're trying to use its infotainment system or its fancy instrument cluster on the move. What it does, is everything extremely well and nothing poorly. And what the Octavia also achieves as a result, this time around, is to outshine the Volkswagen Golf GTI. That, let us tell you, is a monster accomplishment. And despite the fact that we vacillated for a long time over doing so, it's why we feel the vRS finally deserves full critical marks - this car is exceptional.
