Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Skoda Octavia vRS Estate 2.0 TDI 200 DSG 4x4
Pricing: £40,060 (as tested)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel
Transmission: seven-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Body style: five-door, five-seat estate
CO2 emissions: 147-162g/km
Combined economy: 45.6-50.4mpg
Top speed: 147mph
0-62mph: 6.8 seconds
Power: 200hp
Torque: 400Nm
Boot space: 640-1,700 litres
What's this?
The car that will do almost anything. The standard Octavia estate is a wonderful thing, but adding vRS performance to the mix makes it even more appealing. When you then mix that with a hint of off-road, bad-weather capability and 50mpg efficiency, you’ve suddenly got the car that can do pretty much anything you want.
From the outside, it doesn’t look like all that much. The standard Octavia shape is clear to see and the front end is dominated by the distinctive Skoda grille. There really isn’t much to differentiate it from your local taxi firm’s private hire cars – at least not if you aren’t really into your cars. Fortunately, we are, and we can make out the larger wheels, the abundance of black trim and the sportier bumpers. We can also see the trademark red reflector on the rear bumper, even against the scarlet paint of our test car.
Step inside, and the differences are slightly more obvious. Where normally the Octavia would have a futuristic two-spoke steering wheel, the vRS wheel comes with a third central spoke at the bottom and perforated leather on the rim. The seats, meanwhile, are sportier, more supportive numbers with an integrated headrest and vRS logos, while the whole thing is peppered with flashes of red. Stainless steel pedals, some dark dashboard trim and black roof lining complete the sporty look.
Otherwise, it’s fairly standard Octavia stuff, which means there’s quite a cool, modern-looking dashboard that’s beautifully finished, with solid and respectably tactile plastics, as well as some robust switchgear. There aren’t too many buttons, though, because Skoda has fallen into the trap of hiding everything in the touchscreen. Climate control settings, radio controls and even the seat heating switches have all migrated to the screen. That isn’t so bad when the screen works, but our test car suffered the occasional glitch, and we’ve had similar problems not only in other Octavias, but in other Volkswagen Group cars.
When it works, the new infotainment system is quite good. It certainly looks modern and the display is crisp, but it has its foibles. Some of the menus are less intuitive than they should be, which makes the screen distracting on the move, while the volume control has been replaced with a touch-sensitive slider, which is clumsy and awkward. It’s better to use the steering wheel controls, which are still physical buttons, but that isn’t really an option for passengers.
The digital instrument display is more of a triumph, but it still isn’t perfect. It’s clear and customisable, which is good news, but it still doesn’t have the effortless cool of the Audi Virtual Cockpit. Given the Octavia and A3 share so much, it seems a pity that Audi has hogged the best of the technology, although perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Tech aside, the Octavia’s cabin is fantastic, and this Estate body makes it really spacious. The boot measures 640 litres with the back seats upright, and a cavernous 1,700 litres with the seats folded down. That’s big, but the stats suggest it’s only slightly bigger than the cheaper hatchback, which has 600 litres of boot space with the seats up, and 1,555 litres with the seats folded down. However, that doesn’t take into account the shape of the boot, which is much more practical in the Estate, allowing bulkier items to slot in behind the back seats.
Passenger space is plentiful, too, with more than enough head- and leg-room to seat four adults in perfect comfort. It isn’t quite as generously proportioned as the Superb, of course, and the integrated headrests and black headlining make it a bit dull back there, but space is ample – particularly compared with hot hatches such as the Golf GTI.
How does it drive?
The beating heart of the vRS TDI 200 4x4 is the 2.0-litre diesel engine, which is effectively the same unit you’ll find in a more conventional Octavia Estate. The difference is this one has been turned up to 200hp and 400Nm of torque, which gives it a spritely side normally missing from the practical, spacious Skoda. With a 0-62mph time of less than seven seconds, this is a seriously rapid car. It’s only a little slower than a VW Golf GTI.
But there’s more to this powertrain than just performance. This version of the vRS comes with all-wheel drive, giving the car a little more traction when the weather turns nasty. It doesn’t have the ground clearance to make a proper off-roader, of course, but with a set of winter tyres wrapped around those alloys this will tackle the snow as well as anything. And when the weather is better and those big wheels are shod in summer tyres, it simply offers a bit more traction in wet weather or on broken surfaces. After all, 200hp would be a lot to put through the front wheels alone.
The third facet of this diesel powertrain is economy, and that’s where the vRS differs not only from other vRS models, but also from most other hot estate cars. Where a Golf GTI will struggle to hit 40mpg, the Octavia will be scraping 50 on a long run. In fact, we saw 52mpg flash up on the trip computer after a 180-mile slog up the M5 and M6.
Mixing all those attributes together is something of a rarity, particularly when it’s merged with this kind of handling. The Octavia vRS is nowhere near as agile as the smaller Golf GTI or indeed any other hot hatchback you care to mention, but it does handle more keenly than any other Octavia. A lot depends on the driving mode you select, but with the suspension and steering at their sportiest, the vRS feels more stable and more direct than any of its stablemates.
But if you slacken off the dampers and relax, the vRS still has some of the impressive ride comfort that makes the standard car such a likeable long-distance tourer. Of course, the bigger wheels and improved body control mean it isn’t quite as supple, but it still rides very nicely indeed. Most of the bumps are soaked up neatly, with only a few of the more aggressive undulations permeating into the cabin. On a motorway in particular, it is as smooth as can be.
It’s refined, too, with relatively little engine and wind noise seeping into the car. There is a bit of road noise thanks to those big tyres, and the diesel engine can make a bit of a din at high revolutions, but the worst part is the fake exhaust noise that can be piped into the cabin. Controlled using the drive modes, the soundtrack is played through the speakers to give the impression there’s a snarling V-engine under the bonnet. It’s fooling nobody.
Verdict
This is, without any question or shadow of a doubt, the Octavia vRS to have. The mixture of estate-car practicality, diesel economy, 200hp performance and the stability of all-wheel-drive makes this the ideal all-rounder. And let’s be honest here, if you didn’t want an all-rounder, you’d probably buy a Focus ST or a Golf GTI.
So although the TDI 200 4x4 may not have the bragging rights of the petrol version, it’s absolutely sublime over long journeys and it’s the more sensible, grown-up option. The price is steep for a Skoda, and we have reservations about the stability of the on-board electrics, but otherwise this car is at home in pretty much any situation, making it one of the most versatile cars on the market.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
