Skoda Octavia vRS First Drive Review: Your Everyday Car With Sporty DNA

For a large section of aspirational motoring enthusiasts, buying a performance car would mean shelling out a large chunk of his/her fortunes. This is where cars like the Skoda Octavia vRS restores faith in humanity, that every good thing doesn’t have to be super expensive. Needless to say, the Octavia vRS holds almost a legendary status in the driving circuit

The new-gen Skoda Octavia vRS made its India debut last month. We recently took a spin of the latest iteration of the Skoda Octavia vRS at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida and got to find why it’s considered as a legend. 

Skoda Octavia vRS Review: Design

The design of the Octavia vRS is quintessential Skoda, elegant yet sporty. The overall design remains unchanged but there are some subtle updates that provide a fresh appeal to the premium sedan. Up front, it gets a very familiar butterfly grille with a piano black finish. More gloss black elements are seen in the lower bumper lip and air splitters. The headlights now get a slightly new LED detailing while the bonnet retains the signature cuts and creases.

Moving over to the side, the profile is clean and understated with no unnecessary frills. The highlight being 19-inch machine-cut alloy wheels with red inserts for a sporty touch. The sporty flair is carried over to the rear with the coupe-like roofline and the notchback-style tailgate. These are accompanied by a boot-lip spoiler, also finished in gloss black. Down below, the black out lower bumper lip headlines the dual exhaust setup. Also, the embedded reflector strip is a neat touch.

Skoda Octavia vRS Review: Interiors & Features

Step inside the cabin, and you’re greeted with an all-black cabin with contrast red stitching on the dashboard, seat upholstery, and door trims, providing a nice sporty vibe. The bucket sports seats get the vRS logo embossed on headrests, however, the highlight is that the front seats now come with heating, ventilation, massage, and memory functions. The dashboard now hosts a driver-centric 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.5-inch TFT instrument console with RS-specific graphics.

The equipment offers tons of conveniences such as three-zone climate control, wireless phone charger, multi-colour ambient lighting, Heated ORVMs, a 11-speaker Canton sound system, gesture-controlled powered tailgate, electronically-controlled limited slip differential, head-up display, wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, Aluminium pedals, paddle shifters,  adaptive LED headlights, and more.

The Octavia vRS also comes with a solid safety package that comprises ten airbags, electronic stability control, all wheel disc brakes, but a level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) suite that comes with driver drowsiness detection, auto emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control. The Octavia vRS doesn’t compromise its sporty flair for practicality as it offers a very generous 600-litre boot space.

Skoda Octavia vRS review: First drive impressions on track

We got an opportunity to test the new Octavia vRS for only three laps of the BIC and it didn’t disappoint one bit. The biggest positive about the Octi RS is its ultra-sharp handling. The chassis and the suspension are so precisely tuned and in sync with each other that you forget it’s actually a front-wheel driven car. Yes, there’s a bit of understeer which always kicks in while hitting those sharp bends, but the Octavia vRS is able to mask beautifully.

This is pure craftsmanship. The agile handling is courtesy of adjustable dampers which are set on the stiffer end by default. Although we didn’t get to take a spin on the roads, it’s very likely to offer a reasonable amount of comfort in the urban jungle where it’ll have to deal with all kinds of surfaces – from smooth to broken tarmac. Another big positive is its steering setup – predictable and precise. You just need to point in a direction and the car just shoots towards it.

If the chassis is its soul, then the engine is the heart of the Octavia vRS. This 2.0-litre TSI EVO turbocharged petrol engine puts out a mammoth 261 bhp and 370 Nm of torque. 0 to 100 kmph in 6.4 seconds and top speed of 250 kmph, this is a seriously quick car. What also aids is the 7-speed DSG automatic which is always eager to drop a gear or two when you want to floor the gas. If you want more control, there’s always the paddle shifters.

Further, the growl from the engine is also something that will pump in adrenaline to the driver. That said, at the end of the day the Octavia RS is a front wheel-driven car with quite a bit of understeer which isn’t exactly meant for a race track, but it does a fantastic job nevertheless. One thing is for sure, its performance is simply unmatched for any other car at this price point.

Skoda Octavia vRS review: Verdict

Three laps of a race track is too short to provide a thorough feedback for any car, let be the Octavia vRS. However, for those who are looking to indulge in seeking some sort of thrill occasionally without having to go all bonkers monetarily, the new Octavia vRS is certainly one of the few options one can consider. At Rs 49.99 lakh (ex-showroom), it’s not cheap but definitely not overpriced for fully-imported CBU.

Unfortunately, all 100 units from the first batch of the new Octavia vRS have already been spoken for. So for those wanting to get their hands on one, you'll have to wait for a while till Skoda announces its next batch of shipment.

Also READ: Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+ Coupé Review: The AMG To Buy?