Skoda - Octavia vRS estate


A long, long time ago we put an Octavia VRS hatchback up against a Volkswagen Bora Sport and an MG ZS180. It beat them both and its victory was an apt symbol for the regeneration of the Bohemian marque under parent company VW. Not only were people not laughing any more, they were using the words 'Skoda' and 'great perfomance' in the same sentence, all traces of irony having long since left the building.

The Estate version is more of the same; the 'more' being loadspace and the 'same' being everything else. That means it keeps its turbocharged 1781cc engine, producing 180bhp at 5,500rpm, it keeps a torque figure of 173lb ft from 1,950 to 5,000rpm, it keeps its 0-62mph time of eight seconds and it actually goes four better with a top speed of 143mph.

Appropriately enough for a car with a sporting badge, the interior trim gives you the vague impression you're sitting inside a huge training shoe thanks to the generous quantities of leather stitched up with what resembles that semi-ballistic nylon used to let your feet breathe. This sporting theme receives further polish with a chrome-topped gearlever, stainless steel pedal pads and silver-rimmed instrument binnacles, while the supportive, height-adjustable seats get you low enough to start making pretentious overtures regarding 'driver feedback' and the like.

So if it looks like a running shoe from behind the wheel, has it got the legs when you put your foot down? Yes, it has. And to further bludgeon the metaphor, I'd go so far as to say that with its fantastic grip, precise and communicative steering, grunty engine, masses of space and £15,800 price tag, it shows the competition a clean pair of heels.

What's more, when some people mistook it for a BMW Touring in profile, I almost felt offended.

Robert Bright


Skoda - Octavia RS


I've never been a great fan of driving around race circuits in road cars. The effect is to make the car appear to ride perfectly, thanks to that 'billiard table' surface, but handle very sloppily, owing to the luxury of running wide and not having to pay for the tyres. More significantly, you have to wear a balaclava and an open-face helmet, which makes you look like a total berk.

Still, it's something of an event to be out on the grid of the Hungaroring in what is, after all, a Skoda. When I started in motoring journalism, 10 years ago, we wouldn't have done this in the then-current Favorit without the precaution of being followed by a skip lorry. Now we have the Octavia RS, powered by the 1.8T 180bhp engine from the Audi TT and aimed at those 'interested in sports and achievement-oriented pursuits'. Which rules me out.

?Do not be overtaking the pace car,? declares a spokesman. ?It is driven by Armin Schwarz.? As it transpires, he has a much quicker example anyway.

But it's not half bad, this hot Octavia. It incorporates the general facelifting of the range, most notably the adoption of clear-optic and slightly upturned headlights that put 'a little smile on its face and make it look young'. It also has a deeper front spoiler and, in RS guise, lowered and stiffened suspension, a tail spoiler, fat alloys, blah, blah. It'll not be available as an estate, so Volvo can relax.

The RS seems to be nicely built (by Hungarians) too: no goo and definitely no signs of lash-up. The interior mouldings are neat and crisp, the paint is lustrous and the controls have that reassuring VW feel we've come to expect in a Skoda. The motoring correspondent of The Daily Star managed to pull the gear lever off his, which had Skoda officials running around tugging all the other gear levers to see if this was a general failing. They were fine, so one can only assume that The 'Star's man has a habit of pulling things off.

Out on the circuit, bowling through that complex left-right-left series, engine bouncing off the rev limiter, etc, the RS feels quite well endowed, but again a track can be misleading here, as there is no start/stop element to the drive. Unless you're the bloke from Car magazine. Ha, ha, ha.

Some experimentation in the pit lane suggests that a touch of turbo lag will be experienced in real-life use. The car takes off reasonably briskly, but with a few thousand on the clock the blower pokes the engine in the ribs with a pointy stick and it wakes up somewhat. I also reckon that third gear is a little too tall, leaving you with a hole to fall into during a tight bend. Armin disagrees with me on this point, but then Skoda are paying him. The ride, too, may turn out to be on the firm side when we get to drive it on a proper road.

When we're on a proper road we can also decide if the Octavia RS is a credible rival to the Honda Accord Type-R, as its maker claims. The price is undecided, but I reckon you'll be making out a cheque to the Czechs for £17,000-£17,500. That's a crap Czech joke, but then Jasper Carrott isn't funny any more and these days, Skodas are cool.

".... rival to the Honda Accord Type-R...."

mislm da tle ni nbenga problema če mu lahko parira.....