Long-term review of the Skoda Octavia 2021 Car News

Official figures promise an output of 55.9 mpg for CO2 emissions of 132 g / km. So far that saving seems almost achievable in the real world, but I’ll report back once there’s a few more miles under it. Since the vRS was delivered I’ve noticed a few glances coming my way, no doubt helped by its, well, its redness (this paint is a £ 595 option).

It’s a lot more head-turning than the standard Octavia, aided by plenty of black exterior details, including on the grille, exterior mirrors and badges, and red brake calipers. That vibe continues inside, with black vRS sport seats, red stitching and a three-spoke leather heated wheel with paddle shifters.

The red paintwork is suitable for a sports car, but the most popular colors on the vRS tend to be stuck, like on regular Octavia variants, given the car’s commercial orientation. While the very dull and harmless quartz gray is the most selected for your average Octavia, vRS owners are slightly more daring, opting for, uh, meteor gray. It’s far from wild, but the gunship-like color is one of my favorite car hues lately and looks great on the vRS.

Our car is as well specified as one would expect from a top-of-the-range Skoda, featuring a 10.25 inch touchscreen, sat-nav, dual-zone air conditioning, Apple CarPlay and parking sensors, although the cameras are noticeable by their absence. It also has lane-keeping assist, a system I’ve grumbled about on the standard Octavia before. For the avoidance of doubt, I always complain about this with this car.

The vRS was wasted for me in my first moments: I was parked in a tight space on the street and didn’t like the heavy steering when maneuvering – away from the Octavia that had just left me. Fortunately, I had a valid reason that day for driving on quiet country roads, and nowhere is it better to demonstrate exactly why one could invest in a vRS. That once boring steering has become exactly the dynamic and precise setup required, along with polished handling, for fun turns.

So far, the vRS diesel has lived up to my expectations as a performance-oriented everyday station wagon. The next few months will give me a better chance to take advantage of this and consider the relevance of diesel in the range.