Team-BHP - Skoda Octavia vRS : Official Review

A New Emperor and a Performance King of 4 cylinders turbocharged Petrol engines' is here. It's like the 1.8 Tsi handing over the baton to 2.0 Tsi to take the charge now. Having owned the 1.8 Tsi in it's purest form for close to a year now and how maddening it can get moment you decide to play with it sometimes, I can completely relate to what Akshay was saying where he meant, co-passengers can end up thinking what just happened to a car which was so docile few minutes ago. :D

If 180 bhp can make me grin like crazy, I am just thinking, what a 230 bhp can make the enthusiast feel. How I wish, Skoda could have added the 10 speaker canton setup if not 12 speakers from the L&K version of Octavia itself in this car to make it that much more premium.

Fabulous and honest review of an excellent performance machine and the pictures were just gorgeous. Rated the thread 5 stars. Probably the first time a Limited numbers performance version of a car is sold out in such a short time, and that too even before t-bhp official review came out. clap:

There is no other car in this price bracket I would choose. Brilliant car, eagerly waiting for mid-2018 to buy one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yogesh.8984 (Post 4298353)

I like the way rpm being displayed in "1/min x 100" rather than the conventional "x 1000 r/min". Not sure how it is in regular Octavia.

It's the same in regular Octavia too. It's just about where they have placed the extra zero, the scale is same.

Cheers,
D.

Fantastic review. Loved reading it. :thumbs up

What an amazing car this is!! In terms of rupee to performance ratio, I don't think it can get any better than this. Skoda has done an amazing job with the VRS. With every gen, the VRS has been getting quicker and quicker and with this 2.0, Skoda has literally hit the ball out of the park. They better plan to order more kits, this is going to be a hit. Lap it up guys, let the manufacturers know there is a market potential waiting to be tapped. clap:

I can't see any competition for this car in this price range. Its got great performance, lots of gadgetry and seems to be very well equipped too. My GTI seems to be so poorly specced compared to the VRS. Sunroof, launch control, powered + memory seats : all missing in the GTI. Well, thanks to the VRS, VW dropped prices of the GTI. Would have looked silly otherwise.

Brilliant review for the special car and kudos to Skoda for pricing this car perfectly.

It is also heartening to know that the car is being lapped up by enthusiasts and hope VAG sees the potential for well priced performance cars. Perhaps they could bring down the Superb 2.0TSI also, or have better options in their A4/A3 line-up.

Providing Michelin PS4s exclusively for media cars and not providing the option/information to the buyers was not fair.
Hankook S1 evo2 (K117) are the best performance summer tyre from the brand, and have seen them as OE fitment for cars like S4/S5 here. My experience with the tyre on our Superb is also pretty positive (on par or above the PS3), minus the tyre noise. But since I have sampled the tyres always on cars with some form of AWD capability, and the PS4/Pilot Super Sport on FWD cars, a straight comparison is not possible. Perhaps on the FWD car, the benefits of PS4 should shine through better (at least in terms of traction/braking).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234 (Post 4297808)

Attachment 1691380

So, what's new on the outside?

The vRS supposedly sits 15mm shorter than the regular car, so I guess that means 15mm shorter springs. The difference in radii between 16" and 17" options is only 1mm (225/45 R17 being taller). However from the attachment above, overall height of the 1.8TSI is 1476mm and of the vRS is 1496mm. Is it because of the shark-fin antenna on the top (since face-lift), that was not part of the measurement for the original mk3 car?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234 (Post 4297811)

• There is a digital oil temperature gauge, which is a very nice addon! I consider it as important as the coolant temperature gauge. Oil temperature readings are usually available only on serious performance cars (which the vRS certainly is):
..

It is a neat little touch. The oil level and temperature sensor is a single unit. I believe similar sensor/measurement was available on the erstwhile 1.8TSI in Laura also, but not outputted to the driver due to lack of maxi-dot cluster. I believe L&K Laura FL and Superb Mk2 with maxidot cluster had the digitial oil temp readout.

It also helps one to know that engine oil takes more time to reach operating temperature, compared to the coolant, and so it is better to wait bit more before giving beans to the cold engine.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by avinash_clt (Post 4298422)

Interesting you pointed this out - I also noticed a discrepancy in the wheelbase dimensions, and would like to know why this is the case.
Shouldn't the wheelbase be constant?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234 (Post 4297808)

While our test car was equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber, customer cars have been fitted with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 tyres. Do note that these Pilot Sports are among the best performance tyres on the market and our handling observations are based on these

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234 (Post 4297808)

The bonnet of our media car got a healthy amount of insulation. However, customer cars don't! This insulation sheet isn't there in BHPian Nikhilb2008's vRS:

Lovely review of a very desirable car. I found the above two points a little suspicious though, especially since we are talking about skoda India. Doesn't this amount to tweaking the press cars so that they get the best possible reviews?

Still, I think it is the hallmark of a fantastic product when you frown upon the manufacturer but lust after the product itself! If only Skoda India had taken a little bit of care while setting up their network in India they could have played a much bigger role in our market. I can't remember a single 'bad' Skoda ever since the first gen octavia sold here. All their problems seem to stem from low quality control and bad dealership practices. Apart from the shared problem with the DQ200 of course.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petroguzzler (Post 4298450)

For an enthusiast with a budget of around 32lakhs, the only alternative to the vRS would be a pre owned 6-cylinder diesel 5 series. The 5 looks better, offers way more comfort, refinement, quality and a creamy shove of power from its diesel unit and would be a tempting proposition.

The 530D would be quicker no doubt, but getting a 530D around 35L would not be easy - it will probably be a pre-LCI model, with 30-40K km of wear and tear - limited warranty if any.
In the city, the 5 is quite cumbersome to drive as well and not as engaging as the E60 in terms of driving pleasure.

It's a brilliant car, one I thought about long and hard - but the thought of a free-revving petrol engine, a loud exhaust, and the exhaust burble / fart saw those dreams being squished!
The vRS is a completely different ballgame in the city, but on the open road - the 530D will fly past effortlessly!

Great review as usual :-) I also felt DCC should have been provided - however, its standard only on vRS245 abroad, and costs GBP1000 or something in UK. So Skoda omitted it...

If the vRS was available in Race Blue or Red, I would have got it last month, but finally settled on a Superb 1.8TSI MT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by petroguzzler (Post 4298450)

530d would cost more than 2.5x on the road. 530i or more appropriately 330i can be the real competitor with a premium badging and maybe 60% premium if one gets good discounts!
Besides, some of us prefer free-revving, smooth petrols to oil burners :-)

Great review for a great car!! 5 star indeed!

Now for the enthusiasts in here, the below message might just change your life. :D

For anyone still on the look out for a vRS, one is available in red colour!

This one is again a cancellation. The car is in transit mode and PDI has not been done. It's run mere 19kms. If interested please let me know. It's in one of the showrooms here down south.

Good luck. I would've bought it had I not already a Steel Grey vRS in my garage!!! lol: