Test Drive: Octavia vRS scores hat-trick for Skoda

Finding a vehicle(with Android Car Gps) which offers a nice blend of dynamic performance and enviable interior space combined with the practicality of a family car is not easy. You often have to settle for two out of three.

With the Skoda Octavia vRS, however, you get the hat-trick.

The Octavia vRS has always been known as Skoda’s performance car but the latest generation takes it to a new level.

The 220bhp, 2.0-litre engine that powers this family five-seater propels it to 62 miles per hour in less than seven seconds and goes on to a top speed of 154 miles per hour. Compare that to your average family hatchback.

There’s a very good reason why police forces around the country use the vRS in areas where high speed patrol cars are essential, not to mention paramedics whose prompt response to a call can be a matter of life and death.

But in both of those cases – just like with family transport – high levels of interior space is also essential and that’s where the Octavia scores.

There was a time when if you wanted a Skoda in which rear seat passengers could really stretch their legs out you would opt for the Superb. But the new generation Octavia has grown dramatically in interior space and while not quite up there with the Superb it’s not too far off. And it’s not just space for passengers that’s immense in this car. The cavernous boot can accommodate 590 litres of luggage with all the seat backs in place and an extraordinary 1,580 litres with them folded down. In fact there’s even ample space to lie down in the back should you wish.

And when it comes to practicalities it’s all here, from a sensible load-through ski hatch in the upright section of the rear seats to allow you to carry long items without compromising passenger capacity, to an ice scraper hidden behind the fuel flap.

The vRS is designed with performance in mind, and while the exterior is somewhat constrained by other hot hatch standards the body kit does hint that it’s built for performance. What about install Car DVD?

A dramatic rear spoiler, front and rear diffusers, twin stainless steel exhausts and 18-inch anthracite alloys all distinguish it from the rest of the Octavia range.

Look inside and high backed sports seats with built-in headrests embossed with the vRS insignia as well as aluminium pedals maintain the sporting theme.

The vRS offers the driver a choice of four driving modes – normal, sport, eco and individual – which can be changed at the push of a button to suit your driving mood. Hit the sport button and the vRS completely changes, not letting the revs drop much below 3000 in any of the six speeds in the DSG automatic gearbox and not changing up until almost on the rev counter’s red line.

And thanks to a special performance sound generator switching to sport also completely changes the exhaust note so it sounds more like a track car.

At the other extreme if you switch to eco you improve your fuel consumption thanks, in part, to a system which lets the car effectively free wheel every time you lift off the accelerator.

The Octavia vRS is the sensible family car that’s ready to grow horns at the touch of a button and as such gives you the best of all worlds. If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!