2017 Skoda Octavia RS review, road test

For every Octavia, there has been an RS variant. Better late than never, the latest version is here and it’s finally got the engine it deserved.

Published on Oct 23, 2017 06:00:00 AM

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LED headlamps auto adjust beams to suit speed, steering and weather

225/45 ZR17 wheels and tyres a great mix of comfort and good looks.

Massive 590-litre liftback boot remains the Octavia’s strong USP.

At Rs 25.48 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Octavia RS is no longer quite as ‘mass market’ as it used to be, but then you have to remember that a top-spec diesel Octavia already costs nearly Rs 24 lakh these days; so it’s really not much of a stretch. And that’s before you’ve factored in the strong performance from the 230hp engine, the super-quick gearbox and the unexpectedly sharp handling; you soon realise that this is a superb performance car by any standard. And like all previous Octavia RSes, it sacrifices very little in the way of comfort, luxury and practicality to reach its lofty performance heights. It must have been tricky to justify introducing an expensive, all-new engine to India, and also to get the suspension tuning just right for our conditions. And we’re glad Skoda took its time to get it right, because this is one of the best everyday performance cars we’ve ever had in India.

Testers’ Notes

Gavin D’souza
The accelerator and brake pedals have a long travel, and the dead pedal is set much deeper inside the footwell; it feels very odd.

Shapur Kotwal
The way it pulls from 2,500 to almost 7,000rpm, with ever-increasing acceleration, makes it one of the best turbo-petrols around.