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The Octavia RS launches with such zest that you get a push back
Performance – The Skoda Octavia RS is powered by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that belts out a whooping 230 HP of power between 5500 – 6200 RPM and 350 Nm of torque from as low as 1500 RPM, remaining constant all the way till 4500 RPM. 0-100 km/hr comes up in a claimed 6.8 seconds and we timed it at 6.95 seconds on our VBOX while top speed is 250 km/hr. Now that we have the numbers out of the way, let’s talk about the drive experience. After ambling around town, admiring lag free performance of the Octavia RS and the splendid NVH levels inside the cabin, it was time to turn hooligan. Gear lever into sports, traction control off and left foot on the brake pedal, as I tap the accelerator pedal to give it the beans, the multi-information display pops up a message and just before I swear in anger for this disturbance, I read ‘Launch Control Program Activated’, holy f**k, what just happened.
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The gearbox is quick with seamless shifts and the exhaust sounds sweet
Give the Octavia RS to Vin Diesel and he could probably pull off a wheelie, the car’s that fast in terms of acceleration
As I lift the left foot from the brake pedal, the Octavia RS launches with such ferocity that I am fighting with the steering to go straight, the traction light blinking, wheels spinning in glory and the 6-speed DSG gearbox shifting cogs in complete secrecy. The noise inside the cabin is sporty yet not loud enough (outsiders are luckier to hear the aural symphony) but there is a kickback on upshifts and a roar from the rear, this car is truly mental. 100 km/hr comes up in third gear so the gearing isn’t very tall but the revs climb very quickly and before you know it, you are in the next gear.
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The Octavia RS defies its numbers by offering a lot of drama
While redline is marked at 6500 RPM, it goes almost till 7000 RPM when you manually take control of things using the tiptronic function on the gear lever or the steering mounted paddles which are really nice to use. There is so much punch from the motor that it pulls to the double ton without any sort of resistance, going all the way till 150 km/hr in third and doing 200 km/hr in fourth gear itself. All this mental performance doesn’t do much good to the efficiency numbers, drive in a civilized manner it will almost nudge double digits but drive it the way it should be driven and expect no more than 7 km/l.
