2017 Skoda Octavia RS Test Drive Review

2017 Skoda Octavia RS Review

Car Tested: 2017 Skoda Octavia RS; Road Test No. 861

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 30.23 lakhs

The Skoda Octavia RS looks like a genuine mean machine and drives like one too

With great power comes great responsibility, I don’t have an uncle named Ben but you get the drift (for those who don’t get it, just Google the first line). Even though I have driven a lot of fast cars, the Skoda Octavia RS made me excited in a different way, there is something about a practical daily driver which can also burn rubber or so I believed, until I sampled the true-blue Octavia RS, the third generation RS 230. Before I dwell deep into what makes the Octavia RS the absolute thrill that it is, let me tell you something, the first batch is already sold out and if you are interested, you have to wait till next year.

Motor Quest: Skoda launched the first generation Octavia RS in India but in a lower power tune while the second generation Octavia RS (launched as the Laura RS) didn’t get an engine upgrade. The third generation Octavia RS, which we are reviewing here, is the first ever true RS model we have got in India.

Exteriors – First things first, the Skoda Octavia RS in this blue paint shade looks absolutely gorgeous. Looks wise, the Octavia RS looks like a beefed up Octavia. Up front, you get the signature butterfly grille with chrome surrounds and of course, the vRS badging. The quad headlights are full LED units with LED DRLs housed inside them. The Skoda Octavia RS gets a sportier bumper with larger air intakes and LED fog lamps.

Sporty yet a sleeper, the Octavia plays its Jekyll and Hyde character very well

The first thing that will catch your attention at the side are the 17-inch blackened alloy wheels, while the red brake calipers add some appeal. The car looks ready to race when viewed from the side angle. Though the C-shaped LED tail-lights are similar to the regular Octavia, Skoda has given the RS a tail-gate mounted spoiler and dual stainless steel exhaust tips. The exhausts give the car a purposeful stance.

Interiors – The Octavia RS gets an all-black dashboard which actually complements the racy image of the sedan. Fit and finish is definitely very good and the build quality is just impeccable. The sedan comes with features like flat-bottom steering wheel with the RS logo, Alcantara leather upholstery, an updated 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink, RS badging on the front and rear seats, automatic climate control, Ambient Lighting, aluminium sport pedals, panoramic sunroof and 12-way electrically adjustable driver and passenger seats ,and the list goes on.

The all black interior and those front seats are enough to make you feel special

There is loads of red stitching in the cabin, like the steering wheel, gear knob and even the seats are stitched in red which adds to the sporty appeal. The front race seats are supremely comfortable but the rear ones could have done with more under-thigh support. But hey, this is the RS and someone buying the RS is rarely interested to be sitting in the back seat right? Knee room and headroom are similar to the regular Octavia and are generous enough. You also get AC vents at the rear. The boot space is 590-litres and that’s humungous.

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.

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.

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.

Driving Dynamics – Skoda has lowered the ground clearance on the Octavia RS by 15 mm and this isn’t any deal-breaker by the way. It now stands at 141 mm as opposed to 155 mm of the regular Octavia. But that’s not all, the suspension has been stiffened and tuned to perfection because the handling is just surreal, the steering is super feedback rich and you do feel like you are driving a go-kart, almost. Body control is very good, there is no roll on offer and the car just changes directions so quickly, the 17-inch tyres offering fantastic grip, even in the wet. The ride quality, although on the stiffer side, is quite good for a car of this type and the vehicle remains super glued to the road at all speeds. The brakes offer terrific stopping power and shedding speeds on the Octavia RS is very confidence inspiring.

Safety and After Sales Service – Safety has been at the forefront for any Skoda car. The Octavia RS gets 9 airbags, ESP, DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control), Cruise Control, front and rear parking sensors, rear-view camera, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, Traction Control, ABS with EBD, all 4 disc brakes and hands-free parking. The Czech carmaker’s after sales service in India has not been up to the mark for several owners, with the prices of the spare parts also being expensive. However, the automaker promises to work on improving the after sales experience.

Verdict – There have been some adjectives which might have over heightened the feeling of driving the Octavia RS but hear me out. This is a car which channels all its power to the front wheels, which makes it an uncontrollable beast when you turn off traction control but the dynamics are so good that you can tame it, it makes you feel like a very good driver. Then it has 230 HP which means the already overpriced Volkswagen GTI with just 190 HP and less practicality feels like the most pointless car to have ever been launched in India. The only gripe I have with the Octavia RS or rather Skoda, in particular, is their after sales service and of course the fact that they didn’t bring the diesel Octavia RS which would have let owners get the best of both worlds!

What’s Cool

* Looks fast yet a sleeper, those who know it, get it
* 2.0-litre mill creates a racket, acceleration is super thrilling
* Sounds really nice, good NVH spoils the eargasm though
* Super sharp handling, steering offers a lot of feel too
* Practical car with a decent ride quality and generous cabin and boot space

What’s Not So Cool

* A fuel guzzler, the diesel RS would have made more sense for India
* Skoda’s after sales service

Alternatives: BMW 330i M-Sport

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Further Reading –

2017 Skoda Octavia Review
2017 Skoda Octavia Video Review