Skoda Octavia vRS 4×4

摘要

Diesel only, automatic only. It may be adorned with a vRS body, but this is not a discount Golf R. Instead, Skoda's first all-wheel-drive vRS takes a different tack. It's got the same 184bhp, 280lb ft 2.0-litre engine as the VW Golf GTD but has a bigger boot, two more driven wheels and, perhaps rather conveniently right now, no 'VW badge next to the TDI' bit. The best thing about the car is the getaway. The VW Group prides itself on engines that deliver all of their torque faster than you can say, "Guys, I've just had a strange email from West Virginia University." In the vRS, this occurs at 1,750rpm, which is enough to get the wham-bam-bam traction control intervention thudding dimly at the standard car's front wheels. This 4x4 just squats down a tad and abruptly naffs off with a rasp of diesel roar. It's not a particularly nice or sporty noise, but it doesn't sound as reedy and strained as the French fast diesels do, and you've arrived at 62mph 0.3secs faster than the front-drive car. Understeer? Yep, eventually, but it's resisted longer than the FWD car. VERDICT: Unpretentious briskness in the best Skoda tradition. Worth the £1,540 premium for more traction.