G'day and welcome to the all-new
Škoda Octavia RS.
I should actually come clean here, this is - yes a review -
but it's also a bit of a test drive beacuse you see,
the Summerfield family own the last model RS Octavia.
We've been waiting and waiting for this car to
arrive at Giltrap Škoda.
Now look, I know the world has gone SUV crazy
and there is an RS version of the Kodiaq,
but I reckon this, the Octavia RS, is still the hero
at least for me - of the Škoda family.
With the new RS, Škoda have kept pretty much
to the knitting, it's handsome and pretty low-key
but the clues are there. The wheels and brakes,
and it sits 15 millimeters lower than other Octavia's.
So yes, it's sporty, but it's still practical.
And here's the perfect example, Octavia's are famous
for this - in fact all Škoda's are -
the boot of this wagon.
640L, fold those seats down
1700L...
Let's see SUV's match that sort of space.
There's also plenty of leg room for rear seat passengers.
You know, it's that whole umbrella in the door
'Simply Clever' approach that centres on comfort
and happiness for the people on board.
Oh, and the RS front seats are also on point.
And it's not just about the space, there's plenty of
space age tech as well. Two big screens,
a configurable dash and a 10 inch display that
takes care of pretty much everything.
And you can go cable-free in this car with wireless charging
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
So while the touchscreen takes care of a whole heap of functions,
there are still some buttons. Škoda have resisted
the temptation to go completely buttonless,
and one button that does remain is the 'Engine Start',
I think it's time to drive.
Well the first thing you notice when you get in the RS
is the steering wheel, it's got three spokes and
a lot of the Škoda models for '21 have two spokes,
and I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I do love
three spokes on a steering wheel.
And you then you drive it and you notice straight away
the progressive steering system, nice and light
and useful around town, but the gearing changes to make
sure it's a more involving drive once you're on the open road.
Speaking of the front wheels there's some extra smarts
at play - an XDS electronic locking front diff.
Which means this car can put all of the
370Nm in the right place and the right time on the corners.
While we're talking about numbers, another worth mentioning
is the price. $57,990 is what you'll pay for the
Octavia RS at Giltrap Škoda - and that includes a
5 year 150,000km mechanical warranty.
Some other numbers, you can hear a
2L turobocharged, 4 cylinder, 180 kilowatts -
thats 245 brake horsepower in the old measurment -
going through a 7 speed dual-clutch gear box
the result? 0-100 in 6.7 seconds.
Of course another Škoda trait is cars come loaded
with awesome spec, and I'm reminded being here on the motorway
surrounded by vehicles, that this car comes absolutely
loaded with saftey equipment - for example
front and rear autonomous braking and lane keep assist.
So simply put, this car will stop me from hitting things
in front, behind and beside.
Some more smarts deliver the fun if you like
in the ride. Along with the XDS front diff there's
also dynamic chassis control. Now I'm on the
motorway right now and I'm in Comfort, earlier on
having fun in Sport mode. And you know, this new
RS is a fraction longer than the last model but
you'd really need a ruler to be able to tell beacuse
in reality on the road it actually feels more nimble.
I know the world's in love with SUV's but
you get in a car like this with
better performance, better looks, better handling
more load space.
And you really wonder...
if that view is actually worth it.
You know 'Simply Clever' is the Škoda tagline
and right across the range Škoda's make sense up here.
All the practicality, the usefulness, the thoughtfulness.
But you drive the Octavia RS and there's a whole other level,
you see it also makes sense, right here.