Skoda Octavia goes over the top to keep under the radar
Avoiding the potential carnage that is a minute-by-minute threat is one thing; avoiding speed camera vans and the long reach of the Gardaí is quite another.
Such matters are part of daily life for most of the people who might be termed ‘driving drivers’ — those motorists for whom getting from A to B in the swiftest possible time is a working necessity and not just a whimsical thrill. Thus, having the right tool to do the job is absolutely essential and finding such a suitable beast is not always the thing of a moment.
Uncovering something which will get you to B and back to A again in a hurry is one thing, but then you have to factor in all the family stuff, like getting the kids to ballet practice, or some such.
A vehicular Stealth Bomber is needed; but one which doesn’t even look — or cost — like it involved a billion dollar outlay and yet still has the capacity of a workaday 747.
There are, of course, many powerful and useful-beyond-their-muscle performance cars available across a broad range of market segments, but oftentimes those two door coupes or three door hatchbacks simply do not have the necessary practicality to make them the functional tool a lot of people are looking for.
Some companies have adapted their traditional ‘hot’ models to make them a tad more handy for the people that buy them, but that has not necessarily made them fit for family purpose.
There are surprisingly few cars available right now that actually achieve this feat and whose understated looks make them appear — on the face of things — to be relatively normal run-of-the-mill, everyday family cars. Even fewer achieve this while also having diesel motivation.
People really do want cars with no-nonsense performance but with added realistic and sensible usability as well as reasonable consumption parameters and emission levels which will not ultimately tax them off the road.
In the diesel milieu, the Golf GTD and the oil-burning version of the Ford Focus ST are two which spring to mind immediately, having the necessary family-oriented practicality as well as a turn of foot which should satisfy anyone for whom flying under the radar is a daily necessity. But there is another one out there and it is not one which might immediately spring to buyers’ minds.
The petrol version of the Skoda Octavia vRS was originally a real under the radar performance car, imbued as it is with stunning pace and fabulous practicality. Now, however, its’ bow has been given several new strings, not least of which is a 181 bhp turbodiesel engine. But that’s not the end of it.
Those clever folk at Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic have also thrown a full-time four wheel drive system at it and… presto!... you now have something of a different order altogether.
As with all smokers, the power and torque bands are narrow enough so getting the most out it — performance-wise — requires a keen mind and an agile right foot. The DSG ’box is not unduly intrusive if left alone, although the Sports mode does get it a bit agitated. The engine/gearbox combination may therefore take a little getting used to, but once you’ve found how to make it sing, the results are truly impressive. The real deal with this car though is the on-road behaviour. Keep that engine in the sweet spot and this yoke delivers in spades in the grip and handling departments.
The old Mario Andretti quote about a really sweet handling racecar being ‘painted to the road’ comes to mind. The 4x4 system is pretty smart and will automatically deliver power to those wheels which need it most, but there is a question about it: who actually needs it?
Hill farmers in Leitrim with children going to ballet lessons and facing the occasional week of snow? Perhaps. Or maybe very smart wives/girlfriends/partners who’ve persuaded their husbands/boyfriends, etc, that this is not only the essence of practicality, but it will get them to the airport for their next international assignation quicker than an Uber driver on Dexedrine? Maybe.
The thing is that this car will fulfil all such needs and it will do so while looking as innocuous as a suave man in a smart suit. Well under the radar. I’m not saying it looks like a clonker or anything, far from it in fact. But it is not overly outré in the way of outrageously suggested menace — of the type that attracts unwanted attention, legally or illegally.
This 4x4 version is also a smarter performer than its’ two wheel drive siblings with the 0-100 kph dash achieved in 7.6 seconds, as against the 8.1 for the manual and 8.2 for the DSG. The added weight of the 4WD system accounts for a small dip in top speed — 228 kph, as against 230 and 232 for the other versions and there is also a slight consumption penalty but the 4.9 l/100 km (57.1 mpg) is still not to be sniffed at.
Throw in a sound symposer which adds a neat — if slightly fraudulent — aural accompaniment to proceedings and a specification package which is top drawer and includes all sorts of goodies to further sweeten you towards the car and you have a package which is very liveable with and which will make that daily grind all the more bearable.
It is true perhaps that the 4x4 function will be pooh-poohed by many who deem it unnecessary and costly, but for those who do demand the extra security it provides, they will have both the first and last laugh if the winter months freeze us into near immobility, or if the spring months submerge us with deluge after deluge.
No doubt this will be a niche model for ?Skoda and they will not sell that many of them — but, and it is a fairly sizeable but — it will provide those who have the wit and wisdom to secure one with a mode of muscular transport which will get them pretty much anywhere, anytime and in any weather conditions.
And it will fly under the radar too.
Colley’s Verdict
From €38,795 - €40,817 as tested.
A very willing — and able — turbodiesel.
The cat’s whiskers.
Limited appeal, perhaps. But what appeal.
