The Gentleman Racers' Club

The Škoda Octavia RS has ruled the roads and hearts of Indians for 25 years. How well does the latest generation hold up its legacy? We find out

- Story: Abhisu Poddar Photography: Sanjay Raikar

IF YOU WERE TO ASK WHAT THE “BEST CAR IN the World” is, you'd receive many answers, all the way from the fastest of Bugattis to the hottest of Porsches. However, in my humble opinion, the “best car” is realistically the one that pulls you out of bed early everyday, looking forward to the drive to work. It’s the car you can use on a daily basis, without compromising on practicality and quality of life, while giving you all the satisfaction you could ever ask for. The Škoda Octavia RS definitely satisfies on that front.

After a four-year-long hiatus since the last Mk3.5 VRS 245 CBU car got sold out, the performance sedan that introduced the concept of accessible, practical, and tuner-friendly performance cars to India is finally back. Škoda has brought 100 units of the Mk4.5 Octavia RS to our shores, and... all of them were sold out within 20 minutes. Bummer.

Still, that does not stop us from talking about this much-anticipated machine. The Mk4 carries much of the Mk3 VRS' sporty-executive personality, the generational shift being more evolutionary than revolutionary in nature. The RS is only subtly more aggressive than its ordinary Octavia siblings. The fascia is characterised by the familiar blacked out grille sporting a “vRS” badge, flanked by LED Matrix headlights on either side. The lower grille has a honeycomb-like pattern with air dams on either side that channel air over the front wheels, minimizing turbulence and enhancing efficiency. Sharp and clean shoulder lines trace the profile all the way to the rear, where the boot-lid is crowned by a subtle black spoiler, and a diffuser houses two decently sized exhaust outlets, with real pipes inside.