Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate: PH Fleet

From Shed Of The Week to sparkling new delivery; why fast Skodas are very much 'in' at PH

I am especially excited to be introducing the newest member of the PH Fleet, given the car is well and truly mine. Well, it still belongs to Skoda. But being able to choose the spec from scratch has given me a very real sense of ownership, and added to the excitement.

Yes, it really is that grey

Let's remind ourselves what the Skoda Octavia vRS 230 is. Basically, it's Skoda's version of the VW Golf GTI Performance. That means a bit more power (up 10hp to 230hp), a clever electronically controlled VAQ 'differential' and a host of other goodies like leather seats, 19-inch wheels, subtle styling enhancements, sat-nav, a slightly louder exhaust and some other bits and bobs, details of which are below.

The basic on-the-road price for the vRS 230 in estate form is £27,800, good value given it is only £2,500 more than the standard vRS. A quick play with VW's configurator sees a similarly specced five-door Golf GTI Performance coming in at £4,000 over the Octavia. That's quite a lot of money given the mechanical commonalities.

When we first drove the car at its launch we concluded that it was "a sensible, likeable car - but not one that really enjoys life on a racetrack." Now while we're going to take it back out on circuit at some point, ultimately we're looking forward to finding out if it really is a good road car and a genuine bargain alternative to its stablemates. Hopefully we won't discover a blunted and slightly too sensible GTI with a different badge and a massive boot.

What's it like? Well, the car has only just been delivered and has less than 60 miles on the clock, so bear with. But we've got six months and many thousands of miles to make our minds up. Before that let's look more closely at the spec.

We agreed we'd keep things vaguely sensible and cap the price to less than £30K; easier said than done when it's not your own money! Our car eventually came in at £29,910, meaning £2,110 was spent on extras.

Big boot should suit family man James...

It won't have escaped your attention it is an estate. And a fast one. Just the job given I've always liked a combination of practicality and performance, the need to haul mountain bikes about a primary consideration. OK, maybe secondary now I have a family, a dog and all the rest too. If you like what you see but want it even cheaper, the still vast five-door is a useful £1,220 less.

The next thing you would have noticed is that the car is grey. Really grey. Reactions have been mostly positive so far, although my wife's first response was "is it meant to look like that?" OK, so it does look a bit like primer, but I stand by my decision. There are only four paint choices on the vRS 230, with Corrida Red being the only no-cost option and Black Magic Pearlescent, Moon White Metallic or our chosen Meteor Grey all costing an extra £360.

Heated seats were a must for me, and at £200 they don't look prohibitive. The very handy Simply Clever package was added for just £85 and includes a phone holder, a double-sided boot carpet, a little bin in the driver's door pocket and an ice scraper hidden in the fuel filler cap. Which I'll likely never get to use given the car goes back before winter. Bad times.

I did also 'spend' some money on additional safety equipment in the form of Crew Protection Assistant at £150. In truth, this was added at the last minute because I had some budget to play with and after I had a protective 'new parent' moment. I must admit I then found myself wondering who wouldn't choose an option like this though, and why it's not just standard fit.

... was it mentioned he likes bikes too?

Power adjustable leather seats, sat-nav and a decent enough DAB stereo all come as standard, so I shunned the expensive Canton sound system and big screen Columbus sat-nav. I had the upgraded nav in my previous Golf R long termer and it really isn't much better, despite being a £1,000 option.

And now for a controversial choice: £765 on Adaptive Cruise Control. I know, it means I'm lazy, and probably a terrible driver too, but in my defence I do a lot of motorway miles and, from experience, I can tell you it makes journeys a lot less tiring. The VW group system is also the best I've come across and works really well.

And that is the lot. Nearly. I've already mentioned my love of bicycles and the ability to carry them at any time is important to me. Recently bikes have had to compete for space with push chairs, but those troubles are now a thing of the past. A £550 removable tow bar is not a cheap option, but when combined with a Thule VeloSpace tow bar mounted bike rack, all of my problems are solved. More on this next time.

So there we have it, KY16 HLC is on the PH Fleet after a 12-week wait. It is going to be an interesting six months and I have to admit I'm really looking forward to spending some time getting to know the car. It already has the obligatory PH smiley sticker on the boot, so if you see it out and about make sure you give us a wave!

FACT SHEET
Car: 2016 Skoda Octavia vRS 230 Estate
Run by: James
On fleet since: April 2016
Mileage: 60 (rising hourly!)
List price new: £29,910 (Basic list of £27,800 plus £550 for tow bar, £765 for Adaptive Cruise Control, Crew Protection Assist for £150, Heated seats for £200, Simply Clever package for £85 and Meteor Grey paint for £360)
Last month at a glance: Battleship assemble!