Wednesday 14th October 2015

Skoda Octavia vRS: Market Watch

Not exactly sexy, but all three generations of Octavia vRS have real appeal for the PHer with nothing to prove

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The Octavia vRS changed the image of Skoda forever - from 90s joke to a performance hero of the 2000s. And although the styling might not stir the soul, for many the combination of practicality and performance in a low-profile affordable package makes it almost unbeatable. The car of choice for police and paramedics alike, Skoda's mid-sized hatch and estate is readily tuneable too. And the first two generations are now as cheap as chips.

Developing a serious anti-establishment cult following in the early 2000s, the 1.8-litre turbo Mk1 vRS was ideal for those unable to afford the insurance premiums and prices of more illustrious rivals. And through two subsequent generations, the Octavia vRS has continued to prove extremely popular, accounting for more than 15 per cent of all UK Octavia sales.

With the first Octavia vRS 230s being delivered to UK right now and the four-wheel drive car just announced, it seemed the ideal time to revisit all three generations and discover which vRS Octavia models make the best buys.

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Introduction
Skoda Octavia vRS Mk1 (2001-2005)
Skoda Octavia vRS Mk2 (2005-2013)
Skoda Octavia vRS Mk3 (2013-on)

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Many thanks to Topcats Racing UK Ltd, Westcott Venture Park, Briskoda, RevoTechnik, Diesel Performance and Glass's Guide for their help with this feature

vRS Mk3 Photos: Tom Begley

[ProBodge]

Long time owner of a Mk1 here (had mine over 8 years and put coming up to 100k miles on it).

Great cars. Hard to beat at the obscenely low prices they're at now.

The stats after a simple stage 1 remap (no hardware changes) are pretty solid for a 13.5yr old car that's worth £1100 according to Autotrader. 205bhp & 354Nm (it's been on a rolling road recently), 36mpg (average), absolutely enormous boot, great reliability and a body that doesn't rust.

Shed of the year?!

I actually preferred it when the Skoda name was still a bit of a joke. Always felt fun overtaking expensive BMW's and Audi's in a turbocharged skip!

[Dr G]

All good cars (except PD diesel engined variant) and real value.

There's a typo in the title, should read 'have' rather than 'has'

[Nik Attard]

Dr G said:

All good cars (except PD diesel engined variant) and real value.

There's a typo in the title, should read 'have' rather than 'has'

Thanks for the tip-off.
All sorted now.

Nik

[LankyLegoHead]

Not sure why my reply was removed here?

As I wrote, would thoroughly recommend one. This year I had a MK1 in Yellow that was absolutely mint and it completed my RoadTrip in the summer without fault! (Over 4150 miles).

[g7jhp]

The petrol Skoda Octavia vRS estate does look great VFM when compared older Audi B7 estate etc.

Lot of performance upgrades to turn it into a real wolf in sheeps clothing!

[Madkat]

Previously owned a MK1 I knew i made a bad decision as i traded in my MK4 ibiza Cupra for it (wanted something with working suspension and better insurance). There was nothing really majorly wrong with it as a car and it had one of the best engine and gearbox matches i've ever driven and the shift was lovely and slick.

But if you pushed it hard into a corner it would understeer forever the steering was a bit vague despite having enough feedback. The brakes were good enough with big rotor's and probably mapped it certainly went well enough. Huge boot could swallow two mountain bikes with the seats up and parcel shelf still in But mine developed an engine problem and was worryingly tappety at cold starts but it quickly vanished when the cold cycle had finished and it burnt no oil. Front antiroll bar bolt snapped when replacing bushes resulting in the subframe needing dropping for it to be drilled out and replaced. No alarm was a bit of concern at times too.

Got a good price at trade in though and for the price it was an alright car.

Edited by Madkat on Wednesday 14th October 12:39

[Passeyfier]

I've owned my Mk1 vRS estate for almost 6 months now and it's been great. Enough power for day to day needs, decent fuel economy, fairly cheap to run (so far nothing has required replacing, fingers crossed) and plenty of room for passengers and luggage. It's an '03 and has clocked up around 122000 miles so far and came with a full service history. The only modifications it has are larger 18" BBS wheels (the estate was only offered with 16" alloys for some reason; not sure if 17s were an option)and a head unit. The audio system is a little, wait make that pretty rubbish so that's something that needs improving at some point.

The only things that are a bit niggling are the gear shifter can occasionally become a bit stuck, particularly going from first to reverse and vice-versa, the driving position is a little high up, even with the seat at a sensible position and 5th gear really could be longer for motorway journeys. In fact, a 6th gear would be beneficial but besides that it's done me proud and I can't see myself selling it any time soon.

[FF24]

Erm, am I missing something here?

Isn't the Mk2 listed in the post here, actually the Mk3? And the Mk3 actually the Mk4.

I thought this was the Mk2

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

I'm sure there is reason for this. Can anyone elaborate?

[neelyp]

FF24 said:

Erm, am I missing something here?

Isn't the Mk2 listed in the post here, actually the Mk3? And the Mk3 actually the Mk4.

I thought this was the Mk2

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

I'm sure there is reason for this. Can anyone elaborate?

The model shown above is a post facelift MK2, the one in the ad is a pre facelift.

[FF24]

Thank you @neelyp

[LankyLegoHead]

DDg said:

"... real appeal for the pHer that has nothing to prove"... yet are then bought by people who drive them like they have everything to prove :-)

Funny that, it was a paper like the Daily Mail or the like who did a survey on car brands and what people associate with their drivers/driving style. Skoda came out as the fastest driven on the roads.

And in fairness, I did drive fairly quick in it. Something about hooning a big wagon thats just satisfying... never dangerous or anything mind you! And even on the 'Ring I was a bit cautious!

[patmahe]

I did not need this thread today, currently up to my armpits in a kitchen renovation, just bought one house, am selling another. Have 3 cars, but have always had a hankering for a VRS. In the 'one car for the rest of your life' threads its my go to realistic answer (something I could actually afford to buy and run)

Some day, hopefully soon, new ones are lovely, but one like below would do me fine.

[marcosgt]

I had a 2002 mk1 from new for over 90,000 miles.

The snootiness about Skodas remains even in this post...

"people who couldn't afford the insurance premiums or price of more illustrious..." - I was looking for a sporty saloon and expected to get a company car (a 325i, X-Type, S3/A4, MG-ZT), but when I drove the vRS, after reading the glowing Autocar reviewing (and, I'll admit, seeing the ten grand saving on the 'competition', I couldn't see why I'd spend the extra money.

Sure the others were a fraction more comfy, but none were significantly better to drive. I got my wife to come along and have a drive because I thought maybe I was fooling myself, but she agreed and the Octavias remains her favourite car that I've owned.

We did a trip to Austria in it one summer, 4 up, with the boot full of luggage and two crates of Weissbier we saw 145 MPH on the speedo (a bit disappointed not to get an indicated 150, but it was a lot of weight onboard!).

It was comfy (ride maybe a little harsher than some like), economic (always 30+ and I saw 40+ on some 80MPH motorway trips), well made and always a pleasure to drive. The CD player was tinny (but then saw were Audis and VWs of the era) and the rear seat was thin (to allow more legroom, apparently), but that's about all I'd say were negatives (unless you count the stupid comments from people - I had a Jaguar S-Type before this and got plenty of 'heated rear window' jokes, but honestly the Skoda was so much better to drive, I just smiled at their ignorance.

I didn't like the styling of the Mk2 that much, but I'm tempted to consider the latest model again, now I need something a bit more practical than my RX8, to lug dive gear around in.

DDg said:

"... real appeal for the pHer that has nothing to prove"... yet are then bought by people who drive them like they have everything to prove :-)

Really, I thought that was the people in the 1.8 Audis, BMWS and Mercs? Certainly been my experience... I developed a theory in Germany that a Mercedes in front of you was always going 10MPH slower than you wanted to go and the one on your bootlid (and it was nearly ALWAYS a Mercedes) wanted to go 10 MPH faster (even if the one behind you BECAME the one in front of you, the theory held good!)

M

Edited by marcosgt on Wednesday 14th October 17:22

[ManicMunky]

Had two Mk1's, driven a few Mk2's and a Mk3. All decent cars. But as other's have said, do seem to be driven by people who have something to prove (the old "Yeah I err... drive a Skoda... but it's just a VW underneath and I paid so much less than the equivalent VW..." stuff...).

Edit to add: I really liked all the ones I drove based on their own merits (otherwise I wouldn't have had two Mk1's!) and I do keep looking at them in the classifieds!

I'd also question the motives of a man who sells tuning boxes trying to scare people off remaps

[Hub]

I was looking for a petrol mk2 facelift estate for a while, but I didn't realise how rare they were! The hatch isn't actually any less practical, but it was the estate I wanted. I wasn't in a rush but in the end moved on and got a Focus ST estate. Glad I did in the end because the VRS wouldn't have really been any different to the mk5 Golf GTi I had before that. Great all rounders though, and good value. I was slightly concerned about the cam chain/engine failure issue however.

The mk3 looks much smarter, and bigger, if slightly dull. Seems to hold its value better though.

[JMF894]

Here's a couple of pics of my MK1 from Italy back in 2010. Lake Garda and the Stelvio Pass. Had it for 5 years and wish I still did. 130K on the clock when sold and drove like new. Not the fastest, best looking or most fun car I've ever had, but as an all round package and taking into account reliability and what it cost to buy it was and remains unquestionably the best car I have ever had. I was lucky when searching for one as this came up close to home with xenons, parking sensors, cruise and ESP. All I did was add a Revo stage 1 remap. Fond memories..........





Jimbo

[kambites]

Our mk2 makes a decent enough family car but it is in no way the sort of car I'd take for a drive just for the sake of driving it.

It goes well enough in a straight line that you don't have to worry about overtaking and there's nothing wrong with the chassis - basically it does nothing badly but it doesn't really do anything particularly well either except for carry more stuff than it's competition. It's just a moderately quick family hatch which happens to have a bigger boot than most.

[kambites]

FF24 said:

Erm, am I missing something here?

Isn't the Mk2 listed in the post here, actually the Mk3? And the Mk3 actually the Mk4.

I thought this was the Mk2

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

I'm sure there is reason for this. Can anyone elaborate?

They are both mk2s, one is a mild facelift of the other.

[LivewareProblem]

What sort of MPG are you Mk2 Petrol owners getting?

[kambites]

LivewareProblem said:

What sort of MPG are you Mk2 Petrol owners getting?

The wife's car averages about 30mpg, almost entirely around town; 70mpg on the motorway gives about 38-40mpg.