"You want to watch for the corners - it really is quite soft, not like these other cars," Ian says to me, gesturing to our motley collection of hot hatches. "Don't worry," I say reassuringly, "I'm quite gentle with cars I don't know - especially if they belong to somebody else!"
He's right to warn me, though - even a gentle pitch into the first corner I arrive at has the car leaning onto its front-right corner. It's easy to see how you can push this car into oversteer. Consequently, the vRS isn't particularly chuckable, and not the direction-changing hero that some hot hatches are.
That's not to say it isn't without considerable merit, however. The soft suspension means it soaks up lumps and bumps with ease and, provided you don't hustle it too hard, there seems to be plenty of grip.
And that engine. Goodness. It isn't the most characterful of lumps, but boy does it go. "I've got a sneaking suspicion it might not be entirely standard," says Ian. "What do you think?" It certainly feels more keen to whoosh along than 178bhp would suggest, but then the original Octavia has always been a surprisingly strong performer - although there have forever been whispers that the original press cars had 225ps 1.8s rather than the more modest 180ps lumps, resulting in some rather surprising performance claims.
But whatever lies beneath the bonnet of Ian's car it's safe to say that it's a quick, refined, comfortable car, though perhaps more GT than hot hatch...