This Box-Ticking Skoda Octavia vRS Is The Price Of A Citigo

The third-generation Octavia vRS has been around long enough for depreciation to drop it to the price of a nearly new Citigo

Matt Robinson

07 Jan 2020

This Box-Ticking Skoda Octavia vRS Is The Price Of A Citigo

The word is that the next Skoda Octavia vRS will be available as a plug-in hybrid. We’re sure it’ll be an interesting performance car, and the more conventional petrol and diesel versions are likely to be fun too. But will any of them advance on the quiet brilliance of the third-gen vRS to a significant degree? We have our doubts.

This is important, as if you don’t fancy waiting around for the MkIV go-faster Skoda Octavia, you can jump the queue and save a great deal of money by bagging an early MkIII. This one, for instance, is just £8995, about the same price as a nearly new Citigo.

With 82,500 miles on the clock, it’s leggier than average for a 2014-registered car, but if the mileage is of concern, there are plenty kicking around for not much more.

Any of them will be (sound the car journalism cliche klaxon) a lot of car for the money, in quite a literal sense. Even the hatchback version has oodles of luggage space to fill - 590 litres, or a whopping 1580 with the rear seats folded flat.

It’s very much the Golf GTI‘s even more sensible sibling, sitting on the same MQB platform and sharing its EA888 inline-four TSI engine with the VW. The 2.0-litre lump produces 217bhp, making for a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds in Octavias that - like today’s pick - have the six-speed manual gearbox equipped.

All of this thrust is sent through the front wheels via an open differential - if you want the snazzy VAQ electronically-controlled locking differential, you’ll need to spend a great deal more on the vRS 230 that arrived in 2016.

The driver’s seat is showing signs of wear, but the full leather interior looks tidy for the most part. It’s fitted with the Bolero infotainment system instead of the snazzier Columbus unit, although it’ll do the job for most.

Tempted? Or would you up the budget further and opt for a VW Golf GTI of a similar vintage?

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

I have had 1 mk2 vrs and now owned 2 mk3 vrs octavia’s. They really are a good car some times repairs can cost more than you would expect. But servicing is relatively cheap, and as with most VAG stuff as long as they have a service history they keep going. My MK2 had 200,000 miles on it when i sold it and is still going now. my first mk3 had 100,000 miles on it before someone wrote it off. and my Current MK3 has 65,000 miles on it and still works just like new.

За тези пари Е60. It’s a common say in Bulgaria, applies here so well :D

здр

I have a MK3 FL vRS and a friend of me has a Golf GTI and i would take the Skoda everytime over the Golf it is just as fast but much comfier and much bigger for less money.