New Skoda Octavia vRS undercuts the VW Golf GTI – but only just

• Facelift for the Skoda Octavia vRS
• Available as a hatchback and estate
• Prices start from £38,670

UK pricing has at last been confirmed for the new Skoda Octavia vRS, the sportiest version of the Czech car maker’s family hatchback. Costing from £38,670, the new model is almost exactly £2,000 more expensive than the outgoing car, bringing its starting price within a few hundred pounds of the mechanically-similar Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The new Skoda Octavia vRS packs far more performance than the regular Octavia, which went on sale earlier this year. Customers can place an order for both hatchback and estate models from the 14th of August, with the latter costing around £1,100 extra.

What do I need to know about the new Skoda Octavia vRS?

The Skoda Octavia vRS is the performance-focused variant of the regular Octavia, which received a light facelift this year. The update brought new, sharper styling and an upgraded interior, both of which apply to the vRS model, too.

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The updated Octavia vRS gets striking new LED headlights and a pair of redesigned front and rear bumpers. All of the exterior trim, including the front grille, door mirrors, window trim, rear diffuser and twin exhaust pipes, is painted in black. Estate models get black roof rails, too, while both cars get 19-inch alloy wheels finished in a lighter shade of grey.

The interior upholstery is black to match the exterior, although there’s contrasting red stitching for a sportier edge. Elsewhere the hot Octavia gets a leather steering wheel, aluminium pedal covers and ‘vRS’ emblems stitched into the front headrests, while the seats themselves get a massage function. You also get the same 13-inch infotainment touchscreen as the regular Octavia, plus a 10-inch driver’s display.

The Octavia vRS is available with one engine only: a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder with 261bhp. It’s shared with the new Volkswagen Golf GTI, along with the seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox that directs power to the front wheels – there’s no manual gearbox this time around.

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Despite sharing its platform, engine and gearbox with the Golf GTI, the Octavia vRS isn’t quite as quick. The 0-62mph sprint takes 6.4 seconds in the Octavia vRS hatchback, while the estate is 0.1 seconds behind. That’s half a second off the acceleration time set by the new Golf GTI, although both share their limited top speed of 155mph.

How much does the new Skoda Octavia vRS cost and when can I buy one?

Prices for the new Skoda Octavia vRS start from £38,670 – that’s a fairly substantial £2,000 rise over the outgoing DSG-equipped car. The estate model commands an additional £1,105. That brings the Octavia vRS much closer to its sister car from Volkswagen – the Golf GTI – in terms of price. That model costs from £38,900 – only £230 more than the Skoda. Customers can place an order for both hatchback and estate versions of the Octavia vRS from the 14th of August.

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