Power-packed Skoda Octavia vRS is perfect combo of performance & practicality… the engine is smoother than Ant & Dec

WE live in a world that only moves at 20mph.

Roadworks. Crashes. Average speed cameras. Protest marches. Floods.

You get the picture.

All of these things conspire to make every journey take twice as long as it should.

So where can I drive at speed for more than a minute to actually feel what’s going on beneath me? I know. The Isle of Man.

Sticky drive up the M6 to Heysham, as expected. Midnight ferry to Douglas.

Then straight to the famous mountain roads — where there are NO speed limits — to give the new Skoda Octavia vRS a proper workout.

That was the plan, anyway.

Except, when we got there it was FOGGY. Pea soup. You couldn’t see beyond the bonnet. Even 20mph was risking it.

But the car’s computer did tell me we averaged 47mpg, 7mpg more than Skoda’s official figures. Every cloud and all that.

After a cracking brekkie at the Victory Cafe, the fog eventually lifted . . . and so did the speedo.

Holy moly, these roads are fast. Like, really fast. Bumpy. Tricky. But crazy fast. One small mistake and your next trip will be in the back of an ambulance.

The engine and gearbox are smoother than Ant & Dec.

Local hero Mark Higgins holds the lap record, averaging 128.7mph over the 37-mile TT course in a Subaru WRX STI.

Imagine that.

Right, let’s unpack the Octavia vRS. Prices from £39k.

No diesel any more. So no four-wheel drive. Grrr. But you still get the choice of hatch or estate.

Power from the 2-litre petrol is up 20hp to 265hp. The most powerful Octavia vRS yet.

Acceleration is two tenths quicker, cutting the 0-62mph sprint to 6.4 seconds. Top speed is 155mph — and we can do that here.

The engine and seven-speed auto gearbox are smoother than Ant & Dec. The steering is precise.

The brakes are nicely modulated. The suspension sits 15mm lower than a regular Octavia but there’s a nice balance between body control and ride comfort.

Loads of technology

The new twin sports exhaust sounds fruity.

Put simply, this car has all the everyday performance you need — combined with all the tech and practicality your family needs.

The cabin looks class with its red vRS stitching. The new 13in touchscreen carries loads of technology.

The kiddlywinks have plenty of space in all directions and, being a Skoda, the boot is H U G and E.

We’re talking 600 litres for the hatch and 640 litres for the estate. Flip the rear seats down and you’ve got a van.

So, that’s the Octavia vRS. The most likeable practical performance car I can think of for the money.

Even at 20mph.