00:00In an automotive world increasingly obsessed with appliance-like SUVs and electric cars
00:05with the soul of a toaster, pockets of resistance still exist.
00:09Islands of sanity for those who believe a car can and should serve more than one purpose.
00:15This is where the Skoda Octavia RS comes in, a car that refuses to choose between taking
00:21the kids to school or devouring a winding mountain road.
00:24It simply decides to do both, and it does so with irritating competence.
00:30At the heart of this Czech machine, which unfortunately we don't see around here,
00:34resides the well-known 2.0 TSI engine, the EA888 in its fourth evolution.
00:40Skoda decided to simplify things, ditching the diesel and hybrid options from the RS line.
00:45A purist decision, or perhaps just a way to cut costs, who knows.
00:49What matters is the result.
00:52265 horsepower and 370 newton-meters of torque, available in a rev range that makes overtakes
00:58a mere exercise in disdain for slower drivers.
01:02The 0-100 kmh acceleration is around 6.4 seconds, before hitting the electronic limit of 250 kmh,
01:10a sort of electronic babysitter for adults.
01:13The existential choice Skoda imposes on you is between the liftback and the combi, the wagon.
01:19The liftback is the sedan with a secret, a gigantic tailgate that reveals a 600-liter trunk.
01:25The combi, the wagon, is the ultimate declaration of practicality, with its 640 liters of capacity.
01:33That's enough space to carry the family, luggage, and maybe a weekend's worth of bad decisions.
01:38The wagon is 25 kilograms heavier and a tenth of a second slower in acceleration,
01:44a difference you'd only notice if you timed your trip to the bakery.
01:47Visually, the car received that facelift every midlife demands.
01:50The front end became more aggressive, with a new grille, redesigned bumpers, and second-generation LED matrix headlights.
01:58Yes, another light signature for us to pretend we care about.
02:03At the rear, updated taillights and a new diffuser complete the package,
02:07ensuring it looks fast even when stuck in traffic, scoffing at the surrounding cars with its elegant and functional stance.
02:13Inside, the tech party continues.
02:16An optional 13-inch central screen dominates the dashboard, ready to be smudged by your fingers.
02:22The system, they say, is faster, and now features the Laura voice assistant, boosted by artificial intelligence.
02:29Laura, please find a reason for me not to hate Mondays.
02:33As standard, the car comes with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential and adaptive suspension,
02:38items that transform this family sedan into a surprisingly effective curve predator.
02:43Putting this old damn thing into perspective, the Octavia RS competes with the crowd favorite,
02:48the Volkswagen Golf GTI, and the Korean bad boy, the Hyundai Elantra N.
02:53The Golf is more agile, a scalpel for winding roads.
02:56The Elantra N is louder and more visceral, a punch to the face in car form.
03:01But comparing their trunk space with the Octavias is a bad joke.
03:04The Skoda offers the space of a higher category car, making it the logical choice for those who have a life beyond track days.
03:12The advantages are obvious.
03:14It's a Swiss army knife.
03:15It combines performance, comfort, and interior space that humiliates the competition.
03:21The 265-horsepower engine is more than enough to guarantee fun and speeding tickets.
03:26The problem?
03:28It's almost too perfect.
03:30The engine sound is restrained, too polite for an RS.
03:33And because it's larger, it doesn't have that youthful agility a compact hot hatch offers.
03:39That's the price you pay for maturity, I suppose.
03:42In the end, the Skoda Octavia RS is the performance car for the person who has passed the phase of wanting to prove something to others.
03:49It's fast, technological, absurdly practical, and most importantly, discreet.
03:54It's the perfect tool that, to our misfortune, the Volkswagen Group denies us.
04:00A brilliant, complete car that will remain just a JPEG file on our computers.
04:06How wonderful.
04:07If you enjoyed this, perhaps overly realistic, analysis, hit the like button.
04:13Cheers!
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