Skoda’s fleet-friendly Octavia has made itself even more friends, though possibly not with the petro-companies, since the latest model is a plug-in hybrid variant.
Octavia is the second Skoda to receive an electrification upgrade after the Police pick of the Superb – which is already undergoing frontline Police trials – and, much though it pains us to admit it, the Octavia iV is probably the more engaging of the pair.
Oh, don’t mistake this, the Superb is still our favourite by a long margin, but then NZ Company Vehicle has hmm, specific considerations colouring our opinions.
The Octavia iV then, can still be recognised for its meritorious attributes – most of which circle around the fun factor of having the RS badging and the performance which comes as part of that.
There are two variations on the Octavia RS theme – the RS tested here and the Style which is a little tamer and probably better suited to the pages of this publication.
The RS, however, is perhaps more significant as far as Skoda is concerned because it is the first PHEV performance vehicle to bear the Skoda badge, and Skoda does like its landmarks.
Clarifying the outputs, the Octavia Rs typically runs a 1.4-litreTSI petrol engine outputting some 110kW alongside an 85kW electric motor, which adds up to 180kW – well, not exactly, even my math isn’t that bad, but we’re assuming slight power losses through the transmission etcetera – and perhaps more critically, a combined 400Nm of torque.
For those keeping score, that’s 30Nms more than you would get from the larger displacement two-litre, petrol-only Octavia RS and as for emissions, well, the PHEV’s 37gm per km absolutely trounces the 170gm/km of the petrol-only model.
And as for fuel efficiency, a petrol RS on a good day will return around 7.6 litrse per 100km, the PHEV? Something on the order of 1.6 litres per 100km with about 60km range on pure electricity alone.
In the slightly downside column is the reduced luggage space. The iV is down about 150 litres compared to the regular model, but even so, 490 litres is not exactly small sacks of spuds.
Besides, you can fold the rear seats down for extra space should the need arise.
The rest of the Octavia RS iV is a collection of contemporary Skoda internals – simple yet sophisticated for all that and with some RS special treatments: red stitching a split leather/ quilted suede seat with hints of performance bolstering, the crush-bottomed multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifts (useful, because the Skoda does have that stumpy gear selector which no one seems to like) and a damn fine audio system.
The black external lettering hints at the special nature of the RS as do the sexily squared off tail pipes. Yes, most of this can only be seen from the back, but that’s what other motorists are likely to see the most of anyway.
Is the Octavia PHEV worthy of the RS badge? To a purist petrolhead, the answer is no, but for fleet execs who want to walk the walk as well as talk the talk when it comes to making a positive environmental tyre track, well yeah, the idea of a performance PHEV has to be the best comparison to guilt-free chocolate you’ll come across.
And did we have fun? Well, officer, it’s kinda like this…
Specifications
BODY TYPE
5-door wagon
DRIVE
Front wheel/ 6-speed DSG
ENGINE TYPE
4-cylinder, petrol with petrol electric
ENGINE CAPACITY
1395cc
MAX POWER
180kW (combined)
MAX TORQUE
400Nm (combined)
L/100KM (COMBINED)
1.6
CO2 EMISSIONS
37 g/km
ANCAP RATING
5 Star Euro NCAP
PRICE
$72,990 (list)
