Today
Shed of the Week: Skoda Octavia vRS
High performance, low cost and maximum subtlety - what more does the family Shedman need?
While we're in Connery mode, it seems only right to remind ourselves of how far Shkoda has come in a short time. Not so very long ago, 'jokes' like "what's the difference between a Skoda and a Jehovah's Witness?" "You can shut the door on a Jehovah's Witness" and "what do you call a Skoda with twin exhausts?" "A wheelbarrow" were splitting sides all over the UK. Sort of.
Dodgy screenwash pipes here will ruin your shopping
In the face of such hilarity Skoda has always put on a corporate smile and remained stoic. To be honest their pre-21st century cars were never as bad as they were painted. That's not a criticism of their paintshop, by the way.Not many folk realise that VW was fighting against Renault for the right to link up with Skoda back in 1991. Renault lost out because they saw Skoda as a kind of bread-basket operation for their cheap and small motors, whereas VW promised to include the Czech operation in its higher-value manufacturing plans.
And so it transpired. The VW tie-up kicked off a new era of 'proper' Skodas, the Octavia of 1996 being one of them. 2001's vRS was the first performance Skoda to announce itself as such.
It was a front-driver, but that didn't stop journos (or traffic police) raving about it. £15,100 was a pure bargain for a torquey, 7.6 seconds to 60, 147mph hatchback with the capacity to take five people and their luggage somewhere far away in speed and comfort. The only minor negative was the absence of a sixth gear.
Pretty fresh inside for 130K
It was well built and reliable though. In 2003 the Octavia came third out of 137 cars in a big car mag survey. A year after that, Skoda as a marque came second in the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey, with the Octavia finishing joint fourth in the models listing. So, what's the catch with this spanking red vRS?Well, a decade after all the plaudits, we know a little more about the 20-valve 1.8 turbo engine. Air mass sensors and turbo dump valves can fail, and design flaws like the famously fragile plastic water pump impellers on early engines (like this one) cause catastrophic damage when they crumble because the timing belt gets thrown off at the same time. Changing the belts and pumps (every 60K miles if you know what's good for you) isn't an especially quick job.
This particular car is from the 2001-02 era when one or more of the four ignition coils on this car could be expected to go south. That wasn't a Skoda exclusive. There was a huge coils hoo-hah between the wider VW group and its crestfallen supplier, and an even bigger one among the poor sods who, for a time, were tearing their hair out in a fruitless search for working replacements.
And there's an MOT until December too
Back to our Octavia. The pipes to the rear screenwash can pop off. You'll know that's happened when (a) the screen isn't being cleaned and (b) the Rice Krispies you put into the enormous boot keep turning into Rice Soggies. That's another VW group peccadillo that's as familiar to Golf owners as to Octavia ones.Shed isn't sure about this vRS but many of the Octavias he has driven have had a peculiar quirk in the speedometer design wherein the gaps between the speed increments reduced in size the faster you went. Only Skoda does this. Why? Who knows.
Outside this car is a bright as a button with factory-fresh shutlines and mint alloys. The cabin looks just as sweet. Two owners, one nice long MOT and there's even a towbar to drag your Rapid to the local banger race, though possibly not back again.
Given the risks, £850 seems a fair price. You might be lucky. And if you are, you will be very lucky. Good cars, these.
Red, 2 owners, Next MOT due 14/12/2016, Climate Control, Alloy Wheels (17in), Computer, Electric Windows (Front/Rear), In Car Entertainment (Radio/Cassette/CD Autochanger), Upholstery Cloth/Leather, Airbags, Alarm, Alloy wheels, CD Player. 5 seats, This car was taken in part exchange by us at Trade Price Cars. Not Mechanically checked or Inspected however we will always give you an accurate description of the car before you travel. CALL 07977223024 FOR ANY QUESTIONS, RAC Dealer, Competitive Prices 24/7, UK Delivery, 12 Months MOT & Breakdown, Warranty, Part Exchange, £850
1.8 vRS 5dr