2007 Skoda Octavia RS First Steer
October 13, 2007 by Anthony Crawford
2007 Skoda Octavia RS First Steer
“I can hear you all mumbling to each other out there, who’d buy a Skoda? Me, especially the Octavia RS with the same engine as the Golf GTI”
The Czech Republic is surrounded by Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia and one thing it’s not known for, is great food. Stodgy dumplings and generally heavy fare, take top billing on the menu most nights.
What it does do well though, is build cars. Lots of them, and they all wear a Skoda badge.
2007 should see over 600,000 Skoda cars leave the factories. Not only that, they have been proudly building cars for 102 years, so its fair to say they know a thing or two about the process.
Better still, in 2000, the Volkswagen group became outright owners of the brand, which has benefited enormously from the global resources and automotive know how within the VW Group.
Skoda is easily the Czech Republic’s largest corporation and by far the largest employer. They all want to keep their jobs too, so the build quality of Skoda cars is said to be superior to many of the more expensive Euro marques.
Don’t take my word though.
In 2006, Top Gear Magazine ran a reader survey, which rated owner satisfaction over 152 different cars. The result saw Skoda ranked – numero uno.
Still not convinced – then we’ll keep going. The highly regarded J D Power and Associates in the UK, found that Skoda was held in such high regard by owners, that the brand was rated second only to Lexus in it’s customer satisfaction survey. I could go on, but that should do for now.
The Octavia RS is of course Skoda’s hero model, and is armed with the potent 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection unit, found in one of our favourite cars, the Golf GTI.
Although the RS is relatively subtle in the looks department, you should have no trouble spotting the car.
First off, you can only get it in two colours, Race Blue Metallic and Sprint Yellow and to be honest, it’s hard to pick one over the other.
You’ll also recognise the RS badge on the front and rear of the car, the twin chrome exhaust tips and the very decent 18” alloys shod with what I regard as the world’s best sports rubber, Michelin Pilot Sport 225/40’s. They’d want to be too at $600 per corner.
Of course like any real sports car, the body is factory lowered, by 15mm.
Inside, it’s all sports kit. The highly bolstered front seats are superb, as is the three spoke leather steering wheel. Instrumentation and trim materials look to be of a high quality with tasteful metal accents throughout the car.
There’s a decent dose of luxury in the Octavia range too with the RS loaded up with goodies. Central locking with remote fob – identical to Volkswagen kit, Climate control with two-zone air conditioning and cooled centre console box for drinks etc, Cruise Control, CD changer (6 CD) with direct Ipod/MP3 input, rear parking sensors and heated front seats, round out the highlights.
The brand statement that Skoda is using is “Simply Clever” and I’ve got no argument with that, particularly if we are talking about the “Roomster”.
You can have the Octavia RS as a five-door hatch or wagon, but let me explain the hatch. Appearances would have you believe this to be a sedan, i.e. with a boot. It’s downright deceiving though, as you lift the hatch to reveal one of the largest cargo spaces on the planet. That’s 560 litres of load space with the rear seats up, and a massive van like 1420 litres with the rear seats folded flat.
I said the powertrain was potent and I meant it. This Skoda will hit 240km/h and do the 0-100km/h sprint in just 7.3 seconds. More to the point, it feels quick and very well planted on the road, while the six-speed manual gearbox makes for rapid shifts.
It’s well sorted too. We were fully into it last week on the track and through the corners body roll was negligible, thanks to a rigid chassis and superb steering set up.
The ride is firm and yet even over poor road surfaces, you don’t ever feel any body jarring through the cabin. This feels very Golf GTI like and that can only be a good thing.
There’s a tonne of safety built into the RS such as six airbags and active safety headrests on the front seats. Active safety features include the latest Electronic Stability Program (ESP) supported by every known electronic safety acronym in the book. That’s ABS + EBD + MSR + ASR EDL + HBA + DSR.
You will need to use RON 98 fuel, but with a kerb weight of only 1400kg and a combined consumption figure of 7.9L/100km – this would have to be one of the most fuel-efficient performance cars on the market today.
The Skoda Octavia RS is also affordable, at least against its closest rivals.
At $37,490 for the five-door sedan and $39,490 for the RS wagon, it undercuts its competition substantially. The Mazda 6 MPS will cost you $54,645 with leather and Subaru’s similar sized Liberty GT Sedan will set you back $54,990 and the wagon $56,990 although both come with auto transmissions.
“Anyone with aspirations of owning a proper Euro style family sized car with genuine sports car performance and below $40,000 better find out where their nearest Skoda dealer is. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed”
By Anthony Crawford
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Still not sure about the styling.Those seats look really nice and comfy, 7.3l/100 and under 40k? Bloody good if you ask me.
Test drive time :D
if they put the DSG gearbox in this… PERFECT
i actulally think it looks good, its got a got shape and its not deformed like other cars of this era(commodore, camry etc)
Agreed Arsenalroc. The DSG box would surely sell more ofn these.
I don’t see why they don’t put a DSG in the RS, it’s available in the cheaper Octavias.
Looks pretty good, if dated. But not in yellow, yuck.
i personally like the shape- it will definately cut into the mazda and subaru market for a decent ‘performance’ car that doesnt look like a boy racer or cost a ton in fuel bills
i dont mind it & i think if i could drive i would get 1 in yellow LOL
Even in yellow, the car looks quite bland if you ask me. The design is dated and doesn’t particularly stand out, even for the sports model of the range…
I don’t know about comparing this to a liberty gt or mps 6.
Those two contenders have all wheel drive (not sure what skoda has), proven resale values, strong dealer networks and an existing customer base. Plus I think it’s fair to say bage perception of Suby and Mazda is higher.
My .02
liam- its a front wheel drive
essentially a sedan golf gti detuned
“Anyone with aspirations of owning a proper Euro style family sized car with genuine sports car performance and below $40,000 better find out where their nearest Skoda dealer is. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed”
Ummmm, looks like someone forgot about the Volkswagen Jetta Turbo DSG for $39,990. Yes the Skoda is better value for money and comes with AWD, but the fact is it does have a competitor in that price range.
It was the case that Skoda’s took the previous generation chassis of the equivalent VW’s.
So is this thing running a twist beam axle at the rear from the Golf Mk4?
Firstly chucky, the Jetta holds less than the Octavia so if you have a family of 4/5 they wiill be far more comfortable in the Skoda. Secondly, while cargo space in the Jetta is commendable, the Octavia is huge. So if your heading away with the family on hols, give me the Skoda!
Front axle is a McPherson suspension set up with lower triangular links and torsion stabiliser
rear Axle is a multi-element axle with one longitudinal and three triangular links, with torsion stabiliser
Hmm.. I dont konw, is it bigger than the new WRX?
Given its almost the same price, the power and handling of the WRX seems to win it over for me, and the Skoda isn’t much of a looker either, much like the new wrx
The Skoda is way bigger than the REX and the interior is nicer too.
a sedan version of a golf gti? sounds perfect for people starting a family but still want performance… kinda like me! woo i’m definetly interested, i mean whats not to like about it? Looks good, is comfortable, roomy, safe, drives well, is fast, is economical and is damn good value… seriously whats not to like?
seems bloody good value the whole range, but I’d say the Octavia RS is more a competitor to the mondeo xr5 rather than mazda 6 mps, both are FWD and both cost similar money, although the Octavia is cheaper. For $38k you can get the AWD Octavia deisel wagon, which is more in line with the liberty’s with the added bonus of deisel.
Definitely excited about Skoda entering the aussie market, it sure will pressure the current mid-car market to increase features and reduce price. The octavia isn’t the most beautiful car in the world, but its not ugly either. Just a little plain. I think I’d get the blue over the yellow, when i see canary yellow i get remindered of early 90’s lancers and 626’s, and its not a pleasant memory.
Thanks A Crawford.
Is MultiElement axle maketing speek for torsion beam?
Trackdaze I’ve looked everywhere to answer that question and every link simply says the same ‘multi-element rear axle with 3 transverse linkage arms and 1 longitudinal but I think its just an example of independent multi-link suspension, not torsion beam.
odd, half my post went missing, basically it has 3 transverse linkage arms and one longitudal linkage arm, and a torsional stabiliser. From that its either a multi-link independent suspension, or a twist beam design but on a car the size of the octavia that would be a little odd, so i think it more likely multi-link. Is the octavia based on the mark IV or mark V golf platform?
It’s based on the Mk5 Golf.
I have the Mk1 vRS and it’s the best car I’ve owned.
You’ll find loads of independent information and comment on these cars at http://www.briskoda.net
Its also not a “detuned” version of the Golf GTi
Underneath the larger shell it is a Golf GTi, with the same 200PS TFSi Engine.
Also, feel sorry for you guys being given a choice of 2 colours only, we have 5 officially in the UK, and i heard of 1 more unofficially, basically only if you request it. But, i suppose they’ve got to find a way of getting rid of the unpopular yellow paint somehow… haha
I can 100% confirm that there are more colours available than Yellow or Blue in Australia. I ordered a black RS Wagon yesterday, and was given the choice of either Yellow, Blue, Red, Black or White. These colours are available in sedan or wagon.
Do yourself a favour and test drive this beast. It was love at first drive for me.
I would be most interested to hear how the Octavia TDi 4×4 performs – I would assume it would handle really well, but does the diesel have enough urge to make it ’sporty’?? Otherwise the RS certainly looks appealing…
Hmm, a Czech brand that could put Australian-manufactured cars to shame, that is scary.
Do you guys only get the Petrol versions ? Here in UK we also get the 2.0TDi PD rated at 170bhp and 258 lbft of torque. Rest of the spec is the same, (but 0-60mph figure is a little less eager). Mid-range, though, that torque shines through and economy is quite a lot better. Also, you can scare drivers of more “prestigious” marques whilst driving not only a Skoda but a Skoda diesel. Still no DSG though, which is a shame.
no no, we get the 1.9TDI and 2.0 TDI models, and 5 colours rather than the reported 2.
I have to say that is one of the blandest and dated looking new cars available today! Front end looks like a late 90s model Toyota Avalon, which in turn looked bland and dated for its time!
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Hmm, a Czech brand that could put Australian-manufactured cars to shame, that is scary.”
Andrew, Whats scary about that? Czechs had the world’s 2nd car in the world after Daimler. Also The Czech engineer Ferdinand porsche designed the famous rear engine that have been used in the Porsche’s and WV’s, as well as tatra’s.
Also the Czech have always been far more industrial nation then the primarily agricultural Australia, so they have had far more engineering experience, and many more their own unique brands!!It’s only that the Communist takeover of the brands heavily degraded the funding in the r&d and competivness…
Also small inaccuracy in the original article is WV’s Skoda-Auto is completely independent of the State run SKODA corporation (Which is an heavy engineering firm producing, trains, nuclear reactors, etc….)
There is now a Skoda dealer next door to the Crap Zupps MT Gravat in Brisbane, don’t know if it’s owned by Zupps or not.
Bought one, love it, Nuff said!!
I’ve always had an obsession with the Skoda, ever since I downloaded a Mod for GTA Vice City, and hooned around the fictional roads. It must have something to do with the subtle yet effective styling and maybe also its decent price…
Back in the UK I ran a Seat Leon cupra 180 bhp for 3 years 2000 to 2003 which had the same engine as the previous generation Skoda Octavia RS and it was fantastic I spent my time trying to work out how they had skimped on the car but could not. The leon was fwd same as todays RS the earlier generation of RS skodas were awd hence the confusion. The RS we now have in Oz in my opinion is a outstanding machine and well worth investing in build quality is up there with the VW as well. Reliability would not be a problem and in the worst case senario you could drop into any VW dealer as essentially the engine and drive train would be identical.
I looked at 10 or so cars in the 40 to 60k range. For sheer performance, handling, storage space and sheer masculine looks this is it. So I bought one and it arrives just before XMAS. RS Wagon in Race Blue.. HOT
Congrats Octavia, I know you’ll be stoked with the Octavia RS wagon. It handles like a sedan. I do like the yellow but I guess if it was my money – I would go with the Blue as well.
Great Article,
I have the great pleasure to drive the RS since over one year now. And I can tell you I won’t change it for another car. How says the TV Advertisement of Skoda here in Germany “Even Dads are Man” Something interesting on the Colors, here in Germany you can also have the car in Black, White, Silver and Red (I got a black one)
Greetings to Australia
i like the price but find it dated seeing it usees the old audi/vw headlights still it is a great car much better than a falcodore
I just sold my Audi A4 2.0 and bought the 2.0FSI Skoda Octavia (Non-Turbo). The Skoda is an absolutely fantastic car! It drives a lot better than my A4 ever did, with way more power and heaps better handling! I have already done 35,000km on my Skoda since I bought it in October last year and have truly enjoyed it. Its already had its service and I have paid under half of what I was paying for such a service on my Audi A4. My wife’s friend has got a VW Jetta which she bought a few months before we got our Skoda and when I compared our service bills it showed that my were about half the price of hers. In addition, I once drove her car (which was more expensive and physically smaller) and came to the conclusion that performance wise, OK, the Jetta is the same (her Jetta is also a 2.0) but the handling on it is nowhere near as good as on my Skoda Octavia. Anyways, there is my two cents worth. Cheers, Christian.
best choise over gti. Is has more space, is more comfortable, same power, decent design, cheaper, better interior, etc. etc. I have the 2.0 tfsi 200bhp (stock) with a performace upgrade stage 2 from MTM – now at 270 bhp… :D
I bought one as second hand for $31K drive away-great deal. It’s actually the yellow wagon pictured in this article (different rego but I did a search on VIN’s to check). Cheap as it’s a pre-release ex press car and has a few tiny marks on it as well as not having rear electric windows or parking sensors.
Had it a few weeks now and love it. The power, the handling, the economy-this car refuses to do anything wrong. It’s happy as a hot hatch or as a family wagon. I wouldn’t call it a 5 seater though unless the middle passenger has no legs. But 4 adults can fit comfortably.
If you are even slightly interested, arrange a test drive. Don’t do what I did and smile as you drive-you lose alot of bargaining power!