My hope, other than for world peace, is for car manufactures to simplify their vehicle naming conventions. Take the Skoda Octavia vRS iV Plugin Hybrid… why not call it the Octavia Kerblamo. But those with enough knowledge will know that the Octavia vRS iV Plugin Hybrid is the performance Skoda Octavia very few people will buy. And those with enough knowledge will know vRS denotes Skoda’s top-of-the-range performance model and for the first time, it will be hybrid, plugin hybrid to be specific. Indeed the iV tag denotes a new range of electrified Octavias. Four in total, to include the Octavia vRS iV, Octavia iV, and two Octavia e-TECs the latter of which make use of mild-hybrid technology.
The top of the range performance Octavia vRS iV is powered by a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine (110 kW / 150 PS) and an 85-kW electric motor. The combined power output of 180 kW (245 PS) and 400 Nm, is transferred to the front wheels via a 6-speed DSG. The car’s CO2 emissions are approximately 30 g/km. Skoda claims the vRS iV Plugin Hybrid has a pure electric range of 19 miles.
Skoda reckons 330 Nm of torque, provided by the electric motor, is available straight away. In Sport mode, this allows the Octavia vRS iV to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.3 seconds. Its top speed is 139mph (225 km/h).
The progressive steering that comes as standard and “dynamic tuning” of the sports suspension is typical for the vRS range… presumably to cater for energetic driving styles.
Exterior highlights include black trim, LED fog lights and black 18-inch alloy wheels as standard. If you want 19-inch then expect to cough up an extra £1k. The hatchback sports a black RS rear spoiler; in the estate, the roof spoiler matches the car colour.
Looking inside the vRS iV includes three-spoke leather multifunction sports steering wheel bears a vRS logo and features paddles for operating the DSG. The seats are adorned by an RS logo and coloured decorative stitching in red or silver-grey, which can also be found on the leather steering wheel, on the armrests and on the Alcantara-covered dashboard.
Price? I don’t rightly know.
