Skoda Octavia VRS

ecoty’s not-so-little helper

THIS YEAR’S ECOTY WAS A JOY TO photograph, as ever, with a brilliant selection of cars and stunning Scottish scenery. Of course, holding the test in Scotland meant we were guaranteed to see rain, and watching the SF90 squirming around in the wet, especially on some of the narrower roads, I felt a little bit smug to be behind the wheel of our VRS instead.

The Skoda felt really dependable in the wet, its Bridgestone Potenza S005 tyres providing plenty of grip before eventually edging into gradual slip that lets you know you’re pushing the front end a little too hard.

In fact, everything about the VRS was pretty much perfect for this week-long trip, from the spacious load area, which carried all my camera kit and cleaning gear without issues, to the decent fuel economy and 51-litre tank, which meant I could spend less time filling up and more time taking photographs. And all the car-to-car tracking shots you see in this year’s ecoty were taken from the Octavia, its active dampers ironing out bumps in the road surface and making it easier to get the desired results.

It wasn’t just the vrs’s practical side that I appreciated, though, as when leading the group to new locations I had the opportunity to enjoy the Skoda’s full performance. Admittedly, 245bhp may sound a little tame compared with the outputs of some of our ecoty contenders, but it was more than enough to have fun and meant the VRS was nowhere near as hairy to drive close to its limits as the Ferrari!

Date acquired July 2021 Total mileage 9479 Mileage this month 1011 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 45.4