Read Caroline’s Skoda Octavia RS review for everything you need to know about buying Skoda’s high-performance hatchback in Ireland.
The Skoda Octavia RS has always been a favourite among Irish motorists, particularly as a diesel. The RS badge stands for Rally Sport and has been slapped on high-performance Octavias since 2000.
Last year the diesel ceased production and there’s no more RS plug-in hybrid. The manual gearbox is also gone. What’s left is the more than capable 2.0-litre TSI, supplying turbocharged petrol power and plenty of driving thrills.
The Octavia RS has also been updated for 2025 with more power, refreshed styling and more equipment.
Let’s take a closer look.
Design
Just like the rest of the Octavia range, the RS gets a revised grille with new RS logo, updated lighting and matrix LEDs as standard with headlight washers. The Octavia RS stands out with sportier bumpers front and rear as well as more gloss black detailing around the car, like the grille surround, front apron, wing mirror caps and boot lid spoiler. 19-inch alloy wheels come as standard with red brake calipers and disc brakes front and rear. It sits about 15mm lower for a sporty stance on the road. At the back it gets a red reflector strip like every RS that came before it. Twin tailpipes are also finished in black. The LED rear lights also feature scrolling indicators.
A handsome car and a big car, which is good for space and practicality, and gives it a boost over most of its historic rivals like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Ford Focus ST.
Skoda Octavia RS Interior
The RS gets a sporty cabin finished in black with some flashes of red, like the stitching in the dash and the seats. There are sports seats as standard with integrated headrests and a quilted finish. The fabric doesn’t look or feel particularly expensive but can be upgraded to a plusher suede and leather combo for a hefty €4,000. There’s also a three-spoke steering wheel with paddles, stainless steel pedals and ambient lighting.
Standard features include keyless entry, heated front seats with manual adjustment, heated steering wheel and heated windscreen.
There’s also a digital driver display and Skoda has used the update to introduce a larger, 13-inch touchscreen to the Octavia range, which is standard on the RS. It controls the car’s settings and functions like media, map and climate controls. It’s relatively easy to interact with and comes with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and voice control.
Practicality
The Octavia RS has hot hatchback like performance but there’s nothing that can compare with the practicality it offers. It has a huge 600 litre boot (640 litres in the Combi) that comes with a powered tailgate as standard with motion sensor.
There’s loads of space in the back with two large footwells to stretch out.
For family buyers, Isofix child seat fixtures feature on the two outer seats and the front passenger seat.
Driving the Octavia RS
The Octavia RS uses the same engine as the Golf GTI. It’s a 2.0-litre, four cylinder turbocharged engine, now with more power all fed through the front wheels. It has 265hp, which is about 20hp more than before and it’s quicker again from 0-100km/h at just 6.4 seconds. A GTI has the same power but is quicker, mostly because the Octavia is a larger and heavier vehicle.
It certainly doesn’t feel compromised on the road and numerous performance upgrades like electronic front differential lock, lowered sports suspension and upgraded steering make it a very tidy handler. There’s no manual gearbox option and the 7-speed DSG can be slow to respond if you take it by surprise. But switch it into Sport mode, and it becomes more lively and responsive again.
There’s also a new sports exhaust that provides a pleasant rumble when idling by increasing the engine’s revs on start-up and a sound actuator enhances the cabin experience.
Dynamic chassis control is available for just over €1,000 and might be an option worth ticking as the RS does feel bumpy over broken surfaces, particularly if you spend a lot of time on rural roads. It’s a brilliant motorway cruiser when you just want to relax, offering a very refined driving experience with not too much road or wind noise. This is also where you will see the best efficiency, as low as 6.5 litres per 100 kilometres during my time with it. Though in more enthusiastic driving, that was closer to 8 litres. Motor tax is €280 per year.
Skoda Octavia RS Price
The Skoda Octavia RS goes on sale priced from €56,020 for the hatchback and from €57,670 for the Combi.
Verdict
The Skoda Octavia RS is a bit of a legend, and is already one of my most memorable drives of 2025. It has the capacity to be a relaxed and refined motorway cruiser, but offers plenty of punch and the sharp handling of a true performance car. The 2.0-litre TSI is where it belongs here, offering more thrills than the diesel or plug-in hybrid ever could. It’s not the last word in luxury inside but it’s the Octavia’s space and practicality that makes it great value, even at this end of the market.
Skoda Octavia RS Video Review
Watch Caroline test the Octavia RS on Irish roads and find out more about what it’s like inside, space and practicality.
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Written by Caroline Kidd
Founder and Editor of Changing Lanes, Juror for Irish Car of the Year
The post Skoda Octavia RS Review (2025) appeared first on Changing Lanes.