Skoda may launch its performance oriented Octavia vRS for the Indian market in August. When launched, the Octavia vRS will be the top of the line variant and most powerful Octavia ever to be sold on the Indian soil.
Unlike its predecessor, which was powered by the same 1.8-litre engine used in the regular 1.8-litre variant, the new Octavia vRS will employ a new four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol unit. This turbocharged engine churns out 220bhp and 350Nm of torque, which helps the Octavia vRS do 100kmph from standstill in just 6.8 seconds and eventuallyhit a top speed of 246kmph. The engine sends power to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.
The European-spec Octavia vRS is also offered with a seven-speed DSG, start-stop and regenerative braking systems as standard features, which make the new Octavia vRS 19 per cent more efficient than the previous car. These features might be offered in the Indian-spec car, though it might nudge the price of the car northwards.
The new features and the platform have resulted in the new Skoda Octavia moving up the ladder in the D-Segment. Also as the Octavia is locally assembled from completely knocked down (CKD) kits imported from Czech Republic, it attracts more taxes than locally manufactured cars. We expect it be priced in the Rs 22 lakh to Rs 24 lakh price range.