All you need to know about the new updated Skoda Octavia vRS range

In a nutshell:

• New 2.0 TDI engine added to Skoda Octavia vRS range
• Boasts 200PS and 400Nm of torque
• New mill joins the 2.0 TSI petrol and 1.4 TSI PHEV powertrains in the line-up
• Skoda says it’s ‘the most powerful diesel engine ever offered in a vRS model’

Don’t write diesel off just yet - because Skoda has just revealed a new performance TDI engine for its Octavia vRS.

While sales of hybrid vehicles are soaring, there’s still a place on UK driveways for gutsy, torque-heavy diesel cars, and that’ll be the case for a good few years to come.

And as if to prove the point, Skoda has just added a new 2.0 litre TDI mill to the range of engines available for its Octavia vRS saloons and estates.

You could already get the vRS as either a 2.0 TSI petrol or a 1.4 TSI PHEV model - with both of those powerplants boasting around 250 PS.

But Skoka has now made a third unit available - an advanced diesel EVO engine that delivers 200PS and 400Nm of torque.

That’s enough to launch you from 0-62mph in just 6.7 seconds.

For many Skoda fans, the diesel vRS is a nice nod to the original and much-loved Fabia diesel vRS of the mid-Noughties.

What’s more, the new diesel can also be bolted to an all-wheel-drive system - and a seven-speed DSG gearbox - the only engine in the line-up where you get that option.

Skoda says it’s ‘the most powerful diesel engine ever offered in a vRS model’, with a 16PS increase in power over the last diesel engine that was offered.

And there’s some clever engineering going on under the bonnet, too.

The engine features an aluminium cylinder block with aluminium pistons with low-friction piston rings.

Meanwhile the turbocharger is water-cooled for improved temperature regulation, and its compression ratio is higher than on other EVO diesel engines.

The brand new all-wheel-drive system should keep you rubber-side down, too.

A Skoda spokesperson says: “The control electronics of the all wheel drive system react to changing driving conditions within fractions of a second and boost the driving dynamics. The system transfers part of the driving torque to the opposite wheel when the load on the inner wheel is reduced, and maintains traction.”

That might be appealing as drivers skid and slide their way through the current UK winter.

And the vRS has long been a favourite of petrolheads who are on a budget.

The exterior features unique front and rear bumper designs that incorporate a host of black details, including double-slat radiator grille, lower air diffuser and the distinctive air curtains above the front fog lights.

The interior boasts a three-spoke leather steering wheel, heated front sports seats, carbon optic decorative strips, LED ambient lighting, aluminium pedals, as well as Skoda’s acclaimed Virtual Cockpit instrument panel, which is fitted as standard.

A spokesperson for the Czech firm adds: “As a result, vRS buyers now have the biggest ever range of engine variants and drivetrains to choose from.”

All models are available to order right now.

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