The details that make my Skoda Octavia vRS a great car, even if it gets mistaken for a taxi
Our vRS is proving to be a near-perfect creation for family life, even if it’s no aesthetic masterpiece
'Le bon Dieu est dans le détail,’ said Gustave Flaubert back in 1821. I failed GCSE French, but Google Translate informs me that what he said was something like, ‘The good God is in the detail.’ In other words, whatever one does should be done thoroughly.
Skoda is one of those automotive brands that really seems to take this principle to heart. I’ve always found its cars to be treasure troves of Easter eggs and clever little features – not necessarily performance-related, but undeniably useful. Thoughtful touches, often overlooked, especially by us. (Don’t worry, the evo bit’s coming.)
Take, for example, that small bit of transparent plastic that can be found on the driver’s side of the windscreen of all Skodas, including my Octavia vRS long-termer. It bugged me for years, and initially I was convinced it was some sort of unusual structural brace to keep the windscreen in place. Until I stumbled across a YouTube clip that revealed it’s actually a clip for holding Pay & Display tickets.
Then there’s the compartment in the driver’s door, home to the now-iconic Skoda umbrella – a feature so consistently deployed across the range, I’m half convinced it’s written into Czech law. That umbrella has saved me from many a Center Parcs woodland downpour. In the back, on the rear of the driver’s seat, there’s now a clever little phone holder — perfect for keeping younger passengers entertained with Peppa Pig during long motorway hauls.
Frozen windscreen in the morning? No problem. Just pop open the fuel-filler flap and you’ll find an ice scraper neatly slotted into the back of it. And on it goes. I’m sure there are more hidden features I haven’t discovered yet, but that’s half the fun of running a Skoda: uncovering them as you go. Which brings me to the most important detail: the bright red vRS badges attached to the front and rear of the car. They’re not subtle, and that’s the point. They help establish that this Octavia is something evo-worthy.
And recently I had this demonstrated to great effect. For once, my eldest decided to take the train back to uni rather than enduring three and a half hours of obscure ’90s hip-hop with me on the A1. It was dark, late and raining when I pulled up outside Peterborough station. No sooner had she hopped out of the passenger side of the Skoda than a couple of middle-aged London commuters made their way towards the car and started to climb in. Yes, they had momentarily mistaken the Octavia for a taxi.
‘Hang on, wait!’ shouted the one who was lagging behind as he clocked the badge. ‘Sorry mate, didn’t see the vRS.’ And with that, his colleague clambered back out. I laughed and drove on. The red badge saved me the embarrassment — and restored KY74 PKF’s reputation. Shame, though. I could have done with the £7.65 fare.
| Total mileage | 6641 |
| Mileage this month | 1587 |
| mpg this month | 33.2 |
| Costs this month | £0 |
This story was first featured in evo issue 335.
