The Skoda Octavia RS is set to return to India in November 2025. It is the fourth-generation model, powered by the familiar 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Only one hundred cars will be brought in during the 2025–26 financial year, all of them in UK specification.
Design
Compared with the standard Octavia, the RS looks more purposeful. The grille is finished in black and is flanked by sharper LED headlights. The front bumper features additional lines and vents, lending the car a more prominent presence. The ride height is lower, the alloy wheels have grown to 19 inches, and the tail lamps now feature a split LED design. It is all rather neat, if a little predictable, but it does enough to separate this car from the everyday Octavia.
Cabin
Inside, the Octavia RS continues the theme. The interior features a red and black colour scheme, sports seats with deeper bolsters, and a three-spoke steering wheel. The driver faces a 10.25-inch digital display, while a 13-inch touchscreen dominates the centre console. A heads-up display is also included. Practicality has not been forgotten, with powered front seats, multi-zone climate control, ambient lighting and a wireless phone charger that keeps itself cool, which is more than can be said for many phones.
Features and safety
The RS is equipped with up to ten airbags, stability control, a tyre pressure monitoring system and driver drowsiness detection. A suite of advanced driver assistance systems is also available. The charging ports are modern USB-C outlets with enough power to charge a laptop, which is quietly impressive and perhaps more useful day-to-day than the claimed performance figures.
Engine and performance
The engine is the well-known EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder. Output is 265 bhp and 370 Nm, sent to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox. The official numbers are 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour. Skoda has fitted a stiffer suspension, larger brakes and a faster steering rack to distinguish the RS from the regular Octavia. It should therefore go, stop and turn a little more keenly than the one your neighbour has.
India plan
India will receive the UK specification version of the Octavia RS. That means no adaptive suspension and no wagon, which Skoda admits would have complicated the paperwork and further increased the price. The car is expected to cost around ₹51 lakh ex-showroom, positioning it alongside the Volkswagen Golf GTI in India. With just one hundred units on offer for the year, it will be even rarer than the RS 245 that came before it.
Summary
The Skoda Octavia RS has never been about radical styling or exotic engines. It has always been the fast Octavia. This new one sticks to that brief. It is more powerful, quicker and better equipped than the ordinary car, and that is enough to give it an appeal that remains unique in the Indian market. The numbers are small, the changes are measured, and the price is high. But for a few buyers, it will be precisely the correct answer.
.jpg)
