After seven months and more than 11,000 miles of driving, it’s time to say goodbye to "my" Octavia vRS

I just finished my Skoda Octavia VRS for seven months. During that time, it drove 1,000 miles across the country, joined us almost every shot, and packed all kinds of things in its boots.

To give you an idea of ​​how much use this noble horse enjoys, it has driven 11,506 miles in more than seven months. The 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine also proved to be very economical at that time. Initially, my average fuel consumption was as high as about 49 mpg, but during the (fortunately short) fuel crisis in the UK, I began to think about how to improve this and reduce parking. I managed to increase this number to 53.5mpg-anything can avoid long lines on the pump!

For me, Octavia's true moment of glory is its Curborough Sprint Course journey. It set a benchmark time of 39.17 seconds for our 1 pound Volvo to try and beat. This is faster than the time we set with the Toyota GT86 a few years ago. Even after Alex and Gareth lost 369 kg, Volvo could not beat it.

Alex was very impressed with the way the mighty Skoda handled it on the track. From the outside, even though it was thrown around, it did look neat. I can't imagine many vRS TDI car owners taking them on the right track, but it's nice to know that this car can handle it.

I took full advantage of Octavia’s huge suitcase, which can be expanded to 1,700 liters when the rear seats are flat. As I mentioned in the first Octavia update, it brought me a lot of wood and made my garden renovation project easier. It is often filled with our camera gear, and there is also a full-size refrigerator/freezer. I even managed to put a whole sofa in it. If it weren't for Octavia, I might have rented a van at least a few times this year.

When I first got the key, I was pretty sure it would provide all the power I needed, and I was right. The TDI engine is suitable for 196bhp and 295lb ft of torque, whether it is wet or dry, you can use all of them because this is an all-wheel drive version. The 0-62mph time is 6.8 seconds, not far from the gasoline version, which is much less economical.

However, this is not a completely positive experience. In the seven months I have driven this car, climate control has been an issue-constantly changing settings through the infotainment system is absurd, but sadly, most cars seem to be moving in this direction.

I am very interested in Chris Harris' recent tweet about this. He puts forward a good point on safety-simply changing the climate setting requires eye contact similar to fiddling with a mobile phone, which seems to be incorrect, which is illegal while driving.

My other major annoyance involves the dual-clutch "DSG" automatic transmission. Yes, it's smooth in most cases and shifts quickly, but it's also very slow when pulling apart at roundabouts and intersections. You must wait for a larger gap so as not to disturb other road users.

See also: Is the BMW M340d really worth £24,000 than the Skoda Octavia vRS?

However, in general, I really like the time I use VRS-we really follow its rhythm in all aspects, and you rarely find its shortcomings. Thank you, Octavia, you will never know how much you help. Next, I will meet an old friend...Kodiak again.

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