Skoda Octavia 2019 Problems

With a price premium of about $15,000 brand-new, the Sport model would seem to have the RS245 beaten for value, wouldn’t it? But it’s not that simple and even though the two are both Skoda Octavias, they are really very different vehicles in every other respect.

While the Sport model is a sensible, practical (despite the Sport badge) sedan or wagon, the RS245 is a much more driver-focussed, sporty machine. The latter is much more firmly suspended and has performance braking hardware and big alloy wheels as well as a clever mechanical front differential to maximise its grip. The differences under the bonnet are just as obvious and with 110kW in the Sport playing 180kW in the RS245, you can guess which is the faster car to drive.

So it really comes down to how much you value a car’s sporty nature. If you do, that $15,000 price jump might not seem so bad. If you don’t the RS245 becomes a very expensive take on the Octavia formula.