Skoda goes toe to toe with the Golf GTI

The Octavia RS is nipping at the heels of all-round performance hatchback the Golf GTI

The Skoda Octavia RS 230 has been quietly building up its own strong following

While the Volkswagen Golf GTI has been the default ‘family’ hot hatch in Ireland for some time now, its first cousin, the Skoda Octavia RS, has been quietly building up its own strong following.

Admittedly, most examples registered here are powered by the TDI diesel engine and are technically rivals to the Golf GTD, but there are plenty of petrol-fuelled RS Octavias around too – and it has the unique selling point of ...