Skoda Octavia vRS review

Prices start at £33,945 for the hatch and £35,175 for the estate for the 242bhp 2.0-litre turbo manual, with the auto £1,680 extra. The plug-in hybrid, which generally commands an extra £5k, is currently unavailable entirely due to partsaggeddon. The 197bhp diesel is available from £35,610 and £36,840 saloon/estate respectively, with the 4x4 variant commanding £1,445 on top.

What's the kit list like?

Skoda’s thrown everything you could conceivably crave in a car this size in there as standard, which makes speccing it relatively easy. The first decision you’ll need to make is colour – you want Race Blue paint, which is one of five standard colours, so happily won’t cost you anything extra.

Then you’re into the options that will. The winter pack is probably worth having at £510, for the heated seats, steering wheel and windscreen. A head-up display will set you back £735, but we liked the big central speedo option on the Virtual Cockpit so much, it’s really not necessary. Wireless charging also lies on the options list for £355, but you get two USB ports already so again isn’t essential.

Otherwise, everything from full Matrix LED headlights to those plush sports seats is standard. You’ve just one choice of interior colour: black upholstery with red stitching, with plenty of ambient lighting when it’s dark. Lovely.

What's the best spec?

There’s no doubt that the 242bhp petrol is the best to drive – and this being TopGear, it’s the model we’d choose. If you’re looking to save money and cut down on the fuel bills, go for the hybrid – it’ll also snag you the most generous tax rates, so it’s going to be the cheapest to run for company car users by some margin.