Skoda updates the vRS. To be launched in India in 2017

A month or so back, Skoda had updated the Octavia. At that time however, it was only the normal Octavia that was updated and not the vRS. Now though, the company has launched the updated version of the vRS and the same will make its way to the Indian market later next year.

Changes

Like the facelifted Octavia, the vRS too gets the new dual LED headlamp treatment, something that reminds us of the previous generation Mercedes E Class. At the bottom of the light, there is a LED DRL, which continues on both the lights. Like in the pre-facelift vRS, the DRLs are a part of the headlamps and not in the bumper (something that the Laura/Octavia MK2 vRS had). The grill too has become larger now and so have the airvents in the bumper that house the foglamps. The design has become more aggressive, however we aren’t too sure we like the new split headlamp cluster though. At the back, the tail lamp cluster has received a minor change internally, the external shape remains the same however. 18″ rims are offered as standard with the option to upgrade to 19″ ones.

The vehicle now gets a larger infotainment system on the inside with a 9.2″ screen and supports navigation, WLAN hotspot and a LTE module. The interior trim now has an option of Alcantara. Ambient lighting has been been added as standard to improve the ambience inside the car.

Technical

The vRS has received a technical update as well, not just a visual make over. The car is now lower by 15 mm and the rear track is wider 30 mm. The car comes with Dynamic driving modes which lets you chose between Sport, Normal and Comfort. Under the hood, there is an option of either a 2.0 liter TSi or a 2.0 liter TDi unit. While the TSi now makes 230 Bhp and 350 Nm (earlier only the RS 230 came in 230 Bhp where as the normal vRS had 220 Bhp), the Tdi makes 184 Bhp and 380 Nm.

The petrol can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed DSG while the diesel could also be had with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed DSG. The diesel vRS can be had in front wheel drive and AWD formats, however the AWD will only come mated to the DSG. The petrol gets no option of the AWD sadly.

The vRS is going to make its way to India next year. We hope it is the full blown 230 Bhp petrol variant that makes it here.