Although VW Group diesels remain in the headlines for all the wrong reasons right now, Skoda has pushed ahead with offering four-wheel drive on the oil-burning Octavia vRS. Sat-nav is also now standard across the vRS range, which kicks off at £24,230 from November.
Although that's a £400 price jump, the addition of standard sat-nav (normally £755) means most buyers (but not all) effectively get better value. The 217bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol is the entry choice, while the 181bhp 2.0-litre TDI now starts at £24,475 in front-wheel drive form with a manual gearbox and the range tops out at £27,315 for the diesel four-wheel drive model.
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The diesel unit, when mated to the six-speed DSG gearbox can now be specced with the firm's Haldex part-time four-wheel drive system for £1,450 - the 4x4 version is only available with the DSG gearbox. It can divert power across both axles while continuously monitoring traction, and brings the 0-62mph time down from 8.1 seconds to 7.6 seconds.
One sacrifice you'll have to make with the 4x4 is fuel economy, which drops from 64.2mpg to 57.7mpg for the hatch, and 60.1mpg to 56.5mpg for the estate. It's not the only range addition, as the hotter Octavia vRS 230 joins the fray, starting at £26,530.