At the forefront of Skoda’s remarkable rebirth is their flagship sports saloon, the Octavia RS, a car that successfully exists on the thin line between price, practicality and performance. The handsome new-look Octavia RS has acres of interior space, plenty of power and an unbelievable bang-to-buck ratio.

The first time I put a Skoda Octavia RS through its paces was at the Speedworld track at Pachfurth in beautiful Austria. That day, we had the 184bhp diesel RS184 and the old 230bhp petrol model, as the barnstorming RS245 was nothing more than a rumour at the time. On the track, the difference between the petrol and diesel was quite profound.

The RS184 just didn’t have the adequate get-up-and-go on the track and left me wanting more, as keeping up with the local pro felt like an impossibility, until I took the petrol version out, which whipped around the course and stuck to the local driver like glue. Most test cars that day were diesel-powered with an automatic DSG gearbox, but I managed to get my paws on a manual petrol model, which I fell in love with.

I realise that we don’t live in huts in the middle of the Nurburgring, so reviewing a car based on your experience throttling it around a track is a little skewed. Luckily, Skoda were good enough to loan me two of their RS model Octavias in Ireland: The popular diesel RS184 and the all-new petrol-powered 245bhp, RS245, both of which came in front-wheel drive and were packed with an arsenal of extras.

The review from the track of Skoda's one-two RS Scout combo which I mentioned earlier is well worth a read.

When I first tested in the RS184 in Austria, I thought it was a little damp compared to its petrol brother, but off the track, on real roads with speed limits, I have to report that it has plenty of power to promptly get you where you need to go. In the real world, the RS184 is terrific to live with; its DSG gearbox is snappy and responsive and the motor delivers plenty of power for day-to-day life. The turbo diesel engine isn’t invasively loud or irritatingly rural-sounding and manages to deliver the power quite effectively through the rev range. It was painted in Race Blue, had 18-inch alloy wheels, an Alcantara-trimmed sports seats, parking sensors, a reversing camera and a 9.2” Columbus sat nav and infotainment system. It also boasted in-car WiFi, smartphone-mirroring software, an electric panoramic sunroof, something called the ‘RS Xtreme challenge pack’ and an umbrella holder under the passenger seat. The 184bhp Octavia RS I drove cost €37,830 and for that, you get a hell of a lot of car.