A Very Fast Skoda Spotted and Some Thoughts About Rare (Performance) Cars Sold in Malaysia

Yellow and rare. No. Not a canary but a Skoda Octavia VRS going for what I think is a pre-delivery inspection at the Puspakom in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. The reason it is so rare in Malaysia is that no one buys Skodas. Under Berjaya Automotive Skoda has been floundering. Not because the cars are bad, but because Malaysians being Malaysians, cars without any resale value is never looked at. Maybe its the name. SKODA. Can you seriously feel any good vibes if you tell people you drive a Skoda? Even though it is some Czech name in the first place.

"Hello."
"Hello, that's a nice Skoda you have."
"Why thank you."

I doubt such a conversation would happen.

The great thing is that there is someone brave, or crazy enough to spend at least RM200,000 on a top of the line Skoda Octavia. A VRS comes with a 2.0TSI engine that you see in the Golf GTI or the Audi A4 2.0TFSI Quattro sold here in Malaysia. It comes with either a DSG 6 speeder or a 6 speed manual. This yellow one came with a DSG box.

The thing about this is that is SHOULD be much cheaper than the two cars mentioned above. What you do get is a Golf MK5 chassis with the same engine and a ridiculously huge boot, as it has a rear sloping hatch even though it looks like a sedan. Its a fastback/liftback. It could be the dream Golf GTI for some, name aside. A boot to carry tons of stuff.

Anyway, this new VRS looked like it came with all the goodies. A 200bhp, 280Nm direct injection engine, the superb VW Dual Clutch Gearbox and a boot. Hmm. Practicality and power in the same sentence. Must be the family man in me typing. Help!

I must applaude the person buying this car. Yes it does look good, for an elongated GTI. The bonnet has some interesting humps and creases. That grille aggressive. And those lights are pretty cool. A small 'Octavia' is engraved into each side of the headlight casing. I think when those VW/Audi fans in Malaysia start opening up their eyes to the VRS, Skoda will go places. Bang for buck they say. And wait till this car gets on the second hand market. It should be dirt cheap.

While I would say that buying a Skoda means that you must be crazy. I think it would be crazier if you went out and bought a Saab here in Malaysia. Saabs are even more rare than Skoda these days. People who buy Saab think they're buying a fighter plane. No. The Saab that makes the Grypen or the Viggen isn't the same company. It hasn't been for awhile.

But I think one brand that beats 'em all. According to what I'm aware, local Renault importer TC Eurokars brought in and sold some Clio Sports and some Megane Sport or RS 2nd generation  a couple of years ago. These cars,I've read are great handling cars. One that I would appreciate. However, the two cars, especially the Megane RS came into Malaysia just as Renault were launching the new models of both cars in Europe. There should be at least 10 units of the Clio Sports and Megane RS that have been brought into Malaysia. I mean any less it would be uneconomical to maintain a catalog of spares for the cars.

You can't seem to see any of these on the road. The question is, who the heck actually bought them and if there are people who actually bought them, why aren't they being driven? I've only seen one Clio Sport at Sepang once and a blue Megane RS over a 6 month period. Do they buy these cars, supposedly drivers cars to park them at home? These are just hot hatches, not Italian exoticars. Why aren't these cars driven?

While I am talking about the performance versions of the cars above. There was also a 1.6 Clio 4 door hatch being sold alongside the two. But I haven't even seen one of those on the roads of Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur recently. If I did see one, it'll be close to the Renault showroom in Section 13, Petaling Jaya. That would be a test drive vehicle.

Or are they just Renaults, being typically French, temperamental and when pushed (like when the Germans invaded France) break down all the time?