IT MIGHT all seem like a bit of fuss for just 70 cars, but Skoda’s decision to bring in a specifically sporty version of its mid-size Octavia RS is an important marker for the brand.

Best known for clever, quirkily-designed cars that have captured more imaginations than hard sales, the Volkswagen-owned Czech brand is shifting gears and looking towards a future that isn’t so… polarising, let’s say.

The new Octavia and the recently announced Kodiaq still stand apart from the crowd, but more conservative designs bring them both – and the brand itself – in from the fringes.

The singularly minded Octavia RS230, though, sends a message that the brand – at least at a local level – isn’t quite ready to cast off the quirky tag just yet.

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