The Skoda Octavia vRS has long been one of the best sleepers on sale – a quick car that won’t cause a single batted eyelid among the uninitiated. We’ve no reason to suspect the fourth-gen vRS – utilising the same powertrain and tech as the Mk8 Golf GTI – will be any different.

So it’s no surprise the police have snaffled a few up already. But while we can expect a few to be out there operating undercover, this is our first look at what the new vRS looks fully clad in crime-fighting garms. If it doesn’t have you instinctively flicking your eyes down towards your keyboard, the muscle memory of checking your speedometer springing into action, then you’ve no pulse.

At its heart, it’s the 245hp, petrol-powered 2.0 TSI vRS with a 7spd DSG paddleshifter. As well as all the new tech that Skoda’s heaped into the Octavia us civvies get to drive, there’s also a three-tone siren and blue LED lights plastered on almost any surface that’ll take them. You won’t miss it.

There’s a hint the police may also order some of the vRS’s other powerplants, too, with a manual 2.0 TSI to follow, as well as a 200hp diesel (which offers four-wheel drive) and a 245hp hybrid.

STORY Stephen Dobie