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Skoda Octavia vRS TDI Chip-Tuned to Over 220 HP by Digiservices

The 2.0 TDI turbo engine with 184 horsepower from VW Group is very interesting from an application point of you. You see, it's available across a wide selection of models. While on the Audi TT it's the standard unit, the guys at Volkswagen ask for a lot of extra money so you can have it in the Golf GTD. Skoda, meanwhile, has carefully camouflaged the diesel engine under the guys of its Octavia vRS performance model.
Skoda Octavia vRS TDI Chip-Tuned to Over 220 HP by Digiservices 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
From the outside, you really can't tell the difference between a vRS with the 220 horsepower TSI engine and the 184 horsepower diesel alternative. But you can tell when you hit the pedal and the 36 hp gap results in much less impressive performance.

0 to 100 km/h in the petrol car takes 6.8 seconds, compared to the more leisurely 8.1 second pace of the TDI. Can nothing be done? There is a solution, arriving in the shape of a familiar quick fix: chip tuning.

The French tuning specialists at Digiservices have just finished upgrading the Octavia vRS TDI. First things first, upon placing a sedan on the dyno, they noticed performance wasn't as high as claimed by the manufacturer. Torque was way off at 355,8 Nm (262 lb-ft) compared to 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) claimed by the manufacturer.

The tuners pressed on with their upgrades and got the Czech car to produce 221.5 hp and a very impressive 422.1 Nm (311.3 lb-ft) of torque.

So is the extra power worth it? Well yes and no. The diesel is fast and if you plan on doing a lot of motorway miles, you should do get it. However, in the city, the difference in fuel consumption is harder to notice. The underpowered TDI engine also costs about €400, which you could use to buy more fuel for the much faster 2.0 TSI engine.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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