HOW many of us would fancy owning a Golf GTI?

Quite a few, I'd hazard a guess. But for many a family, the cabin's just a bit small and the boot won't swallow up all the clutter you need to cart around.

But there's a pretty good alternative available from the same family, though the brand doesn't carry quite the same bragging rights.

The Skoda Octavia vRS packs the same 261bhp, 2.0-litre engine as the VW, but has a huge hatchback boot, space for five adults and a well-sorted chassis that makes it sure-footed and fun on windy roads.

And with a sub-£40,000 price tag, it avoids that vicious ‘luxury car' tax.

The Octavia is a child of the Sixties, but the racy vRS version didn't take a bow until the start of this century.

Now in its fourth incarnation, just the 2.0-litre petrol model with twin clutch automatic box and front drive is available. We drove the hatchback model, but there's also an estate car.

Any thoughts that the Skoda may lack creature comforts are put to be bed as soon as you open the driver's door. From the flat bottomed, leather steering wheel to the aluminium pedals, the vRS feels driver focused and quite classy.

Front seats are well-shaped and heavily padded ensuring driver and passenger are comfortable and totally secure during swift cornering. Perhaps surprisingly, the seats adjust manually rather than at a touch of a button.

Controls, touchscreen and switches are well laid out and easy to operate. Decent sized door pockets and a central box/armrest are useful for oddments. And the boot can carry no less than 600litres of luggage before the rear seats are folded. The tailgate is electric.

With a sub-seven second sprint to 62mph, the vRS is very much in the hot hatch sector. Not only is it impressively swift, but the turbocharged four-cylinder engine - a familiar feature within the VW family - is eager and free-revving.

The unit marries up well to the seven speed DSG gearbox with rapid, smooth changes and well-chosen ratios. Steering wheel paddles will please keener drivers.

Acceleration is vigorous and there's ample torque available. Floor the accelerator on exiting a bend and you'll feel some steering tug as the front wheels scrabble for grip, particularly in moist of greasy conditions.

Understandably, the ride is on the firm side which benefits handling and restricts cornering roll. Over rutted or knobbly surfaces, however, some of the road imperfections are passed back into the cabin.

Noise levels are quite acceptable over most surfaces but the low profile tyres generate too much roar over poorer roads and can make long journeys a tad tiring.

Despite ample performance, fuel consumption is relatively meagre. We averaged around 37mpg with a best 43mpg when pottering on rural roads.

Skoda prides itself on being thoughtful and supremely practical, a quality illustrated by the umbrella secreted in the driver's door and the ice-scraper found in the petrol filler flap.

The Octavia vRS may not win over badge snobs, but it presents an appealing option for drivers who prize performance and practicality.

£39,965

: 2.0litre, 4 cyl, 261bhp petrol engine driving 2 wheels via automatic gearbox

155mph

6.4sec

40.8

27

: 158g/km

37%

3yrs/60,000 miles

4.7