There is much argument over what car could truly be considered King of the Hot Hatch genre, but you would have to be extraordinarily one-eyed – or maybe a bit stupid – if you didn’t at least concede that it most likely comes down to a choice between to two originators of the class – the Volkswagen Golf GTi and the Peugeot 205 GTi.

I was lucky enough to own a 205 GTi for a torrid few years of front-wheel-drive hilarity and mechanical dramas, so would naturally lean towards that, but the sheer purity in mechanical, performance and styling terms of both cars, for me, has never been matched by any Hot Hatch that has followed.

That is why I had very high hopes indeed for the Skoda Fabia vRS.

Being based on the simple little Fabia with Volkswagens absolutely brilliant 1.4-litre turbo-and-supercharged engine jammed under the bonnet and hooked up to a six-speed twin clutch DSG transmission channelling power to the front wheels, the vRS sounded very promising indeed.

And in person it carries on that perception, it has to be said. The metallic Kermit-green paint and contrasting black wheels and roof may not be to all tastes, but certainly leave you in no doubt that the vRS is not about to make a secret of its potential to be very fun indeed.

And it pretty much works too. Almost.

With 132kW and 250Nm, the vRS has more than enough power. In fact probably too much in the wet, where it struggles to get the power down cleanly and things descend into a battle between wheelspin and the traction control.

Still, in the dry, the vRS is remarkable fun, with tenacious grip and, admittedly, quite a bit of torque steer. But then, that just adds to the laughter when you repeatedly slam the throttle to the floor and tyre-squeal between apexes…

Inside things are a bit generic-Skoda, with lots of black and quality levels just a corporately-suitable tad below Volkswagen (ie; still remarkably good). The vRS gets a satisfyingly fat steering wheel and sports front seats to differentiate it from your garden-variety Fabia, but that’s about it really.

While Skoda claim a frugal 6.2-L/100km combined fuel consumption figure for the vRS, the reality is somewhat higher than that, with a weeks-worth of motoring around Auckland, a number of open road cruises and, admittedly, more than a few angry back-road blasts, returning an average of around 8L/100km.

Not great for such a small car, but pretty damn good for something that has such high levels of fun involved…

So why the “almost”? Well, it essentially comes down to the fact that, while an extremely fun car to drive, the vRS ultimately comes across as a bit too Volkswagen-corporate to be considered truly special.

The engine, while extraordinarily powerful and flexible, lacks character, as does the exhaust note. The DSG transmission, while ruthlessly fast and efficient on the open road, is typically slightly clunky and too easily confused around town. The interior, while beautifully put together from quality materials, is, well, boring…

Little things, to be sure, and nothing that stops the vRS from being a brilliant car. It’s just not a truly great Hot Hatch.

This article first appeared in New Zealand Company Vehicle magazine.