If you wear Dolce and Gabanna, go on one-day shopping trips to Rome and use the word "darling" about anyone other than your direct family members then the very idea of buying a Skoda will be anathema to you. The fact the Octavia vRS shares the same platform, engine and most of its parts with the new VW Golf Gti will not matter a jot. It's all about the badge baby.
For the rest of us, the Octavia vRS represents the latest landmark in the resurrection of a brand that was once the butt of so many infantile - and often humorous - puns.
If you'd suggested 15 years ago that a road-going Skoda could get from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds, the response would normally be: yes, but only if it's tied to the back of a Ferrari. Yet in that time Skoda has not only wiped the smug grins off the brand snobs, it's taught many of the so-called premium brands a thing or two about building cars.
Last year, the Top Gear customer survey ranked Skoda as the only European brand in the top five cars, alongside the likes of Lexus and Honda. It's hardly surprising really. Skoda has been around for over 100 years now and, like it's homeland, has somehow survived the dark excesses of the planned economy.
Shrewd managers at Volkswagen spotted that this was more than just some eastern European excuse for a car firm that would collapse when faced with western competition. The Skoda name is as much a part of European automotive history as VW itself.
The secret to Skoda's success has been offering cars of a quality that rival anything to come from the European marques, yet at a price that's far more affordable.
Skoda has long had some form of racing heritage. The RS versions rallied in the 1980s and the Czech brand took part in the World Rally Championship up until last year.
This latest version from the RS range follows similar efforts with the Fabia. The big story, however, is the fact that it finally has a powertrain worthy of racing nomenclature. This new vRS features the much-lauded 197bhp 2-litre FSI engine from the new VW Golf Gti. This is a wonderful engine that delivers the punch previous Gti versions had been missing. So with the RS Skoda it is offering a saloon version of the Golf at a better price.
The performance statistics suggest the Octavia RS is virtually identical to the Gti, being only 0.1 seconds slower from 0 to 100km/h. I don't care how good a driver you think you are, you're not going to notice that sort of time difference. There is some extra weight over the Gti, but it's only 40kgs.
Admittedly the throttle doesn't offer the bite of some of its hot hatch rivals and there's a more gradual flow of power than you'd expect, particularly at the lower revs. It's matched in the handling: that doesn't require a great deal of effort, with the right mix of feedback and damping for Irish roads.
Some 200 horses trying to make their mark on the tarmac through the front wheels means there's some torque steering issues, even on dry roads. Push down in first and the front tyres battle for grip. Whatever about fuel consumption if you drive the Octavia hard you'll be reshodding the front wheels regularly.
It's not only the engine that it has in common with the Golf; the Octavia range is based on the Golf floorplan. That means the RS handles remarkably well considering the car is significantly longer than most of its hot hatch rivals.
Then there's the boot space. Pop open the rear and there's 560 litres on offer to swallow up buggies and shopping, with the option to flip down the rear seats to offer a total of 1,420 litres. The RS also comes in estate format - a fabulous mix of racing hot hatch and family practicality.
The trick with the Octavia seems to be that it's more comfort-orientated than rivals like the Gti. The engine doesn't encroach in the cabin as much, at least not until you tip over 5,000rpm, when the meatier gruff engine notes start to make their presence felt.
The ride is harsher than your average Octavia, but not to the extent that it challenges the adhesive on your dentures. Even the seats, while sporty, are not of the usual figure-hugging format.
So it's a more family-orientated performer; but is that really what you want? Sure, it has the performance stats and offers plenty of wheelspin when you push down on the throttle from start, but when you pit it against the likes of the Gti or the new star in this class, the Ford Focus ST, does it really offer enough raw passion to wow you?
We'd been looking forward to pitting our regular back road test routes against the vRS and it entertained, but never scared us.
It never slouched, and it was a delight to drive. It's a great addition to the Skoda range, better value than all the rest of the hot hatch brigade and really well put together with a practicality that most of the rest cannot match.
Yet there's something about it that just doesn't set our world on fire. Perhaps it is the very essence of the practicality: when you opt for a hot hatch you expect to make sacrifices in terms of comfort, you expect to feel like you're living with something of a wild animal that's only recently been tamed and could very well bite you on the rump if you turned your back on it or took it for granted.
The Skoda just felt a little too house trained. If we were to identify one technical element where it differed from the rest, perhaps it was the relatively tame throttle response in lower revs.
That said, if you happen to spend a good deal of time idling in traffic and piddling around town at under 30km/h you'll appreciate this fact. Take it on the open road and the vRS is a dream to drive.
Given the value on offer it means it's a serious hot hatch contender.
Perhaps it doesn't have the Dublin 4 cachet of the Golf, but then not everyone lives in the image-conscious world of Dolce and Gabanna darling.