Having read a previous thread I had a look at the spec of the Irish VRS or Rs as it is there and the spec does seem to be better. Dual Zone Climate, Jumbo Box etc. This was on a dealer site so don't know how accurate it was! But it does seem strange to have different specs in such close neighbours.

I wonder if the the before tax price is similar between the two countries or is somebody getting a bad deal?

I think you do get a better deal in the rep of Ireland but as far as i know their car tax is costly and it's still pretty dear to buy a vRS down there. The problem is there's the UK and then the rest of Europe. Different rules apply and no doubt the UK goverment demand higher taxes from dealers importing from Europe and hence the cutomer pays more. I remember TG I think did an experiment a few years back and found that if you ordered a RHD Rover 25 in France you'd get the same car you would in the UK only 49% cheaper. There's no justice. All that has been changed though but you still pay a bit more in the UK.

Also, remember that the UK sales of Skoda's are only a percentage of Skoda's business. They have to go out of their way to manufacture cars setup for the UK and Irish markets. For Ireland they only have to move the steering wheel and lights for RHD but the UK no doubt requires other alterations and they all cost money so the cutomer ends up paying. Of course feel free to correct me as all this maybe bull**** but it's my take on it.

It may have changed in the last few years but the pre tax prices for cars in Ireland used to be a lot cheaper than the UK, but I always though it was a trade off for a slightly lower spec car, a lot of people used to come over and bring them back. But it definitely looks like we are getting a better specced RS (to be honest I was quite shocked), now wheather the price is reflecting than compared to the UK is hard to know.

One thing I heard from one manufacturer was that there UK counterparts were not impressed by the trend that was being set.

I'm sure a pre tax price could be found out, I dunno if I'd fancy posting it though