Skoda Elroq vRS review

Small crossover sportified with retuned chassis, 335bhp from two motors

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Despite being a part of the Volkswagen machine, Skoda has shown itself to be quite adept at doing things slightly differently – not radically so but in ways that do make an impact.

With cars like the Superb and Kodiaq, it espouses a ‘more buttons, less nonsense’ philosophy that we can get behind. With the Elroq, you might expect it to have made an ID 3 with an ice scraper in the charging flap, but it’s actually more like a shortened Enyaq, and that extends to the new sporty version, the Skoda Elroq vRS.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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While the VW ID 3 GTX and Cupra Born VZ stick with a single rear motor, the Elroq vRS uses the same 335bhp dual-motor powertrain as the Enyaq vRS. But because it’s a bit smaller and lighter, it’s also quicker. That also means the sensible Skoda is faster than the sporty Cupra. They’re clearly not wedded to hierarchy in Mladá Boleslav.

With all that said, the package is pretty familiar from the Enyaq vRS. You know the drill: MEB platform, big battery (79kWh usable), two motors, slightly but not excessively sportier tuning for a MacPherson-strut front and a multi-link rear.

I do wish Skoda had put a bit more effort into the Elroq’s design, which is just an Enyaq minus the rear overhang. It puts me in mind of those ‘bob-tailed’ Land Rover Discovery 2s you sometimes see tearing about the countryside.
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

Naturally there are also some more aggressive bumpers and unique wheels to set this vRS apart from the regular Elroq. The alloys are either 20in or 21in, and although I’m usually a fan of smaller wheels, in this case the smaller option looks purposely designed to make you want to upgrade; they look like spacesavers.

INTERIOR

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The vRS formula extends inside, where this is generally just a highly specified Elroq with sports seats in Alcantara, carbonfibre trim and, if specced right, some nuclear green accents to liven things up.

Apart from that, the vRS is the same as any Elroq, which means that it’s very spacious for the size and the infotainment works well. For more detail, read our full Skoda Elroq review here.

Skoda does seats really well: soft and comfortable on long distances, but with enough lateral support in the corners
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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What’s common to most vRS cars I’ve driven, whether powered by combustion or electrons, is that you can potter around and not really notice you’re in the sporty one.

In this latest one, the seats are outstandingly comfortable, and it’s not much noisier at a cruise than a regular Elroq. Adaptive dampers are standard and, at the softer end of the 15-point adjustment scale, the ride is properly wafty – to the point of floatiness in the most relaxed setting. Even the energy efficiency, often an issue on hot dual-motor EVs, is fine. I got 3.4mpkWh on a spirited route that included some 80mph motorway, so a range of 270 miles should be realistic.

There are paddles on the steering wheel to control the regen, as well as a B mode on the gear selector, but there's no true one-pedal mode. Switching to Sport mode sets the regen to a medium setting. You can change it back, but I wish it wouldn't do that.
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

It never truly entertains, though. That 335bhp output makes it nicely quick without ever blowing your mind, and accelerator response is fairly calm.

I do wish the regen wouldn’t keep resetting to its adaptive mode and, as on all MEB cars, the brake pedal is mushy and inconsistent.

The variable-ratio steering is quite numb, and although the rear motor is more powerful than the front one, it doesn’t really engage in tail-out antics – the staggered tyre sizing and conservative stability control see to that. Neutral balance is as good as it gets.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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Prices for the Elroq vRS start from £46,560, which is a little more expensive than rivals, which include the Cupra Born VZ, Mini Countryman SE All4, Volvo EX30 Twin Motor and Smart #1 Brabus. However, unlike the Cupra, it comes with dual motors and more power, and it has a much larger battery and therefore considerably more range than the others.

On the WLTP cycle, it should be good for 336 miles. In practice, we saw around 3.4mpkWh on a mild summer day, which equates to nearly 270 real-world miles. It’s also capable of taking 185kW on a DC rapid charge, which is a good deal more than most rivals.

VERDICT

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Apart from the Born and to a lesser extent the MG 4 EV, this class still lacks a driver’s car. It needs its Hyundai Ioniq 5 N or Alpine A290 moment, and the Elroq vRS isn’t it. What it is is a practical electric crossover with four-wheel drive and a bit of punch that doesn’t beat you up for the pleasure.

You can make up your own mind on whether that makes it genius or non-committally redundant.

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As a road tester, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews and comparison tests, while also managing the magazine’s Drives section. Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s in-depth instrumented road tests.

He loves cars that are fun and usable on the road – whether piston-powered or electric – or just cars that are very fit for purpose. When not in test cars, he drives an R53-generation Mini Cooper S.