Skoda Elroq vRS (2025 – ) Electric review

The regular Elroq might be undercut on price by some of the new Chinese rivals entering the market but strikes a perfect balance of practicality, quality and affordability to make it one of the most appealing family electric crossovers around. If a little boring looking. The vRS addresses that in style but at a considerable cost, the bottom-line price putting it on terms with more powerful alternatives like the Smart #1 Brabus and Volvo EX30 Cross Country. While it still scores friendly Benefit In Kind rates for company drivers it’s over the threshold for the burlier tax rates now applying to all cars costing over £40,000, adding a chunk to your monthly cost whether you pay it yourself or it’s lumped into your lease deal. At least daily running expenses will be reasonable, official range of over 300 miles reducing your dependency on expensive public charging, assuming you can plug in at home.

Like the Enyaq it’s based on the Elroq uses VW electric foundations shared across all the brands in the wider family, including Cupra and Audi. There were some early wobbles with the infotainment but these seem to have been ironed out and Skoda generally scores well for reliability and customer satisfaction. If the standard three-year warranty looks a little basic you can extend it to up to five years at extra cost, though some rivals offer this as standard and others like MG and Kia cover you for a full seven years.

As a top of the range model the vRS gets all the available safety tech you can have on the Elroq, with all the expected lane-keeping, emergency braking, blind spot alerts and more. Most rivals at this level get that too but Skoda’s wider experience and shared resources mean the kit actually works properly and without the bongs, false alarms and unexpected interventions plaguing many modern cars. We also appreciated the ease with which you can select your preferred level of intervention from a physical switch below the screen for a blessed relief from the bongs.

Big wheels and sporty suspension aren’t usually a recipe for a comfortable ride but the Elroq includes a nifty system for adjusting the balance between bump-swallowing plushness and stiffer setting for composed cornering anywhere along a 15-step scale. These are pre-set in the various driver modes, one of which is customisable to your own preferences. Usually, these systems are a bit of a gimmick but in the vRS there is a noticeable difference, going from wallowy to bone hard with a swipe of the on-screen slider. True, the vRS might not have the biggest power output in the class. But we prefer Skoda’s focus on equipping the vRS with the suspension, steering and brakes to actually make sense of the extra performance. More generally the vRS benefits from figure-hugging sports seats and higher-quality upholstery than more basic Elroqs, which combined with a confidence inspiring height off the road, perfect driving position and decent visibility all help you feel comfortable at the wheel. For a seemingly small car there’s also tons of room in the back, though the all-black interior does feel a little gloomy. The biggest loss to the Enyaq is in boot space, though the Elroq makes good use of the space it has available, with clever features like a net under the variable position parcel shelf to stash your charging cable out of the way.

As you’d hope for the price and flagship position in the range the vRS isn’t left wanting for kit, building on the Elroq’s already decent standard equipment with the Advanced Package as standard with its thumping CANTON branded stereo, ‘area view’ cameras, rear window blinds, head-up-display and more besides. You need to dig a little deeper in your pocket for the Maxx pack if you want your passenger to benefit from the powered seat adjustment and massage the driver gets as standard, it then being a small stretch to the Winter Package with heating for the screen and rear seats to go with that for the front seats and steering wheel you already get. A no-brainer if you live somewhere the winters bite harder than average. Beyond that the vRS stands out from the rather basic looking standard Elroq thanks to its sportier bumpers, different wheels, blacked out trim pieces and – if you’re feeling brave – exclusive Hyper Green paint as pictured. Microfibre seat fabric with contrast stitching also helps lift the cabin ambience somewhat, the premium garnish building on the standard Elroq’s already impressive sense of quality.

An interesting case study in impressive horsepower figures not always being the last word in performance you can enjoy in everyday driving. For while there are rivals like the aforementioned Smart #1 Brabus, MG4 XPower and twin motor versions of the Volvo EX30 with bigger horsepower figures and more impressive acceleration times experience shows this has limited use beyond scaring your passengers. In this company the Elroq vRS’s 340 horsepower looks relatively modest but in combination with properly tuned suspension and brakes it’s a lot more usable, and plenty quick enough for everyday driving situations like merging onto fast-moving motorways or overtaking slower traffic on rural roads. That the Elroq vRS delivers this and official range of over 300 miles – just 11 miles less than the regular Sportline version – is a welcome sign of maturity in a wider EV market seemingly carried away with performance nobody actually needs in a family SUV. Bravo, Skoda.