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By Jonathan Crouch

Skoda's fast Elroq vRS EV hot hatch might grow on you, thinks Jonathan Crouch.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 27

The charms of Skoda's fastest EV compact hatch, the Elroq vRS, might not be immediately obvious but they could be longer-lasting than those of more extrovert rivals.

Backgroundword count: 115

Let's consider the vRS badge. If the letters mean anything to you, they'll spell 'sporty Skoda'. In truth, over the last two decades, some Skoda vRS models have been rather sportier than others but there's promise in this one, the brand's potent Elroq vRS EV. It's the fastest-accelerating car the Czech maker has ever provided. And for not much more than other VW Group brands will charge you to get a sporty compact EV hatch with one motor and 2WD, here you get two motors and AWD. In fact, this top Elroq has more in common with an Enyaq vRS from next class up than most of its segment contemporaries. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 347

A dual motor AWD powertrain isn't particularly unusual on a full-electric compact hot hatch of this type. We've already seen this format with top versions of the MG4, the smart #1 and the Volvo EX30. But it is unusual for a VW Group-engineered product like this Elroq vRS. Dual motor EV drivetrains from the Wolfsburg parts bin tend to be reserved for models in the next class up, like the Volkswagen ID.4, the CUPRA Tavascan and the Skoda Enyaq. And it's from the vRS version of the Enyaq that this top Elroq gets its all-wheel drive powertrain, which develops 340PS of output (54PS up on the ordinary rear-driven Elroq 85). You might not think the power output improvement over the standard model to be a huge gain, given that this vRS has the benefit of an extra small front motor (which adds an extra 134Nm of torque grunt to the standard 545Nm figure). You won't notice much difference over the ordinary car away from the traffic lights either, where the sprint to 62mph takes 5.4s, 1.2s quicker than an Elroq 85, on the way to the same modest top speed of 111mph. At least the EV range figure is also quite similar, rated at 340 miles (15 miles down on the standard car), helped perhaps by the fact that the vRS model's battery is slightly bigger (84kWh rather than the usual 82kWh). Of course, the vRS engineering CV is about more than just that extra front motor. The steering has been retuned, there are thicker anti-roll bars - and shorter springs mean a ride height drop of 15mm at the front and 10mm at the back. The tyres are different at both ends too, with 255-section rears paired with 235-section fronts. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the latest and very impressive VW Group DCC adaptive damping system is standard-fit, with its 15 different settings. Depending on the end of the scale you choose, this vRS can either be supple and comfortable or firm and agile. It's one of the things that might really sell you this car.

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