Long-term test: Skoda Elroq vRS

Verdict

The Skoda Elroq vRS is a great car, but it has a problem. It’s incredibly hard to justify the £10,000 premium over the already excellent 85 Edition that came before it on our fleet. It loses a star on value alone.

• Mileage: 3,032
• Efficiency: 3.7mi/kWh

Car safety is one of those things we tend to take for granted. In fact, a recent poll conducted here at Auto Express asking people to list their priorities when buying a new car had safety listed second from last. However, how many of us would actually admit that safety isn’t important?

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I ask this question because it’s become a hot topic in the Baiden household. My wife was travelling back from the school run and preparing to turn into our driveway, when a motorcyclist failed to notice until it was too late. He desperately tried to avoid a collision, but ended up ploughing into the Skoda Elroq Edition 85 we’re running on our fleet, causing extensive damage. Thankfully nobody was injured and everybody was able to walk away, but my wife and son were a little shaken up by the incident. One thing she said afterwards stood out, though: “I felt very safe in the Elroq”.

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The Skoda hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP yet, but the structurally similar Enyaq received the full five stars, so it’s safe to assume its little brother will also get top marks. Knowing a car will offer good protection in an accident gives enormous peace of mind, and the Elroq certainly provides that, based on our experience. It’s just the latest thing in a long list of items that our reigning Car of the Year excels at.

The sad thing is that the resulting damage meant our white Edition 85 had to go back to Skoda for repairs, but the silver lining is that we now have a top-spec blue vRS model for the next couple of months instead. 

The standard Elroq is a fantastic car and it’s hard to pick any faults, but the hotter Elroq vRS arrived in the summer to some initial lukewarm reviews. I was keen to see if they were justified and if there was really such a difference between them. The price tag – our car is only just shy of £50,000 – is obviously a huge sticking point, but it’s really the only negative thing I’ve found so far.

As the most powerful production Skoda ever, with 335bhp, it really does provide a jump up in performance from the 282bhp Edition 85. Based on reviews I had read, I was expecting any noticeable difference between them to be minimal, but it’s not. Put your foot down and the vRS is quick in a straight line. It’s even good fun when the roads get twisty, but the stiffer suspension is an acquired taste. A bumpy road can cause lots of head-bobbing and swaying, but it never feels out of control.

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And it’s not as if that extra performance seriously dents the efficiency either. Skoda quotes an official range of 339 miles, just 15 miles less than the Edition 85 (although the vRS battery is 2kWh larger), and I’ve got close to that figure. I’ve averaged around 3.7 miles per kWh so far, and that’s been a mixture of motorway commutes and shorter town trips.

Long-term tests are less about performance and efficiency, and more about what the car is like to live with day-to-day, though, and this is where the Elroq really stands out from the crowd. As with other models in the Skoda line-up, the vRS really excels inside, because there’s a huge amount of space for a family, with plenty of room in the back seats for my children to do their thing without constantly kicking the seats in front. 

The materials used are also of a high quality and the screen and interface work without a hitch. Anybody who hasn’t sat inside a Skoda for the past 20 years will be genuinely stunned by what the brand has done.

I’ve been impressed with the Elroq vRS so far, but would I pick it over the 85 Edition model I had before? Simple answer, no. The 85 Edition is £10,000 cheaper and was pretty much faultless during its time with us.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

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