Skoda Elroq vRS

FIRST DRIVE The letters vRS hold a special place in the hearts of fans of Skoda's hottest models. Can the racy flagship version of the brand's big-selling Elroq win them over, too?

- Richard Ingram [e-mail]

THE Skoda Elroq is set to be another runaway success for the Czech car maker. The company has taken 70,000 orders in nine months, and it was Europe's best-selling EV in April. The firm's sporty vRS brand continues to flourish, too; almost half a million models - across the Fabia, Octavia, Kodiaq and Enyaq nameplates - have left the factory with the hallowed badge on the back, and the story looks set to continue with its next instalment: the Elroq vRS.

Except the Elroq doesn’t get a vRS badge on the back - only on the front wings. The styling for Skoda’s latest sporting hopeful is best described as subdued; apart from our car’s Mamba Green paint (a no-cost option), external changes are largely limited to new bumpers, different wheels, and some gloss-black details for the exterior trim.

Indeed, in some of the specifications we tried on the international launch event, you'd be hard-pushed to know that this, the hottest Elroq, is a vRS at all. In Moon White, with the smaller of the two wheel options, it looks, dare we say, a bit boring.

But vRS buyers have long loved the inconspicuous, undercover police-car vibe, and while the Elroq certainly ticks those boxes from the outside, the cabin is a bit bolder. There's green stitching for the dashboard and steering wheel, and similar-coloured piping for the seats, plus a decent mix of premium-feeling microsuede and artificial leather throughout. Aside from some slightly suspect stitching on the headrests, it appears reassuringly expensive, yet also built to stand the test of time.