Latest news with #MladáBoleslav
Top Gear
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Skoda students have turned this Superb Estate into a bike-carrying pickup truck
Plug-in hybrid Superb becomes a ute with a clever bike rack and a sliding rear door to support pro bike racers Skoda loves cycling. Of course, the Czech firm started out with Václav Laurin and Václav Klement making bicycles all the way back in 1895, and in slightly more recent times it has been a main partner of the Tour de France for over two decades. So it's perhaps no surprise this year's concept car produced by the students of the Skoda Academy in Mladá Boleslav is a cyclist's dream support vehicle. Christened the Skoda L&K 130, this is the first Skoda student concept to be based on the Superb Estate, and the kids have turned it into a rad pickup style thing with space for two bikes on the racks in the extendable bed, and another on the roof.
Auto Car
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
We drive Skoda's fastest ever car
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. Verdict Good Grippy, planted and intuitive to drive Remains very comfortable Good efficiency, range and charging speed Bad It's faster, but not exactly more fun than a standard Elroq, let alone a Cupra Born Not cheap Pros Good colours MEB offers wide-reaching toolkit, with dual motors and a big battery Cons Very similar to the Enyaq and the regular Elroq 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. 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. Pros Excellent seats Just as spacious and practical as the standard Elroq Infotainment generally works well Cons Very black Doesn't get the Smart Dials from the Superb and Kodiaq 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. Pros Quite quick Progressive accelerator Handling is composed and grippy Comfortable ride Cons Mushy brake pedal, no one-pedal mode You can easily find more performance for the money Not much depth to the handling beyond grip and composure 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. 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. Pros Strong efficiency and range Fast charging 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 Good Grippy, planted and intuitive to drive Remains very comfortable Good efficiency, range and charging speed Bad It's faster, but not exactly more fun than a standard Elroq, let alone a Cupra Born Not cheap 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. Model tested: Skoda Elroq vRS Electric motor/s: Asynchronous motor (f), permanent magnet synchronous motor (r) Drive battery: Li-ion, NMC Driveline layout: Dual motors, 4WD Model tested Skoda Elroq vRS Electric motor/s Asynchronous motor (f), permanent magnet synchronous motor (r) View all specs and rivals Drive battery Li-ion, NMC Driveline layout Dual motors, 4WD Battery size 84/79kWh (total/usable) Energy efficiency 3.8mpkWh Rivals Cupra Born VZ Mini Countryman SE All4 Smart #1 Brabus
