Latest news with #vRS
Top Gear
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Skoda Elroq vRS review: Skoda taps into its rally history… Reviews 2025
Don't get too carried away. Skoda has a modest but admirable rally heritage, which began with the 200 RS of the Seventies and peaked with the 130 RS that followed it a few years later. That car won its class at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1977 and the European Touring Car Championship in 1981, and those remain the two biggest prizes in the Czech brand's trophy cabinet. It probably doesn't spend much on polish, is what we're saying. Anyway, that success later inspired some road-going stuff, like the original Octavia vRS in 2001 and the cult hero Fabia vRS diesel in 2003. Today you can get your hands on a vRS version of the current Mk4 Octavia, and Skoda started to really push its luck with a vRS-badged Enyaq a few years ago. To save you a click… we didn't like it. No one actually knows where vRS comes from – even Skoda isn't sure – but the little 'v' is unique to the UK, and legend has it that's because Skoda wanted to avoid a legal ding dong with Ford over the RS moniker it uses on the other side of the Channel. It stands for 'Victory Rally Sport'. Which is snappier than 'Occasional Winners Rally Sport'. Enough background, why am I looking at an Elroq? Ah, well, Skoda has decided the vRS badge could and should be used more liberally, which explains the existence of a Kodiaq vRS (!) with the heart of a Golf GTI. But especially so in the electric sphere, where emotion and heritage aren't as easy to come by. So as well as doubling down on an updated Enyaq vRS as part of that car's recent facelift, there's also a vRS model of the new Elroq crossover as well. Ta da! Like its marginally longer, older sibling, the Elroq vRS follows the same sort of blueprint: lowered 'sports' chassis (10mm at the front and 15mm at the rear), DCC dampers with 15 stages of adjustment, and more power. Lots more power. Well the regular Elroq starts off with a 168bhp motor mounted at the rear and swells to 281bhp as you walk up to the top-spec model. This Elroq has two motors for all-wheel drive. So total shove amounts to 335bhp and 402lb ft. And that makes this the joint fastest-accelerating Skoda ever made. No need to guess your next question. From a standing start the Elroq vRS will hit 62mph in 5.4 seconds, an identical time to the Enyaq vRS. It'll top out at 111mph. For a small crossover designed to ferry youngsters between piano recitals, judo and the dentist, it's rather nifty. Is that really who it's for? Parental taxi duty? Well this is the thing. The audience for a heftily motivated, electric mini SUV isn't going to be high, and Skoda only expects it to account for about five per cent of Elroq sales. You'd have to really want the extra lavishings that come on the kit list, and for the family business to be booming. Because it costs £46,560. What?! That's GR Yaris money! Yep. And that's before you've added the heat pump (£1,100) and winter package (£600) with its heated seats front and back, heated windscreen and three-zone climate control. Our test car came to £48,260. Good god. Rather steep isn't it? We know the cheapest cars struggle to get under twenty grand these days and that electric power still comes at a premium. But it's nearly fifty thousand pounds sterling. That's a deposit on a nice house. Or a month's rent in Clapham. Does it get platinum alloys and a hydraulic handbrake fashioned from ivory? In a rare win for the elephants, no. But Skoda has thrown almost everything in its inventory at the Elroq vRS, fitting it out with gloss black trim, roof rails, badging and window frames; bespoke 'sports' bumpers, an illuminated 'Tech Deck' face, matrix 'eyelash' LEDs (Skoda's words, not ours), 21s and the option of the Hyper Green paint you see up there. High vis has never looked this cool. Inside you get a heated, three-spoke leather steering wheel, some lovely microsuede upholstery and lime green stitching, plus comfy sports seats with massage function and a Canton sound system. The pedals are upgraded to stainless steel, so primed for a lifetime of heavy stomping. The driver's display is a five-inch digital number and the touchscreen is a 13-incher – VW Group's tech isn't so bad these days, and there's some vRS-specific graphics in addition to an HUD with augmented reality. It's properly nice in here. As you'd damn well expect for the money involved. That's a lot of kit for a relatively small car. Yeah, the best way to think of the vRS is as a trim level. A troublingly expensive, but nonetheless stacked, trim level. And if you've got the cash to play with, you'll be getting a well-styled car that's nice to spend time in. Hard to fault on that front. The mistake is to take the rallying schtick too seriously. Because if you're looking for an heir to the R5, you're going to be unimpressed. A total let-down, then? Like I said, it depends on your expectations. The Elroq vRS has tremendous point-and-squirt ability, with blitzy acceleration rather than the kind that'll pinball your internal organs around. It's fluid and flowy, but not particularly lively through corners. All very safe and neutral, with a tendency to understeer. Just what you'd expect from all-wheel drive. And not what you'd hope for given the inspiration behind it. The ride is fine, but it's a bit more agitated than the vRS-ified Enyaq. A consequence of being more compact? The softest suspension setting is precious little different to the firmest one 14 clicks to the right. Nor is the supposedly fettled steering that different in character. So… how do I have fun in this thing? With the regen. You get four different levels of braking force, adjustable via the paddles behind the steering wheel. On a twisty road the challenge is gauging how much retardation you'll need before a corner in order to nail the weight transfer and make the wheels grip up. All while hanging onto as much momentum as possible. It's satisfying, if not thrilling. The brakes themselves are good too, soft enough to make urban stuff easy but giving good feel under heavier usage. Bet that tanks the range… You know what, even with gratuitous amounts of braking (purely for testing purposes, you understand) we averaged 3.5 mi/kWh over a mix of fast country roads and village roads in mid-Wales. Baking hot day helped too. Given the 84kWh battery (79kWh usable), that shakes out at roughly 275 miles of range against a claim of 339. You could do a lot worse. Should I go for it? What, buy one you mean? Yeah. Hmm. At that price the Elroq vRS is a real over-indulgence; a double choc chip 'n' cookie dough sundae with extra cream, warm salted caramel topping and honeycomb wafer. Served in crystal glassware. By a gentleman in tails. Called Jeeves. And you'd probably be just as happy with a simple sticky toffee pudding. Sorry, it's getting late as we write this and peckishness is building.
The Irish Sun
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
New Skoda Octavia vRS is a 265bhp rocket ship but also a very practical sportscar
THE Skoda Octavia is a brilliant four-door car with a big boot — and it's fun to drive. But the Octavia's boot doesn't open like a regular saloon even though it looks like one. 6 SPICE UP YOUR LIFE: With 265bhp, four doors, a big boot and a handy hatchback-style opening boot all wrapped in a sporty saloon , the Skoda Octavia vRS proves you can have your cake and eat it Credit: Skoda UK Instead the boot lid opens the same way a hatchback does, adding to its useability. The boot offers 600 litres but fold the seats down for 1,555 litres of load-lugging ability. The sporty vRS model takes all this practicality and wraps it up with the fun and excitement of a potent hot-hatch. And as we've been basking in the recent warm weather, you'll be hot in the city and on the open road looking cool, cruising in your Octavia vRS. Key Facts: Skoda Octavia vRS Cost: From €56,020 Engine: 2.0-litre, four- cylinder turbo petrol Power: 265bhp Torque: 370Nm 0-100kph: 6.4 seconds Top Speed: 250kph Economy: 40.8mpg Real world: 40mpg Emissions: 159g/km Rivals: VW Golf GTI, Cupra BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 Power comes from a 2.0-litre, turbocharged, four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 265bhp and 370Nm of torque. This allows the vRS to scamper from 0-100kph in 6.4seconds with a very respectable top speed of 250kph. There are hot-hatches that produce more power, but the Octavia vRS is a little ripper and it's surprisingly quick in all the driving modes — even Eco. But it's Sport mode that really brings it to life, with a fruity note from the dual exhausts and a few pops and bangs thrown in for good measure. Most read in Motors 6 THE GREAT ESTATE: Octavia vRS also comes as an even more practical sporty estate called the Combi Credit: Skoda Ireland 6 BOOT SIZE: Big boot is 600-litres and up to 1,555-litres with the seats down Credit: Skoda UK It's front-wheel drive, though, so in the wet or with a too-heavy right foot, the vRS's traction control will be working overtime to minimise wheel spin. But in the dry, grip is really good and you can opt for Dynamic Chassis Control so you can fine-tune the suspension settings to suit your driving style. However, the Sports Suspension, which drops the ride height by 15mm, comes as standard. It looks like a proper sports car too. 6 WHEELS OF MIS-FORTUNE: The 19-inch alloys feature plastic aero caps that look a bit cheap Credit: Darren Liggett 6 BUCKET SEATS: Sports seats are superb and look like they're lifted out of a rally car Credit: Skoda UK My test car was painted Race Blue Metallic and all the vRS trim consists of sports bumpers with black inserts, black mirrors and black ducktail boot spoiler, vRS chrome exhaust pipes, red brake callipers and 19-inch 'Elias' alloy wheel. However they come with plastic aero covers that, in my opinion, ruin the look of the rims and make it look cheap, especially as there is a great-looking alloy wheel below. The interior is amazing; the seats look like they have been lifted out of a Skoda Fabia WRC2 car. They're also heated and covered in lovely Alcantara trim, with red stitching, vRS badges and lots of carbon-style trim that all adds up to make the vRS Octavia feel extra sporty and special. 6 SPORTY CABIN: Loads of faux-carbon trim, red stitching and plenty of vRS badging Credit: Skoda UK The 13-inch infotainment system is user-friendly and my test car came fitted with a banging, optional Canton sound system. It's actually pretty economical, Skoda have an official figure of 41mpg. Read more on the Irish Sun And on a long motorway journey taking it very easy, I did average 40mpg. But go full Stig mode and it's certainly not as frugal.
Auto Express
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
New Skoda Enyaq vRS 2025 review: Czech-mated by its own sibling
The surface-level nature of the updates to the Skoda Enyaq only highlight what a brilliant package it already was – and that certainly goes for the top-end vRS model, too. Its posh interior feels befitting of its price tag, while the vRS edition brings plenty of performance. Those looking for outright excitement will be left disenchanted – standard non-vRS models will be sufficient for most buyers – yet the biggest issue isn't necessarily the Enyaq itself, but the existence of the Elroq. Smaller, cheaper and offering similar passenger space to the Enyaq, the newer car makes Skoda's flagship feel somewhat superfluous in most cases, which is an odd thing to say about such a multi-talented vehicle. Advertisement - Article continues below It's incredible to think that the first few examples of the Skoda Enyaq arrived on UK roads over four years ago, yet in that time it's managed to hold firm against newer electric family car competitors such as the Renault Scenic, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Vauxhall Grandland. More recently, the Enyaq's reign has come under fire from within the Skoda camp itself, particularly courtesy of the smaller Skoda Elroq; this provides almost everything its bigger brother does, but in a cheaper, more attractive package. The same is true of the range-topping vRS model, with the Elroq getting the same performance and visual upgrades as the more expensive Enyaq. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below View Enyaq View Enyaq View Enyaq View Enyaq To help keep it competitive for 2025, the Enyaq has now received what is perhaps the automotive industry's most literal example of a facelift; Skoda's flagship now bears a revised 'Tech Deck' front grille design taken straight from the Elroq. This does a good job of spicing up the exterior of the Enyaq, which was never a bad-looking car in the first place. On the vRS, this faux grille design is also illuminated and while it is difficult to see in the daytime, does look pretty slick in the dark. Advertisement - Article continues below While in the human world facelifts usually come with an eye-watering price tag, the updated Skoda Enyaq vRS actually costs marginally less than the outgoing car, now starting from £51,660 – a saving of roughly £1,500 over the previous model. The sleeker-looking Coupe model is also available for an extra £1,900. Other than this, however, the facelifted Enyaq is much the same as before. The vRS model gets two electric motors – one on each axle – to provide four-wheel drive and a generous 335bhp. Switch the hot Enyaq into its Sport setting and 0-62mph is disposed of in a brisk, if not entirely gut-wrenching, 5.4 seconds; in reality, this is only just over a second quicker than the cheaper 85x model. Yet despite its extra power, the vRS trumps the 85x in terms of range, too. With a net capacity of 79kWh, Skoda says the Enyaq vRS is capable of up to 344 miles in mixed urban and motorway driving – 12 miles more than the 85x with its 77kWh battery. During our spirited drive through the Cumbrian countryside, we were able to return around 3.4 miles per kilowatt-hour, which translates to a real-world range of some 270 miles; drivers with a lighter right foot will inevitably eke out more miles. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below However, we found ourselves wishing we were in the smaller Elroq; the Elroq is actually slightly wider than its supposed larger sibling, but paradoxically feels more compact. This being the case, the Enyaq's bulk gave us little confidence to throw it into tight bends. That's not to say the Enyaq vRS isn't well balanced; its steering is nicely weighted, although as is the case with most cars in this segment, it offers very little feedback. The standard-fit adaptive suspension never gets all that bone-shaking, either. Despite being 10mm lower than the regular Enyaq and us almost constantly having the car in its raciest mode, we found it to be more than compliant enough for all but the most delicate of posteriors. The Enyaq's four-wheel drive also ensured the traction was virtually unfaltering, even on slippery surfaces and those scattered with mud or gravel. Elsewhere, there is little fun to be had. Skoda has hinted that it plans to emulate sound and gearshifts in future vRS models, but here no such features exist, making the supposed pinnacle of Skoda's performance line-up feel a little prosaic. With no drift modes or even performance pages buried within the infotainment system, the most compelling reasons to upgrade from regular Enyaq models are more visual than dynamic. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The Enyaq vRS' racier sport seats, for example, are supremely comfortable and supportive, with a luxurious massage function, which certainly feels more at home in more premium offerings from Volkswagen Group. We personally are fans of the Acid Green stitching that's available, but if this is a tad too much for you, full leather in black is available for no extra charge. Material quality remains one of the Enyaq's strong points, with plenty of squidgy and posh-feeling materials almost everywhere you look. We like the felt-lined door bins and leatherette where you place your hand to operate the snappy 15-inch infotainment screen, but are surprised how cheap the door pull feels. This is constructed out of cheap plastic and given that it's something you touch all the time, it's a strange oversight. If bang for your buck means a lot to you, the Enyaq vRS also comes almost fully loaded with things like heated seats, a Canton sound system, a 360-degree parking camera and a powered bootlid. However, we do think Skoda is a bit stingy not including a heat pump at this price point. Less miserly is the boot space which, at 585 litres, is one of the biggest in its class and, crucially, 115 litres more than the Elroq. Rear passenger room is also plentiful, with sufficient leg and headroom, even in sleeker Coupe models. Sunblinds on the back windows, plus easy-to-access Isofix child seat-mounting points show that Skoda is clearly acknowledging its customer base of family buyers. Model: Skoda Enyaq vRS Price: £51,660 On sale: Now Powertrain: 79kWh battery, 2x e-motors Power/torque: 335bhp/545Nm Transmission: Single-speed auto, four-wheel drive 0-62mph: 5.4 seconds Top speed: 111mph Range: 344 miles Max charging: 185kW (10-80% in 26 mins) Dimensions (L/W/H): 4,660/1,879/1,618mm Enthusiastic about owning an Enyaq? Take a look at our latest deals on a new Skoda Enyaq , or find top prices on a used Skoda Enyaq . 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Auto Express
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Car Deal of the Day: Skoda Octavia vRS is the consummate all-rounder and only £255 a month!
Hot hatch fast and fun-to-drive Fantastically spacious family car Only £255 per month We absolutely love the Skoda Octavia here at Auto Express, so much so it recently won our Family Car of the Year award for the third time. Admittedly the regular version is not the most exciting thing to drive, but pair the smart and supremely spacious hatchback with the pleasingly potent engine from the VW Golf GTI and you have all the car most people could ever need. Right now, the Skoda Octavia vRS is available for only £255 per month! Through the Auto Express Find a Car service, you can get the Skoda Octavia vRS on a two-year lease for £255 per month. That price is being offered by Milease, with a £3,365 initial payment and an annual mileage allowance of 5,000 miles per year. Advertisement - Article continues below Naturally, you and your family might cover more than that in a year but, luckily, increasing the annual limit to 8,000 miles costs less than £10 a month extra. Even with the allowance pushed up to 10,000 miles per year, the Octavia vRS can still be yours for just £270 a month. Similarly, three-year lease deals are available from less than £280 per month. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Under the bonnet of this sensible-looking family car is a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 261bhp and 370Nm of torque, all sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission. That's enough oomph to get Octavia vRS from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds, but can still return up to 40.9mpg, when you take things easier. As well as delivering impressive pace, the Octavia vRS is incredibly spacious and boasts a massive 600-litre boot. The luggage capacity grows to 1,555 litres when you fold the rear seats down, and if you've got a caravan to haul, the car can tow up to 1,600kg. Naturally, the vRS gets a subtly sportier look than the regular Octavia, courtesy of different bumpers, 19-inch alloy wheels and tuned suspension that makes the car sit lower 15mm. The interior also gets some special treatment, with sports seats, a leather-trimmed three-spoke steering wheel, aluminium pedal covers and lots of red stitching. The cherry on top of all of this is an impressive standard kit list that includes a 13-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a head-up display, a 10.25-inch 'Virtual Cockpit' driver's display, a wireless charging pad, keyless start, adaptive cruise control, numerous other driver-assistance systems and, of course, several of Skoda's signature 'Simply Clever' features - such as a handy umbrella hidden in driver's door. The Car Deal of the Day selections we make are taken from our own Auto Express Find A Car deals service, which includes the best current offers from car retailers and leasing companies around the UK. Terms and conditions apply, while prices and offers are subject to change and limited availability. If this deal expires, you can find more top Skoda Octavia vRS leasing offers from leading providers on our Skoda Octavia vRS deals hub page… Check out the Skoda Octavia vRS Deal of the Day or take a look at our previous Car Deal of the Day selection here… Find a car with the experts Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production There's also a new SV Black trim, and a Range Rover Sport Stealth Package for non SVs Car Deal of the Day: MG ZS gives a big SUV feel for a miniscule £194 a month Car Deal of the Day: MG ZS gives a big SUV feel for a miniscule £194 a month The MG ZS is an easy car to like and live with. It's our Deal of the Day for 3 July Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand's latest entry-level model Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand's latest entry-level model A slick new look and more power are the headlines for Ferrari's new baby, but it's probably some simple new buttons that will get customers' attention
Auto Express
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Hot new Skoda SUV aims for performance on a grand scale
Skoda is planning an onslaught of hot hatchbacks and SUVs led by the recently launched Elroq vRS and Enyaq vRS, but soon to be bolstered by a go-faster Epiq and flagship Eviatiq, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. With almost half-a-million vRS-badged models (referred to as 'RS' in other global markets) now on the road, Skoda is soon set to fully exploit the potential of its sporty sub-brand with a host of new variants that span all bodystyles from superminis to seven-seaters. Speaking from the dynamic launch of the Elroq vRS recently, Bjorn Kroll, Skoda's head of product marketing, told us: 'The cars we are launching, very likely, will also have a vRS version; people like it.' The deluge of hot products began with the Elroq vRS and facelifted Enyaq vRS, but will continue with a racier version of the Epiq small SUV, itself due in 2026. The Epiq has been designed alongside the forthcoming Volkswagen ID.2, meaning the vRS model will likely share much of its battery and motor tech with the hotly anticipated ID.2 GTI. While production specifications are yet to be announced, we expect the Epiq vRS to boast at least 220bhp from a single, front-mounted electric motor, ensuring the downsized performance car is good for 0-62mph in less than seven seconds. Skoda's engineers will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the newly revealed Peugeot E-208 GTi, which was shown at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race earlier this month. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Following close behind will be Skoda's future flagship, thought to be called Eviatiq. We know much less about this model, but given its size and weight, any vRS version is all but certain to boast dual motors producing more than 350bhp combined, plus bespoke, lowered suspension and bigger brakes. Such a model is at least two years away, however. While the majority of Skoda's new vRS models will be electric, we're still holding out hope for a hot version of the firm's range-topping Superb saloon and Estate model. When asked whether such a car was in the plan – as we've reported previously – Kroll's excitable smile spoke a thousand words: 'You are not the only one,' he said. 'I can only tell you this.' Future vRS models should turn the performance dial up a notch, too. Previous examples have often been criticised for their occasionally lukewarm demeanour, but Kroll referenced the Enyaq RS Race concept as a testbed for future technologies including sound generators and software that can mimic a combustion car's automatic transmission. 'Everything that is missing in terms of old emotions,' Kroll admitted, 'what we are used to from the good old days, it's in [the Enyaq RS Race concept]. You see it, and you hear it. We will use this kind of recipe. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below 'We have to bring more emotion to it. Here you have the torque – that gives a certain amount of emotion – but the rest is what's missing. Then you have to add, you know, the sound, and the changing of the gears… That kind of thing. 'What you see on electric cars today, on RS, is just the beginning,' Kroll insisted. 'We will, for sure, try to push even more – going in the direction of what we are used to from the ICE [cars].' Whatever happens, vRS is set to remain a Skoda staple. Previously, CEO Klaus Zellmer, told us: 'vRS is absolutely part of our future. If you look at what we've done with Enyaq, it's a fabulous top-of-the-line vehicle – arguably the most aspirational car in our line-up, with four-wheel drive, around 300bhp. The price is higher, but it's still a value proposition in terms of performance for the money. 'People are more proud of their cars than ever these days, and yes, they're willing to spend more,' Zellmer added. 'Which means a good [profit] margin, from our perspective. So I think we have to continue along the vRS path as we move towards an electrified future.' Auto Express Find A Car can help you find the best deals out there on a new Skoda Elroq or top prices on used Skoda Elroq models... Find a car with the experts New Volvo EX60 electric SUV: latest details and confirmed reveal date New Volvo EX60 electric SUV: latest details and confirmed reveal date The upcoming, all-electric Volvo XC60 alternative is designed to 'keep learning and evolve with time' BYD and Octopus Energy team up for 'all-inclusive' EV deal BYD and Octopus Energy team up for 'all-inclusive' EV deal Octopus' 'Power Pack Bundle' includes a leased BYD, a wallbox charger and charging all for less than £300 per month New Skoda Epiq baby SUV could be a Tardis on wheels New Skoda Epiq baby SUV could be a Tardis on wheels The new Skoda Epic will sit below the Elroq and Enyaq in the brand's ever-expanding SUV range and is set to offer plenty of space despite its compact …
