2025 Skoda Elroq RS first drive review
The Elroq RS is a sporty EV that happens to be the quickest accelerating Skoda around right now;
This is not what I had in mind when the eco-brigade said go green, but I’m here for it. Skoda’s RS cars are always a highlight and this one is no different. This is the Elroq RS — Skoda’s smallest EV yet, with its most powerful drivetrain yet. Good combination, in my opinion. And in this lime green, it makes quite the statement. It looks good, doesn’t it?
2025 Skoda dimensions and design
The Elroq is a reasonably large car. At 4.5m, it’s about as long as a Tiguan but it appears to be much more compact. Plus it debuted an all new styling language. It showed us the first glimpses of Modern Solid – a design language that is going to make its way across the Skoda range eventually. It has a split headlamp design, good proportions and a very distinct shape. It also doesn’t feature the Skoda roundel on the nose, but the Skoda lettering. Interestingly the RS model adds its usual masala of more aggressive bumpers, cooler wheels and a sprinkling of vRS badges. Which aren’t on the tailgate and nose as they traditionally would be but on the flanks of the car instead.
2025 Skoda Elroq RS cabin and interior
The insides are rather nice too. The Alcantara-lined dashboard and seats with their contrast stitching do a solid job of reminding you you’re in something sporty. The instrument cluster is a bit too tiny for my liking, but that’s a common bugbear with all these contemporary VW-Skoda EVs. There’s a head-up display with AR to make up for it. When we said fewer screens, this is not what we meant… There’s a 13-inch infotainment screen which is easy to use. AC controls are in the screen, but you do have a physical button for the ADAS functions and drive modes. The tiny gear selector is something we’re going to have to get used to now, done in the interest of freeing up space.
2025 Skoda Elroq RS performance and range
Of course, it’s quick. It is electric and it has vRS badges slapped onto it, and that makes it the quickest production Skoda to 100kmph. The twin motors put out a total of 335bhp and it launches to a 100kmph in 5.4 seconds. For context, the Octavia RS takes 6.4 seconds. The acceleration is instantaneous when you launch hard off the line. Typical of an EV: it’s a relentless, silent shove that doesn’t seem to taper off well into three digits. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it violent, but acceleration is strong enough for you to crack the occasional smile. We were lucky enough to be driving it on the German Autobahn, so we were pushing it to its limit. I’m sure it will crack the double ton if Skoda let it off the leash, but it has been limited to 180kmph. This has probably been done in the interest of range. At those speeds, wind resistance is very high — try sticking your hand out of the window palm-side forward at anything above 100kmph. It’s like pushing against a wall. Anything higher than 180kmph would cause range to tank rapidly. Not that a 180kmph speed limit matters in India where the national speed limit is 120kmph.
0 to 100kmph is achieved in 5.4 seconds, making it the quickest Skoda ever while producing 335bhp from its twin-motor setup — Image from Skoda
Speaking of range, the battery is a 84kWh unit and the Elroq RS, despite its horsepower figures, has a generous WLTP range of 550km. It’s hard to really say how much range this car would truly get, given that we were belting it at top speed for kilometres on end — it really isn’t indicative of real world conditions. That said, I don’t think it would be lacking for range.
2025 Skoda Elroq RS ride and handling
More than acceleration, an RS should handle well and this one certainly does. Our car was running on the optional adaptive dampers — similar to what we get on the Tiguan R Line — with 15 clicks of adjustability. There’s a baseline firmness to it, but also a noticeable difference from soft to firm, even on Germany’s immaculate roads. The comfort setup is ideal for everyday driving, allowing for a pliancy in the suspension that makes it easier over long distances. It just softens out the kicks that you’d feel from uneven surfaces, expansion joints and the likes. But then in the sportier mode, there’s a pleasant tautness in the way it moves over the road — just dialling itself in a little bit more for the corners. The steering weighs up well, and the front end feels eager to turn in with your input, which is unlike most burly EVs. It’s no sportscar, but as far as sport EVs go, it’s a neat handler.
This EV's dynamics are characterful, akin to a Skoda RS product in the way its steering weighs up nicely accompanying the suspension in its sportiest setting — Shot by Skoda
2025 Skoda Elroq RS verdict
The Elroq RS comes across as a competent family EV, with solid performance. Ashish Gupta, the brand director for Skoda in India has said he is interested in growing the RS brand in India and the Elroq RS could make a solid addition alongside something like the Kodiaq RS. It will be expensive — it doesn’t look like there are plans to locally assemble the Elroq or this RS variant — but then again, there have been takers for the likes of the EV6. If this can slot in at a more sensible price, it could ride the hype around RS, while showing Skoda’s commitment to the Indian enthusiast.