Review – Skoda Elroq RS (2025) – A real RS?

Skoda Elroq RS

The Skoda Elroq is flying out of showrooms. In six months, almost 5,000 copies have already been registered on yellow license plates, and it is competing for the title of most popular car of 2025. Not surprising, since we already saw this coming when we drove it in late 2024. Now there is the RS version: still a family-friendly SUV with plenty of space, but with extra spice.

340 hp

What does that extra oomph entail? That starts with the drivetrain. The RS gets an additional electric motor on the front axle. Together with the motor in the rear, the SUV has 250 kW (340 hp). The sprint from 0-100 km/h takes 5.4 seconds, the top speed is 180 km/h. These are not figures that would surprise us in 2025, but fair’s fair: it’s just nice and fast.

Driving behaviour

The RS sits on a lowered sports suspension (-15 mm front, -10 mm rear) and has progressive steering. Thanks to Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), you can fine-tune the damping in fifteen modes to suit your taste, from comfortable to firm. The result is a chassis that responds alertly without becoming nervous. Yet we miss just a bit of that tension. The Elroq RS does not seek the edge, which is what you would expect from a sports version. Although it is smooth, it does not challenge you to keep the throttle on in corners. The Volkswagen ID.3 GTX and Cupra Born VZ – with whom the Elroq RS shares technology – inspire that confidence a lot more.

Nice and practical

Whether that is a bad thing is the question. If you expect a pure sports SUV, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for an extra smooth Elroq with which you can also take the whole family on vacation, then you are in the right place. With 470 liters of luggage space, the car can tow up to 1,200 kg and the second row of seats offers plenty of space. All of Skoda’s clever Simply Clever gadgets are present and on the highway your fillings won’t vibrate out of your teeth. A pleasant all-rounder.

design

Skoda didn’t go over the top on the outside either. Except with the color: the exclusive Mamba Green splashes off your screen. But in a neutral hue – the RS also comes in “lease gray” – you have to look twice to see if you are dealing with a normal Elroq or RS. It does stand out in the dark, thanks to the striking LED lighting between the headlights, composed of several light bars.

Interior

Inside, the RS is decidedly sportier dressed up, with microfiber suede and lime green stitching. It looks slick. You sit in comfortable sports seats with integrated headrests, also with green stitching. Luxury is not lacking: a heated three-spoke sports steering wheel, electrically adjustable driver’s seat with massage and memory function and a thick Canton sound system with 12 speakers are standard.

What is the range of the Elroq RS?

So the Elroq RS is not the car to make a dyke road unsafe, but as a travel car it is excellent. The second electric motor cuts some of the range, but thanks to the hefty 84 kWh battery (79 kWh net), the WLTP range remains a neat 549 km. Count on 400-450 kilometers in practice. Fast charging is possible with 185 kW DC: going from 10 to 80 percent takes just 26 minutes.

Conclusion

The Skoda Elroq RS is not as sporty as the Volkswagen ID.3 GTX or Cupra Born VZ, but that makes sense: those are hot hatchbacks, the Elroq RS is a family SUV. Still, it offers enough fun to take the occasional corner a little smoother, though you buy it mostly because you want the fattest version of one of today’s best compact SUVs. The Skoda Elroq RS starts at 52,990 euros.

Also see: Review Skoda Elroq: Why Everyone Wants This Car – AutoRAI TV