Talk to any Skoda engineer involved in the Enyaq EV SUV programme and you'll detect a certain sense of incredulity. It's almost as if they woke up one morning and discovered the whole Volkswagen group hierarchy had been turned on its head. 

How else do you explain why the Enyaq looks so much sharper than its rather banal Volkswagen ID.4 and Audi Q4 siblings and how else do you rationalise the quantum gap between the Enyaq's superb interior quality and the hair shirt appointment of the ID.4 and Q4?  

Of course, having set the bar so high, the problem Skoda faces now is how to make its hot-shot vRS version stand out from the rest of the Enyaq range. 

It's not as if a throatier exhaust note or weight reductions are options - given the near-silent power delivery of the twin electric motors and the essential mass of the battery pack. Sure, upping the power output is an obvious solution - the vRS version produces 299hp which is 35hp more than the next most powerful 80kw version. Trouble is, all Enyaq's develop enormous amounts of low-end torque and near instantaneous acceleration, so even with the power boost, the vRS doesn't really produce much more of a performance impression. Certainly, it's quick, for the record, the four-wheel-drive vRS explodes to 62mph in 6.5 seconds but that is only four-tenths quicker than the considerably cheaper iV80 Enyaq, so it's probably best to think of the vRS as a tinselled and tweaked version of its more affordable brethren. 

Bejewelled most obviously by its crystal face, which features no fewer than 131 LEDs to illuminate the vertical ribs and the horizontal bar of the grille and combined with full LED matrix headlights, this startling lighting barrage produces a once-seen-never-forgotten, frontal assault; and if that's not flash enough for you, the bling can be upped even further by ordering your new charge in Hi-Vis nuclear green. 

Hunkered down on sports suspension, which lowers the body by 15mm at the front and ten at the rear, the vRS' wheel arches are filled almost to bursting point either by standard 20 or optional 21in alloy wheels. 

Even adopting this sportier approach though, the vRS remains more luxury car than B-road blaster. 

Thanks to controlled vertical body movements, appropriately-weighted steering, dense soundproofing and thick, acoustic glazing, the vRS is at its best as a serene long-distance cruiser. The only detractors in the luxury drive ointment are the rather inconsistent brake pedal responses, which are so hit and miss, they're guaranteed to fox even the most experienced chauffeur. 

As we've already alluded, the vRS interior is a paragon of good taste and fine quality. The elegant, compact instrument binnacle is complimented by a dinky joystick drive selector, a stylish sports steering wheel and seats upholstered in mock suede, replete with contrasting piping. There's also a glossy high-definition 13-inch touchscreen located in the centre of the dash, but in common with many VW group products these days, its reactions, especially the sat-nav instructions, are somewhat sluggish, so it's all too easy to miss a junction when trekking through unfamiliar surroundings. 

More positively, with masses of head and legroom for all and no intrusive centre tunnel to overcome, even middle rear seat passengers will never feel like second class citizens. There are also plenty of storage solutions and a huge 585-litre boot, which can be accessed via the standard powered tailgate.