Skoda Elroq review

Skoda has long had a no-nonsense approach to its cars and this carries on with the Elroq. It breaks little new ground in the electric family SUV market, but doesn’t stumble in any area either; effectively, it condenses everything we like about the Enyaq into a wieldy, more affordable package, while offering a few unique design touches inside and out. It can’t quite match the warranty of Korean rivals or the boot space of the Renault Scenic, but as an all-rounder it’s yet another Skoda that hits the mark.

Details, specs and alternatives

The Skoda Elroq is the latest and entirely new addition to the Czech manufacturer’s electric car range, giving buyers a plug-in option at roughly the same position in the market held by the hugely popular, but combustion-powered, Skoda Karoq. Think a handily-sized, but not enormous family SUV (it sits below the electric Enyaq, and competes with the likes of the Renault Scenic and Kia EV3), and it’s yet another car to sit on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric platform – which encompasses everything from the Golf-sized Volkswagen ID.3, to the eyecatching ID.Buzz, and even the new Ford Capri.

You get four doors, a hatchback, a 470-litre boot, and a choice of three battery sizes, ranging from 52kWh of usable capacity and a claimed 232 mile range, to a 77kWh usable pack and 360 miles, at least on paper. Trim levels will be familiar to Skoda buyers with SE, SE L, ‘Edition’, and SportLine options, although the base model is only offered in combination with the smallest battery. Stepping up in price (around £2k from the £31,500 SE to SE L, around £1k more to Edition, and a £3k jump to SportLine) adds equipment but makes no great impact on the Elroq’s chunky styling. Edition and SportLine get the largest battery pack.

Standard kit across the range includes a 13-inch infotainment touchscreen and a five-inch driver display, LED headlights, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a rear-view camera, and a height-adjustable boot floor. You’ll benefit from a host of driver-assistance features too, with blind spot detection, lane keep assist, and emergency steering support, plus of course Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ convenience features, covered in further detail below. Edition models get a boost in kit with a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, selectable driving modes, adaptive cruise control, and keyless entry.

13

The Elroq 50 has theoretical efficiency of nearly 4.5 miles per kilowatt hour, increasing to nearly 4.7mi/kWh in the Elroq 85 with its larger battery. On our drive we found a figure of 3.7mi/kWh more realistic in the 85, which means real-world efficiency is similar to several other EVs of this size. Our figure results in a real-world range of 285 miles – 75 miles less than quoted by Skoda, but still competitive in this segment.

For the usual 10-80% top-up, you’re looking at 25 minutes to charge the Elroq 50 (55kWh pack, 52kWh of which is usable) at its maximum 145kW charging rate, 24 minutes for the Elroq 60 (63kWh pack, 59kWh usable) with its faster 165kW charging, and 28 minutes for the Elroq 85, which is a touch faster again on charging speed at 175kW, but has a larger battery (82kWh, 77kWh usable) to top up. Expect a home charge at 7.4kW to take roughly seven hours in any version.

13

A typical 9p/kWh overnight home tariff means you’ll pay just shy of £7 for a 100% charge in the Elroq with the largest battery, the 85. To put that running cost another way, with the real-world range of around 285 miles you’ll be paying around two pence per mile.

On the other hand, a 10-80% top-up at a rapid charger, equivalent to 54kWh in the Elroq 85, would cost just over £40 at a typical 75p/kWh rate, which equates to around 20p/mile, or ten times as much. So, there’s no question over what option will be easiest on your bank balance – you’ll save heaps by plugging in at home whenever you can.

The Elroq offers Skoda’s typical three-year/60,000-mile warranty, and sits in insurance groups 22-32 depending on the model – higher than equivalent combustion vehicles but not out of the ordinary for an EV of this type.

13

Like most Skodas, the Elroq’s driving experience is geared towards comfort and easy handling over any kind of sporting appeal – despite the availability of some fairly punchy electric motors and the brisk performance that results. We’ve experienced the ‘50’ with its 168bhp, and the ‘85’ with a full 282bhp so far; the latter gives you real pace under your right foot, and makes overtaking a quick and safe affair.

Even the 50 performs well though, and unlike driving a less powerful petrol model, it doesn’t need constantly working hard to make progress. Both have the option of driving in normal D mode, along with a B mode that offers a higher level of regenerative braking – though it stops short of full one-pedal driving, unlike some rivals.

A tight turning circle of 9.3 metres makes the Elroq feel manoeuvrable, and the ride quality, while flattered by our Mallorca test route, feels like it’ll be well-suited to the UK’s inconsistent surfaces. It’s a soothing driving experience, backed up by refinement that’s only ruffled by some wind noise from the door mirrors at higher speeds.

13

If you’re familiar with recent Skodas then the Elroq’s interior shouldn’t feel too out of the ordinary to you. In practical terms it gets a reasonably straightforward dashboard design with the usual large central touchscreen (13 inches) and a smaller display ahead of the driver, a ‘floating’ centre console with a storage cubby below, and some shortcut buttons for minor controls – but more functions moved to the touchscreen than some drivers might like.

Loft, Lodge, and Suite interior trim options give you different fabrics and textures, with Lodge getting nylon upholstery made from recycled plastics, and orange seatbelts, and Suite mixing genuine and synthetic leather. It’s well-built, and reasonably airy.

The touchscreen responds quickly too, and the home screen can be customised, to a degree, to your tastes. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both standard, and an ‘entertainment hub’ is on the way, which will incorporate YouTube and other apps – to be used at a standstill while charging, naturally, rather than on the move.

13

The Elroq manages to pack a 470-litre boot into its relatively compact footprint – not as impressive as the 545 litres from a Renault Scenic, but not bad for a car of this size, and Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ features are a bonus. One is a storage net on the underside of the parcel shelf, which is an ideal place to stash charging cables, while another is the height-adjustable parcel shelf. More familiar touches make an appearance too, from an ice scraper (here to be found in the bootlid, rather than in the petrol cap like Skoda’s combustion models), to optional rubbish bins which slot into the door cubbies.

Accommodation is no problem either. Up front there’s an airy feel thanks to the low dash and expansive glass, while even with the front seats arranged for six-foot occupants, there’s decent legroom and headroom in the back, and space to slot your feet under the front seats. The rear seat bases also extend for a little more under-thigh support, to offset the raised floor that is needed to accommodate the battery pack. There are two sets of ISOFIX tabs for the rear seats, and another set for the front passenger seat.

13

The Elroq has hit the roads but it hasn’t yet hit a deformable barrier in Euro NCAP’s laboratory, so there’s currently no star rating for its safety features. Skoda doesn’t tend to fumble the ball on this though, and other cars on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform are all five-star performers, so we’d expect a similar result here.

It’s certainly packed to the gills with safety tech, from driver assist functions like emergency steering support, lane-keep assist, and a front collision alert system, to features that make driving just a little easier and safer, like adaptive cruise, a rear-view camera, and blind-spot detection.

Reliability is another relative unknown, but Skoda is generally a strong performer in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey (for individual vehicles, if not always as a brand). The three-year, 60,000-mile warranty is nothing special compared to the five, seven, or ten-year coverage you get with Hyundai, Kia/MG, and Toyota respectively, but Skoda does let you pay for better coverage, maxing out at £630 for five years/100,000 miles.