Skoda Elroq

If you’re a regular reader you’ll already know that CC&V are big Skoda fans. Pretty much everything they make is a winner & in almost all cases proves to be more satisfying than the equivalent Audi or Volkswagen. Skoda’s Elroq, shares the Volkswagen Group MEB platform with models such as the Audi Q4 e-Tron & Volkswagen ID models & as we found out, yet again Skoda have struck gold.

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We were testing the 85 model in SE L trim which cost from £37,060. Below this sits an SE L 60 model which costs from £33,970 & an Edition 60 at £34,870, whilst above select from an Edition 85 £39,070, a Sportline 85 at £42,020, or bonkers vRS which costs from £46,970.

The numbers refer to the battery size, so the 60 comes with a usable 63kWh battery & 265 miles of range & the 85 the 82kWh battery & a maximum range of 360 miles.

Performance

The 60 has 204PS both with 310Nm, reaching 62mph in 9 seconds and 8 seconds respectively. The more powerful 85 comes with 282bhp & 545Nm so is quicker to 62mph taking just 6.6 seconds. Range topping vRS will go from 0-62mph in just 5.4 seconds but range falls accordingly to 321-344 miles.

Specs

The 50 in SE trim features a 13-inch touchscreen, LED headlights, a 5-inch digital cockpit, a rear view camera, keyless start/stop, wireless Smartlink for CarPlay & Android Auto, dual zone climate control, 19″ alloys, blind spot detection, cruise control & driver alert.

SE-L adds SatNav, heated front seats & steering wheel, front & rear parking sensors & drive mode select. Edition goes further with dark chrome roof rails & window surrounds, wireless charging with air cooling, keyless entry with walk away locking, rear USB C inputs & adaptive cruise control.

Next up the SportLine which includes matrix LED headlights, rear LED headlights, front sports seats, a three spoke leather heated steering wheel, regenerative braking paddles, aluminium pedals, suede effect seats & an electric boot with virtual pedal. vRS includes 20″ Draconis black alloy wheels, all-wheel drive metallic paint, dynamic chassis control a Head-up display, a CANTON sound system & an illuminated Tech-Deck all for £46,970.

Outside

A familiar SUV shape greets you, with Skoda logos front & rear, narrow front & rear lights & smooth lines along the sides.

Inside

The cabin design is largely the same as the larger Enyaq. So you get a stubby gear selector on the centre console, a large central touchscreen, a line of shortcut buttons lower down with the smallish 5” digital cockpit in front of the driver. Build quality is excellent with our test cars themed ‘Loft’ finishes both tactile & neatly finished. Seat & door finishes are in subtle greys & again are all nicely put together.

 

Cabin practicality

It’s all very typical & well thought out by Skoda, with a large glove box & front door pockets plus a size adjustable twin drinks holder, wireless charging pad, storage in the centre binnacle & under armrest storage. In the rear you get front seat back pockets, twin USB’s & good sized rear door pockets.

There’s excellent head & legroom even in the rear & room for five as well. From the driver’s seat the all around view is good & the rear view camera is also a great addition on the Elroq.

Boot space

It’s practical offering 470-1,580 litres, with space underneath to store two charging cables. You also get some corner shelves & dividers providing additional storage, a storage net that hangs beneath the adjustable parcel shelf, which would be a useful place to put a charge cable if the boots full, plus Skodas clever door-hidden umbrella & in the boot their ice scraper/tyre-depth gauge, all making the Elroq supremely practical.

Indeed we utilised ours to move a couple of bikes with the protective rubber boot mat a big plus. You won’t find a more user-friendly boot in the sector.

Infotainment

Having just come out of a Skoda Kodiaq the system was familiar to us & very easy to work & to live with. The screen homepage is customisable, so drivers can add widgets for their most used functions. Climate controls sit at the bottom of the screen whilst Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto feature as standard. Connecting an iPhone was quick, the screen graphics are bright & clear & the whole set-up is very good.

The Elroq 60 has a 165kW charging speed so the bigger battery also takes 24 minutes to charge from 10-80% on a rapid charger, whilst the 85 peaks at a 1 75kW charging speed so it will take as little as 28 minutes to do the same.

Our week in the Elroq 85 saw us averaging 3.2 miles per kWh. Most of this was spent on local urban driving, but a couple of 40 mile motorway jaunts at 70mph saw that figure fall slightly. Fully charged in a warm July the 85 was indicating a 300 mile driving range.

Driving

The Elroq doesn’t just look & feel solid it drives solidly as well. This is an electric car that is well judged & one of the better EV’s we’ve driven recently when it comes to refinement. The ride isn’t over firm, so rear seat passengers won’t complain. The steering is nicely weighted & precise & the small 9.3m turning circle was fantastic when parking.

On a series of winding roads between Chester & Frodsham Hill, the Elroq stuck to the road like glue & when we encountered some steeper inclines to the 60 possesses plenty of punch to handle these. Away from the motorway, we left the regeneration B function on all of the time & whilst it does add a bit of weight to the accelerator pedal it’s really not that intrusive & of course does add some extra range, especially if as we were, you’re going down hill slowly.

In town the Elroq is quiet & composed with enough power on tap to nip in & out of traffic in the city as required. Parking as we’ve mentioned is easy & we’d be hard pressed to think of an easier mid-sized SUV to drive in an urban environment.

On the motorway we selected adaptive cruise control & let the car do the work. Some wind & road noise does enter the cabin, but it’s far better than many volume wise.

Be aware that the brakes are quite soft but when you depress the pedal, the car does come to a halt quickly. Turning off Lane Departure & Speed Warning is simple using the far left icon under the touchscreen. On a few occasions the Collision Warning sound came on as we passed parked cars. Typical of many modern cars it’s over sensitive.

Comparing it to rivals such as the Kia EV3, Hyundai Kona Electric & Renault Scenic sees it outperforming all three in the quality stakes, with a similar ride & feel to the Kia. The Renault offers a crisper drive, but it’s a much better all rounder than the Hyundai & the ID.3 or 4 as well.

A beautifully built & well thought out electric SUV from the Czech’s. A good range of battery sizes & specs caters for all. Some clever storage solutions & Skoda’s stylish interiors lift the cabin above the norm.

The 60 driving range although par for the course may be too low for some, which means you may be looking at spending  more to get into an 85. Others electric SUV’s have got better.

We gave the Skoda Elroq our 2026 Company Car & Van Car of the Year Award & after another week spent in one, we definitely made the right choice. Everything about the Elroq is first class from the build quality, ease of use, practicality & clever Skoda touches, for example in utilising the boot sides for extra storage. It’s very hard to fault & as ever we wonder why you’d choose a more expensive VW or Audi. Indeed we were in Frankfurt recently & were struck by just how many Elroqs & Enyaq’s were being driven so perhaps the Germans agree ?