CZECH A TRADE (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_skodaelroq_2025_preview

By Jonathan Crouch

Skoda's compact yet versatile Elroq EV might be an ideal second family car. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 64

Skoda widens its EV offering with this compact, yet spacious family model, the Elroq. It slots in below the Enyaq, but still manages to feel like a more usably-sized family car than the other small VW Group EVs whose engineering it shares. If you've been holding back for a more versatile kind of smaller EV, this Czech contender could be worth trading up to.

Backgroundword count: 125

With the Elroq, Skoda's EV product offensive at last gets into gear, after a lull following the introduction of the brand's first electric model, the Enyaq, back in 2020. The Elroq's a smaller car, positioned as the electric alternative to the brand's lower mid-sized combustion-powered SUV, the Karoq. In EV terms, it's the Skoda version of the engineering that's also brought us similarly-sized VW Group EVs like the Volkswagen ID.3 and the CUPRA Born. But the Elroq's a little bigger and costs less. Perhaps even more significantly, it costs a lot less than its most obvious market rivals too. Sounds good so far. Add in a trendy new design language and very competitive EV range figures and there might be lots to interest you here.

Driving Experienceword count: 464

Let's get straight to it. The Elroq is an uncommonly well engineered small EV - one of the very best in its segment. But it's also one of the heavier cars in its class, a common theme amongst EVs with the VW Group rear-driven drivetrain this Skoda uses. Front-driven electric cars are almost always lighter, probably because they don't need so much strengthening to meet crash performance standards. Perhaps that's why Kia switched to a front-driven format for its rival EV3. At nearly 2.1-tonnes as tested, the bigger-battery Elroq 85 we tried is about the weight of a baby grand piano heavier than the equivalent version of that key Korean competitor. Of course you could eliminate a lot of that difference by choosing this Skoda with its smallest battery - but that would see you in a base 55kWh Elroq 50 model that hardly anyone wants because it only goes 233 miles between charges. The mid-level 63kWh Elroq 60 that most Skoda folk will choose does better of course (265 miles); whilst the 82kWh Elroq 85 does better still, supposedly offering up to 356 miles (though that's still 20 miles off an equivalent 81.4kWh Kia EV3). The top dual motor Elroq vRS hot hatch has an 84kWh battery rated at 339 miles. You might sense some of that weight in the measured, linear way this Skoda blends its torque to the tarmac away from rest, but that's not to say it feels slow. Even the base 50 model's little 170PS motor has quite as much pep as you'd need for everyday driving, making 62mph in 8.7s, a figure the 204PS volume 60 version improves to 7.7s. We'd expected the 85 variant to feel quite a lot faster (it's 286PS drivetrain is basically the same as that of the CUPRA Born VZ hot hatch), but unless you have a lot more space in the traffic than modern British highways tend to provide, you probably won't feel that it is. 62mph is rated at 6.4s, but that requires selection of 'Sport' drive mode you'd ideally want to avoid for reasons of range. The few that do want electrifying performance from their Elroq are best served by the rare dual motor vRS flagship model, which has 340PS, AWD and makes 62mph in 5.2s en route to a 111mph top speed which is 12mph faster than you'd get from the two base powertrains. With most variants, all you get in terms of regen control is the extra 'B' setting on the stubby little gear selector which, if you're anything like us, you'll keep forgetting to engage. Round the twisty stuff, there's not a huge amount of steering feedback, but the helm's precise and accurate enough for this Skoda to be hustled along quite quickly should that be required.

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