Among the champions for excellent value for money in the automotive world, you will always find a Skoda there. They’ve made plenty of superb bang-for-buck vehicles, and as the world is now trending towards electrification, Skoda is already moving quickly to make some headway in the budget EV segment. Most notably, the all-new Elroq, Skoda’s first fully-electric compact SUV, with a starting price of £31,500, now makes this the most affordable EV in its class! It’s also impressive to note that Skoda is able to now offer price parity with the Elroq’s ICE-only counterpart, the Skoda Karoq. So, is this new Skoda Elroq really that big of a deal?
On the surface, the Elroq certainly looks the part, showcasing Skoda’s ‘Modern Solid’ design language, with its clean lines and sporting looks. Skoda will be introducing an exclusive, new paint finish too, Timiano Green, alongside plenty of other premium options. Now, while this new Elroq looks awesome and eye-catching for a compact SUV, it’s not all form over function! In fact, the Elroq was able to achieve an impressive drag coefficient of a mere 0.26, making it among the best in the segment. This is mostly thanks to tiny aero-focused optimisations, such as the wing mirrors, as well as the slick, slippery 19-inch and 20-inch alloy wheels.
A New Benchmark Among Compact Electric SUVs
Elsewhere, you may notice a few other aero bits on the Elroq, such as the active cooling vents on the front, designed to smoothen airflow and manage cooling for the battery. Moreover, it also comes with specially designed wheel gap reducers and air curtains. Style apparently is the name of the game for Skoda and the Elroq, with an equally striking lighting signature. The slim headlights are meant to evoke Skoda’s distinct ‘four-eyes’ pattern, which comes paired with a unique matrix LED tech. In so doing, you’re able to block entire sections of the lights to prevent dazzling other drivers, and even the very animated rear LEDs have dynamic indicators.
Underneath all this neat design is where you’ll find the heart of the new Skoda Elroq, not one, but three different battery sizes. There’s a 55kWh, 63kWh, and 82kWh option, which affords you 230 miles, 260 miles, and 360 miles of range, respectively. For a compact and cheap-ish electric SUV, those are pretty respectable figures, and more so when you consider Skoda’s inclusion of fast-charging tech, to boot. With peak charge rates of 175kW when you pick the 82kWh battery, you could top up the battery from 10% to 80% in less than 30 minutes. The other batteries also offer you fast charging, giving you sub-30-minute charging times.
Affordable, Electrified Motoring, Courtesy Of Skoda
In addition to those three battery sizes, you could also spec the Skoda Elroq with one of three powertrain options… The Elroq 50, Elroq 60, and the Elroq 85. In simple terms, this means you are getting 170PS, 204PS, and 286PS, respectively. Those should be more than enough speed for basic commuting and daily driving, I’d say, and when you consider the myriad of driver aids that Skoda bundles in by default, you’re well covered there. Some of the more interesting ones include the Travel Assist system, offering you predictive cruise control and lane guidance, and two parking assists – Trained Parking and Remote Parking Assist – to help make parking easier.
Take a step inside the new Elroq’s cabin, Skoda aims to show off a lot of their sustainability efforts here, too. There are tonnes of recycled and sustainable use of materials, yet it won’t compromise practicality, given that you’re looking at the largest boot in its class… 470 litres, expandable to 1,580 litres with the rear seats folded. Aside from that, you might’ve spotted a fancy, vast 13-inch infotainment display, and an optional heads-up display with augmented reality overlays, as well. For way under £40,000, even including the Skoda Elroq’s pricier trim levels, this might be our new go-to option if you’re on the market for a compact electric SUV!
