2025 Skoda Elroq review: A quick drive

Enyaq electric SUV just launched, Skoda The scope of the business now goes beyond just electric vehicles. Its second attempt is Elrock The crossover game will arrive in Australia in July 2025.

The Elroq is significant for Skoda as it introduces the brand’s new “Modern Solid” design language.

This was previewed by the 2022 Vision 7S concept, which brought slimmer daytime running lights almost to the leading edge of the hood, while the headlights (LED, of course) sit below the mustache-shaped grille. But it’s not actually a grille.

This does differ from the Enyaq’s appearance, but it hardly represents a huge change in Skoda’s styling. The Elroq still looks like a Skoda.

At first glance, it also looks much smaller than it actually is. From a distance, you could easily mistake it for the compact Skoda Kamiq crossover, but the Elroq sits on the same MEB electric car platform as the larger Enyaq, and the two cars share the same wheelbase. This is not a small car.

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How much does the Skoda Elroq cost?

What’s really important about the Elroq is that it will significantly reduce the price of buying an all-electric Skoda. While pricing and Australian specs for the Elroq have yet to be announced, prices are expected to hover around $50,000, with the larger Enyaq starting at around $70,000.

The Elroq’s price is compelling, but to get something this cheap you have to opt for the smallest battery possible, and that – as we’ll soon see – requires compromise. There are two larger-battery options available, an all-wheel-drive model and a Sportline version promised later in 2025.

what is What is the interior of the Skoda Elroq like?

It’s been a common belief for some time that Skoda’s interiors are better than those of its Volkswagen overlords, and the Elroq turns that feeling from feeling to definite fact.

Even though we tested Elroq’s cabin in its most basic form, it immediately felt warm and inviting.

Too many car interiors use too many hard plastic surfaces, which make it feel cold and uncomfortable when you first sit in it, but the Elroq avoids that thanks to the generous use of soft gray fabric, which The fabrics are actually made from recycled plastic – some of which is recycled fishing nets.

The fabric is used on the seats, dashboard and door cards, making the Elroq’s interior feel immediately at home. Almost every other material used inside – save for a few small scraps of ground floor – looks and feels very high-end indeed. In fact, let alone Volkswagen, Skoda has beaten Audi here.

Front-seat space is excellent, the driving position has plenty of adjustability, and the seats are comfortable. There’s ample storage space in the open section under the center console, as well as under the front armrest and in the door bins, even if these spaces could be a little wider.

On top of the console, there’s a storage tray next to the small diamond-shaped drive selector, two relatively small cup holders, and a slanted tray that houses a pair of wireless phone charging pads. There’s even a fairly roomy glove box.

The front of the Elroq’s cabin is dominated by the 13-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is too big a screen for our money. The smaller size is less distracting when moving and doesn’t take up as much space on the dashboard.

At the very least, improved software is slowly making Volkswagen Group’s touchscreens easier and more reliable to use, starting from a low point with the launch of the ID.3 electric car.

The Elroq’s screen is fairly slick, although the lack of physical climate controls is annoying, and there are still too many features shelved on deep, far-flung menus.

The driver has a small but neat and useful digital instrument cluster (taken from the Enyaq) behind a tactile two-spoke steering wheel.

Even better, there’s an optional head-up display that illuminates the windshield, which uses augmented reality to project a giant, glowing blue arrow on the road in front of you when you’re on unfamiliar roads. , this is really helpful.

At the back, the Elroq’s cabin is very well laid out and it’s one of the few electric cars to properly manage rear seat height so your knees don’t feel uncomfortable in the air.

The rear seats are almost as comfortable as the front ones, with plenty of legroom and headroom, and thanks to useful rear seat pockets (with a bag-in-bag design for small items like earbuds) and good storage space, Also provides good storage space. door box.

The rear seatbacks are also angled well and relaxed, in contrast to the overly upright seats of some competitors.

The Elroq’s boot size is only average – at 470 litres, it’s much smaller than that of the similarly sized Karoq – but it does benefit from a flat load lip and a useful square shape.

There are convenient storage trays on both sides and the parcel shelf is adjustable and can be placed at two different heights, allowing you to configure the suitcase to suit your needs.

Our test car came with the optional Transport Package, which includes a hammock that hangs in the trunk, perfect for storing delicate items.

There’s also a very handy innovation – a net that hangs under the parcel shelf, which is strong enough to hold a 6kg Type 2 charging cable and almost makes up for the fact that there’s no “trunk” under the bonnet at the front.

Fold the rear seats down and there’s 1580 liters of space, but annoyingly there’s nowhere to store the luggage rack when not in use.

What’s under the hood?

Technically it’s “what’s under the boot” because, like the Enyaq, the Elroq uses a rear-mounted electric motor to drive the rear wheels – except of course the 85x model, which offers all this with an extra electric motor mounted up front -Wheel drive.

For the entry-level Elroq 50 variant, the motor produces up to 125kW and 310Nm of torque, and is powered by the smallest battery available in the Elroq, with 52kWh of available energy storage.

Don’t worry, because this isn’t your only choice – there’s also the Elroq 60, with a 63kWh battery and 150kW motor, and then there’s the Elroq 85, with a 77kWh battery and 210kW motor.

The smaller size of the Elroq 50’s battery means its official range is only 375 kilometers, well below the range of key rivals such as the Kia EV3 and Hyundai Kona. The Elroq 60 at least has a more competitive range of 440km, while the big-battery 85 stretches that to a really useful 580km.

The 50 has a maximum charging speed of 145kW on a DC fast charger, which is decent, while the 85’s battery can manage up to 175kW. All Elroqs feature AC mains charging power of up to 11kW.

how What kind of car does the Skoda Elroq drive?

Cars based on the MEB electric vehicle platform, such as the Elroq, tend to be very smooth and comfortable. And, at least at first, that’s exactly what it felt like for Elroq.

The 125kW motor is never going to be a tower of power, but it’s quite punchy at low speeds and delivers its performance with smooth precision rather than dumping it all on the tarmac.

The power fades considerably when accelerating to motorway speeds, and acceleration feels very tame indeed as the vehicle speeds over 100 km/h. The 150kW and 210kW versions are considerable improvements in this regard, but even the base Elroq has just enough power to get out of trouble.

The steering is also very smooth and friction-free, and has just enough weight that it almost fools you into thinking it’s a bit sporty. But that’s not the case – the Elroq doesn’t feed information back into the palm of your hand in anything approaching a sporty fashion, but the steering and the rest of the chassis feel mostly good.

It’s only when trying to tackle tight and twisty roads with some venom that it starts to feel scrappy, and even then it’s only a mild case of unruliness rather than any serious heart-rending moments. Even on the greasy, wet surfaces of our test drive, grip and traction were plentiful.

Refining is really good, too; at triple-digit cruising speeds, the Elroq’s interior is remarkably quiet, with barely any wind or tire noise (and any noise is easily drowned out by the excellent optional Canton sound system).

There’s one flaw in all of this, however, and that’s the ride quality. On standard 20-inch alloys, the Elroq isn’t difficult to ride, but it’s almost always restless unless the surface is smooth. It’s more of an annoyance than an outright bug, but it’s at odds with the car’s relaxed demeanor and gets in the way of its genuine family-friendliness.

There’s also the issue of range, at least for the Elroq 50: 375 kilometers is nothing special for a 52kWh battery, and in real driving, with the 19kWh/100km energy we tested, it’s probably 280-300km about. The consumption is for reference (Skoda quotes 15.8kWh/100km).

Obviously, the 60 and 85 will have longer range on a charge, but other models offer greater range at similar prices.

What do you get?

The one tested here is the entry-level Elroq 50.

Skoda Elroq Highlights:

• 13-inch touch screen
• Smartphone mirroring
• Remote parking via smartphone
• Built-in payment application
• LED headlights and taillights
• 20-inch alloy wheels
• ChatGPT voice control
• Built-in umbrella in driver’s door

yes Is the Skoda Elro safe?

The Elroq hasn’t been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP yet, but other cars based on the MEB platform have performed well in global safety and crash tests, so we don’t expect any horrors.

One good safety feature in the Elroq is the “occupant protection” system, which tightens the seat belts and rolls up the windows if an unavoidable collision is detected. Seven airbags are standard, with two additional rear side airbags available as an option.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking
• “Crew Protection” System
• speed limit warning
• lane keeping steering
• traffic sign recognition
• cruise control
• speed limiter
• seven airbags

How much How much does a Skoda Elroq cost to run?

Even with relatively high energy consumption on our test route, the Elroq should have low running costs as long as you can charge at home and don’t need to rely too much on expensive public fast charging.

The Elroq also requires less mechanical maintenance than an internal combustion engine car, but thanks to its 1949kg curb weight it’s likely to go through the tires quicker than the equivalent Karoq.

CarExpert’s opinion skoda airlock

In this entry-level form, the Elroq’s range is somewhat limited. That’s fine if you can charge it at home and don’t plan on taking it on long road trips, but it seems a bit of a shame when the cabin is so cozy, comfortable and refined.

Improve the ride quality (perhaps fitting some 19-inch wheels) and opt for one of the larger batteries, and the Elroq has a chance to become one of the best all-around compact family electric cars.

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