• Three battery sizes available
• Strong acceleration across the board
• Sportier vRS model in the pipeline

Skoda Elroq power and battery choices

A choice of three battery sizes broadens the Skoda Elroq’s appeal, allowing buyers to balance performance, range and cost to their requirements. The size of the battery is directly linked to how powerful the motor is, which is to say going for a bigger battery also gets you a faster Elroq.

Kicking off the line-up is the Elroq 50, which uses a 52kWh battery (usable capacity – as will be quoted throughout this review) and an electric motor producing 170hp and 310Nm of torque (pulling power). It’s able to accelerate from 0-62mph in nine seconds, and we reckon it provides more than enough pace for most drivers. Indeed, we were pleasantly surprised by how brisk the entry-level model felt. It’s worth noting the 50 is only available on the entry-level SE trim level, and this is what enables the Elroq’s low starting price, yet it’s expected to make up just 5% of Elroq sales. The driving range of this cheapest model is around 230 miles according to WLTP figures, but we’d expect sub-200 in all but urban conditions.

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If you want a touch more performance and range, go for the Skoda Elroq 60, which is predicted to be the best-seller in the UK and the version we’ve tested most recently. This packs a larger 59kWh battery, and puts out 204hp with same torque as the Elroq 50. It drops the 0-62mph time to 8.0 seconds and adds around 30 miles to the driving range. More on this in the next section, but in reality we’ve found more like 180 miles is the maximum driving distance you can expect, especially if there’s a lot of motorway involved. We’ll be running one of these for three months, so check back to see how we’re getting on.

At the top of the range is the Elroq 85, the model to choose if you regularly go long distances. The WLTP figures say it can travel up to 360 miles on one charge, and our experience with the Enyaq suggests over 300 will be possible if you avoid the motorway. It also packs a significantly more powerful 286hp motor with 545Nm of torque. This reduces the 0-62mph time to just 6.6 seconds and raises the top speed to 111mph – other Elroqs are capped to 99mph. This version gives Skoda the edge in performance over a Renault Scenic and Kia EV3, even before the Elroq vRS arrives.

The UK doesn’t get the all-wheel-drive ‘85X’ variant offered in other European markets, meaning we’re limited to rear-wheel drive only at the moment. However, the sporty Elroq vRS model coming in the near future does have a twin-motor four-wheel-drive set-up. This will be the fastest Skoda vRS ever sold.

What’s it like to drive?

• Comfortable ride, tidy handling
• One of the best electric SUVs to drive
• Small turning circle is great around town

We’ve always liked the way the larger Enyaq drives, and we’re pleased to report that the Elroq carries this torch onwards in a very similar manner. It’s one of the best cars to drive in its class, with a great balance between its comfort levels and how responsive it feels behind the steering wheel.

For utmost comfort avoid the biggest alloy wheels and spec your Elroq with Skoda’s Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) – a £650 option. This features adaptive dampers that lets you flick between 15 different suspension settings, from comfortable to sporty, depending on your preference. With DCC fitted, the Elroq has an especially soft ride in its standard settings, absorbing potholes and road imperfections admirably, and suppressing any joltiness. Without DCC, the Elroq is still comfortable but has a slight harshness to it that models with the optional suspension iron out. This is fairly typical for electric cars, and a trait that’s shared by a number of other VW Group products as well.

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The driving experience is smooth and reassuringly composed, and we feel it is just about spot-on for a car like this that’s intended to appeal to broad cross-section of people, and particularly those who don’t want anything too demanding. It’s comfy and compliant when you need it to be, yet enjoyable if you put your foot down, with the steering weighting up nicely in Sport mode. And in the case of the most powerful Elroq 85, if you accelerate hard out of a corner you can sense the rear tyres are the ones doing the driving. Good fun.

As such, the extra power of the 85 is welcome during more spirited driving. But we think even the basic 50 model feels brisk enough in most situations – it’s only if you need to overtake something quickly that it can feel a bit sluggish. No surprise, then, that the Elroq 60 is likely to be the bestselling version, as this feels safely rapid without ever becoming overwhelming. You can overtake and slot into gaps with predictable and consistent performance available at all times, though especially when accelerating from slower speeds.

The Elroq’s turning circle is also impressively small at 9.3 metres, making it easy to manoeuvre around town and when parking. All-in-all, a charming and comprehensively agreeable car to take charge of and live with.