Skoda Elroq Plus 63kWh Review

Full disclosure: This isn't our first rodeo with the Skoda Elroq.

A series of error messages ('Error: 12V supply'; 'Electric drive not working correctly') and a car that refused to engage 'D' brought our first weekend with it to a premature halt, sparking a flurry of texts/a phone call that - to the credit of Skoda's team - quickly sorted the necessary assistance out for the day, and concluded with the tentative hope of another drive soon.

Taking the entire Enyaq family as its own entity, the Elroq is only Skoda's second full-electric model here

That hope, thankfully, wasn't unfounded. A mere five days later, we received news that a slight software glitch had been the culprit of that fateful weekend, and that with a quick update, the Elroq was ready to (rock and) roll out again. And so, in less than a week, we've found ourselves back in the driver's seat for a second stab.

Some time apart (from a person, situation, even a car) always helps in giving you the space to sort out your feelings. In the time that we were on a break, we realised we had grown to deeply appreciate, and thus also miss the Elroq. 

In some way, Skoda's freshest face is itself emblematic of a second stab by Skoda in the electric space, following in the footsteps of the easy-to-love Enyaq.

The Elroq's smaller size should conversely give it larger appeal, since it targets the coveted compact crossover segment in the electric market today

Fresh face

Not that the latter was glitchy, by the way; it had already transfused the brand's understated styling, unbeatable practicality, and penchant for high-quality cabins into full-electric form. But it was also sized perhaps a tad too big to have widespread appeal, placing it slightly beyond what the typical, EV-curious consumer would want: A simpler, compact crossover.

In downsizing, then, the Elroq also sizes up the demands of the market today more accurately, and pulls Skoda more firmly into the spotlight as new competitors continue to multiply.

Don't let pictures fool you: The Elroq isn't so much a Volkswagen T-Cross size-wise as it is a Skoda Karoq 

With its smaller footprint, first and foremost, it stands in better stead to gain a bigger audience. Not that it takes this to extremes, by the way. Pictures may deceive you into thinking it's Volkswagen T-Cross-esque, but in reality, its nearly 4.5-metre length puts it up against most of your bestselling electric crossovers reside today. 

Not to be outdone and buried in a sea of sameness, however, the Elroq puts a good foot forward in this crowded segment with boldness written quite literally all over its face. 

The car's daytime-running lights take on a pixel-ite quality the more you stare at them

It marks the first member of the Skoda family to carry what the firm calls its 'Modern Solid' design language - one that instantly separates it from the rest of the Czech pack as a car that feels a generation fresher.

To say that a car has a 'digitalised look' may seem an odd statement to make, but it doesn't feel wrong to confer such a claim on the Elroq, since its daytime running lights start to appear like pixels the more you stare at them. You'll find them embedded within possibly the smallest 'front grille' on a modern Skoda yet.

The Elroq's cabin is delightfully sensible, blending crisp screens with well-labelled physical controls

Delightfully conventional

That's where the drastic overhauling ends - both outside and in. The bracket-like tail lights and upright rear end, for instance, are very still very typical of the brand. And Skoda hasn't messed around with the formula it builds its cabins by either, which is great news.

Overwhelmingly, the impression that the Elroq's interior hits you with is how conventionally car-like it is.

For instance, the brand's signature two-spoke steering wheel (found on the Enyaq and Octavia) is here, neatly side-stepping the capacitive-touch mess that corporate cousins Cupra and most notably, Volkswagen, have all notoriously dabbled in. Instead, it's affixed with proper buttons you're not at risk of brushing accidentally. The most novel thing about it is the omission of Skoda's badge in place of all-caps 'SKODA' lettering. 

The Elroq gets Skoda's familiar two-spoke steering wheel - albeit while dropping the badge for bold lettering

This 5.0-inch driver's display is nicely tucked within a niche that once more feels more conventionally car-like

Sharing the MEB platform as the Volkswagen ID.4 and Cupra Tavascan means the Elroq inevitably gets a pint-sized 5.0-inch display as its instrument cluster.

But again, Skoda's commitment to making the space feel car-like means this is nicely tucked into a niche within the dashboard, replete with its own cowl. It doesn't just prevent glare on sunny days; it looks great too. In similar old-school vein, shifting through gears is done via a flattened lever - which feels great in one's hand - rather than through a screen or a steering wheel mounted column.

Physical controls are well-damped, conveying a sense of quality;

Perhaps the newest-age fixture here is a glitzy 13-inch free-standing infotainment touchscreen.

As a showpiece for Skoda's embrace of modern digitalisation, it's a convincing visual treat, boasting crisp graphics, the responsiveness of the best tablets today (the bassy clicks that accompany the selection of each function aid intuitiveness of use), and well-selected shortcut buttons. But again, quality physical controls remain beneath, and are arranged neatly on a single-strip panel.

Elroq's cabin also gets a dash of playfulness with its bright orange seatbelts

This digital-analogue blend ultimately works to the Elroq's benefit, because it drives home the incontrovertible truth that its cabin feels really well screwed together all around. The signal and wiper stalks are nicely damped, and the buttons depress with reassuring weight. The dashboard is well-stitched together too, with softly-padded surfaces.

Whatever boundary-pushing the Elroq engages in is meted out in light and still-sensible doses that brighten the interior without making it garish: Contrasting fabric upholstery, and bright orange seat belts.

Even the ambient lighting feels gentle, with the way your colours of choice are nicely diffused onto the door cards and dash. The sum of all these parts is an interior brimming with personality and class, without really shouting about the fact.

Skoda's signature 'Simply Clever' touches are still here, including an adjustable cupholder divider upfront, and cut-outs in the magazine holders so rear passengers have somewhere snug to store their phones 

Amidst these ergonomic and design flourishes, Skoda's emphasis on practicality continues to be evident. The brand's signature thoughtful touches still abound, including the likes of an adjustable cupholder divider up front, and of course, cut-outs in the magazine holders for rear passengers to store their mobile phones.

The boot, which is decently endowed at 470 litres, also comes in a very usable shape that contains its own netting and an array of hooks.

Both rear passenger room and boot space (470 litres) are fairly generous despite the Elroq's smaller proportions

The Elroq doesn't sacrifice passenger space either for its smaller dimensions. Its boxy shape lends itself very well to good headroom for all three rear passengers, while legroom isn't an issue too with the car's completely flat floor and long wheelbase. 

Perhaps the only gripe occupants will have is that the backrests here - weirdly - happen to be positioned more uprightly than you'd typically find on an average rear bench. Otherwise, the car's practicality is impossible to poke holes in. 

A cut above the compact pack

On the go, the Elroq continues to separate itself from the rest of the compact electric crossover pack by shifting the slider on the "driver engagement versus passenger comfort"-scale toward the former.

Finding a commanding driving position is easy, and there is good weight to its relatively quick steering rack, which even offers decent levels of feedback.

The Elroq's focus on the driver is also quietly accentuated by the fact that there's no fixed level of regen braking baked in by default - not uncommon among rivals - thus elevating his/her sense of control. Speaking of which, even its brake pedal feels that bit better calibrated in its linearity on the whole than some of the MEB-based cars we've driven - though depress it all the way and the same, spongey feeling still awaits.

Finding a commanding and comfortable driving position isn't a Herculean task on the Elroq; the supportive front seats are the icing on the cake

Curiously, Skoda seems to have tuned the Elroq's suspension towards the stiffer end of things for a car of its ilk, meaning that a poorly-paved road will make itself known more clearly in the moment than on some of its cushier rivals.

Out on the highway, however, the Elroq is near faultless - and besides, its well-insulated cabin does a fantastic job of separating occupants from the world outside regardless of speed or road condition. Overall, it possesses a sense of polish, poise and dynamism that the Europeans continue to master better than anyone else on the market.

The Elroq is the rare rear-wheel driven electric crossover, with a 150kW and 350Nm of torque from its electric motor propelling it 100km/h from rest in eight seconds flat

You get the sense that a large part of the Elroq's effortlessness is also down to its powertrain, which sees a single electric motor sending a tidy maximum of 150kW and 350Nm of torque to the rear wheels.

It would be remiss not to address the fact that this unfortunately pushes the Elroq out of the vaunted Category A COE club, but the huge upshot is that it's unmistakably punchier than any of the high-riders residing in there. You never experience the power plateau that saddles many of the EVs with their power outputs capped. That, coupled with its silent drive, makes it easy to forget how quickly you're going.

Perhaps the only area in which the Elroq feels squarely average is on the driving range front. Powered by a 63kWh battery, Skoda claims a WLTP-rated range of 430km, but we were on track to achieve just about 400km with our driving patterns - neither underwhelming nor impressive by modern EV standards and for a battery of this size.

Against today's crowd, the Elroq stands out with its unique personality and its overall polish

Dependably sensible, surprisingly refreshing

This single aspect of mediocrity, however, should hardly be held over the Elroq's head when assessing it in its entirety.

Skoda has admittedly yet to field an electric contender with widespread market appeal, and the Elroq feels like it has a serious shot at widening the brand's audience. Quite serendipitously, we even caught another Elroq in the wild during our second rodeo, its Velvet Red Metallic coat offering a nice festive counterpoint to the Timiano Green of our press unit.

Inevitably, you get the sense that the Elroq will be stacked against the Chinese, who are armed to the teeth in features, efficiency, and unbeatable value. Drivers will find, however, that what Skoda's smallest electric member may lack on those particular fronts, it more than makes up for with its well-built cabin and focused drive - qualities that could make longer-term co-existence sweeter over the longer run.  

As far as we're concerned, we're thankful that we had more than one weekend to spend with it. 

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