European brands panicked. The affordable electric SUV lane? Full of Asians. The big continental names arrived late, scrambling to price-check against Chinese newcomers and established Korean juggernauts.
Enter the Skoda Elroq. VW Group’s answer. Not for US buyers. We tested the entry-level 60 in Australia.
It slots between the big Enyaq and the tiny Epiq. Initially? Understated. Spend ten minutes behind the wheel. It surprises you.
The Money and the Motor
Three trims in Oz. Base Select 60 starts at AU$49,999 (roughly $36k). Move up to the 85 for AU$59k. Top it off with the 130 Years Edition for a cool AU$69k.
Under the skin? A 59 kWh nickel-manganese cobalt pack. Single motor. 150 kW. 201 hp.
Rear-wheel drive.
This matters. The Kia EV3? Front. Geely EX5? Front. The Elroq’s layout kills torque steer. Adds drive feel. Theoretically anyway.
Is it cheap? Competitive. The Geely EX5 Inspire sits next to it price-wise. The Kia EV3 goes cheaper still. But Skoda holds its own against the Asian wave. It’s European. It’s present.
Fabric, Screens, and Umbrellas
The cabin? Surprisingly spacious. Fit and finish feels high. EV interiors all start to look the same, gray plastic sameness, but Skoda threw in some texture.
Fabric on the dash. Seats. Center console. Looks like dark denim. Feels softer than jeans. A two-spoke steering wheel adds flavor. Tech wise? Thirteen-inch infotainment. Wireless phone integration. A small 5-inch instrument cluster. Basic. But better than having no cluster at all.
Climate control lives in the screen. Annoying. But they left physical buttons for driving modes and demisters. Small win.
Here’s the rub. The base model has manual seats. No lumbar.
Really? Chinese rivals do better here. And Skoda, ever the eccentric, hid an umbrella in the driver’s door. Rolls-Royce vibes in a sub-50k SUV. It works. Headroom and legroom in the back are generous because the roof doesn’t swoop down prematurely for style points. Practicality over aesthetics. A rare choice.
Range Reality and Driving Dynamics
Skoda claims 15.9 kWh per 100 km. Real world? I got 16.0. Range caps out at roughly 245 miles (395 km).
Not impressive by today’s 800-km standards. True. But for a family hauler? Adequate. Most people drive less than 30 miles a day. You’re fine.
Charging hits 165 kW DC. Ten to eighty percent in twenty-four minutes. That’s better than the Kia EV3, which crawls for nearly half an hour. On an 11 kW home charger? Six-and-a-half hours for a full fill-up. Plug it in at night. Leave it in the morning. Done.
Driving is solid. No torque steer. Power delivery is smooth if not quick. Zero to 60 mph takes about eight seconds. You aren’t chasing Teslas here.
The suspension is the star. Body roll? Minimal. Roads get bumpy. The Elroq stays composed. Hankook tires offer grip. When you push it through a corner, it feels predictable. Not wild. Not scary. Just controlled.
Steering? Light. Direct. Perfect for malls and highways.
Most drivers don’t want communicative steering. They want predictable. Skoda gave them that.
Regenerative braking is a mess.
In Drive? The car just coasts. Forever. Like it has no mass. Want to brake? Flip to B mode. Strong braking. But no one-pedal mode. You lose regen strength or get coasting. Pick your poison. Diving through menus to tweak levels on rival cars? Less annoying than Skoda’s binary switch, but still a flaw.
The Verdict
The Elroq proves old guard Europe isn’t dead. Not in the budget EV space. It sits there. Breathing. Competing.
Will you dream about driving this into the night? No. It’s not passionate. It’s adequate.
Skoda sold 5,000 cars in Australia last year. Volume isn’t their thing. The Elroq might change that, just a fraction. It strips away the gimmicks. Some tech geeks will miss the glitz. Most people just want a car that doesn’t break. That seats five comfortably. That doesn’t jerk its nose on hard acceleration.
The Skoda delivers on the hard stuff. The driving. The space. The safety tech—AEB, blind-spot, lane assist all work flawlessly. It fumbles the soft stuff. Manual seats. Weird regen logic.
Is it worth your attention? Probably. Just don’t expect a miracle.
