2025 Skoda Elroq review: Australian first drive

Boy, is it an exciting time to be buying a car.

The transition from internal combustion to electric may seem daunting at times, but 2025 has been a bumper year for new electric vehicles coming to Australia, and we’re gradually getting closer to there being something to suit all needs and tastes.

The medium SUV segment in particular has been flooded with fresh metal – some from marques that we’ve known and loved for many years, and some that are brand new to us.

So how do you stand out, especially when it seems interest in EVs is waning? 

Meet the Skoda Elroq, a small-to-medium-sized electric SUV with a stylish and sporty character that’s designed to take on models from the Chinese and Korean brands pitching at the more affordable end of the market.

Is the Elroq the EV we’ve all been waiting for? 

From launch, there are two grades in the Skoda Elroq line-up, the entry-level 85 Select and the 130 Years Edition.

The 85 Select starts from $54,990, while the 130 Years Edition – a nod to the 130 years that have passed since Skoda's predecessor firm, Laurin & Klement, was founded as a bicycle maker – opens from $64,990.

As standard, the 85 Select features 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 13-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging with cooling, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, a 5.0-inch digital instrument display, and a heated steering wheel.

The 130 Years Edition adds 21-inch wheels, matrix LED lights, a head-up display, tri-zone climate control, power-adjustable front seats with memory and massage functionality, a 12-speaker Canton premium audio system, a powered tailgate, rear door sunshades, and heated rear outboard seats.

There are six paint choices available, with Timiano Green, Race Blue, Black Magic Pearlescent, Moon White Metallic, and Graphite Grey Metallic all included in the asking price, while Velvet Red Metallic costs an extra $770.

I’d choose either the Timiano Green because it’s something quite different, or the Race Blue, as it really pops.

The Elroq arrives in Australia ready to compete with the BYD Atto 3, Kia EV3, and Hyundai Kona in the electric small SUV space.

Pricing for the Atto 3 starts from $39,990 for the Essential grade, topping out at $44,990. While the BYD is more feature-rich and significantly cheaper, the Skoda is more powerful and has a longer driving range.

The Kia EV3, meanwhile, another new entrant to the market this year, costs $47,600 for the base Air Standard Range, and $63,950 for the top-spec GT-Line Long Range, with two mid-spec grades nestled in between. The Kia is smaller than the Skoda and less equipped at the lower end of the range.

The Hyundai Kona Electric starts at $54,000 for the entry-level version, and comes with the largest choice of variants, with the top-of-the-line Premium N-Line costing a significantly higher $71,000. Like the Kia, it is smaller than the Elroq, and gets fewer features at the more affordable end.

All prices are before on-road costs. Unlike all of these competitors, the Skoda Elroq comes with a single motor on the rear axle, as the others have theirs mounted on the front.

The Elroq is an important car for Skoda, not only sitting in Australia’s most popular new car segment – medium SUVs – but because it debuts Skoda’s new Modern Solid design language on a production car for the first time.

The design refresh focuses on a clean, minimalist look, combined with aerodynamics, space and functionality.

One of the most obvious changes is the front fascia, which now features a ‘Tech-Deck’ face, a flat and wide front end, and 2D Skoda lettering

Far from the little skateboards we used to flick between our fingers in high school – for anyone old enough to remember that – the Tech-Deck is actually a dark glass panel replacing the traditional grille.

I like it. The aesthetic is strong, sporty, and modern, taking things just far enough without going too futuristic. The new look also works well with the styling of both the 19-inch wheels on the 85 Select or 21s on the 130 Years Edition.

Depending on the grade you choose, the interior experience is either airy and sophisticated or dark and dull.

The 85 Select gets a fabric/leather-look upholstery called Loft, with just some green contrast stitching to break up the otherwise monotonous black and grey. It’s fair to give the higher grade a nicer interior, but this really lets the side down for anyone who only has a budget for the 85 Select.

In contrast, the 130 Years Edition comes with a black-and-white combination called Lodge, with not only orange stitching to bring some colour to the interior, but also bright orange seatbelts and premium finishes. The colours and textures all really complement each other, and the way they are sculpted along the doors in particular looks very elegant.

The seats are nice and comfortable, if a little scratchy to touch, and the armrest, which doubles as the lid for the centre console storage bin, is well placed and can even be adjusted for height.

In both versions, however, the interior feels quite dark and would benefit from a sunroof to provide more light. The 85 Select gets a cream headliner, which helps, but there’s still room for improvement.

Sitting front and centre in the cabin is the 13-inch touchscreen, through which you can access wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen is well laid out and works well, with no discernible lag, and I had no issues connecting to the wireless Apple CarPlay.

The heating and ventilation controls, however, are entirely contained within the infotainment system, except for one physical button that says ‘climate’ underneath the central vents, which brings up the control menu on the display.

Like other Volkswagen Group models, and indeed other vehicles from rival manufacturers, the absence of physical controls is annoying as it makes it fiddly and distracting to engage with the screen while driving.

The 5.0-inch digital instrument display feels small, but I didn’t find myself wanting for anything, as between it and the head-up display, it had all the basics covered. And I also really like how the cluster is embedded into the dashboard rather than stuck on top of it like a sideways iPhone. 

Unlike in the Skoda Kodiaq I recently tested, the 12-speaker Canton premium audio system works really well and doesn’t crackle so much. It better amplifies the sound around the smaller space.

When it comes to space, there is a surprising amount in the Elroq, and it is just as large on the inside as its longer Enyaq stablemate because the floorplan is the same. 

The Elroq just has shorter front and rear overhangs that make it look stubbier and more hatchback-esque than its sibling.

While it’s shorter in length than the Enyaq, it’s marginally wider and taller. Compared to the petrol-powered Skoda Karoq, it is bigger in all regards.

While the BYD Atto 3 has a longer wheelbase, it’s otherwise smaller in every way, as are the Kia EV3 and Hyundai Kona.

Space in the front row is fair. While there’s plenty of room around the driver and passenger, the room allocated to put things in is a bit restricted.

There’s a space for loose items in the centre console, and two coin slots alongside it, but the cupholders are small and wouldn’t be able to accommodate drink bottles over 600ml. 

There is a removable divider in the centre, which may make it possible, but then the vessel wouldn’t be contained and might move around, which isn’t ideal.

Likewise, the space in the doors is tight, and big drink bottles wouldn’t fit either. 

The saving grace is the room underneath the floating centre console, which is good for storing small handbags, takeaway bags, snacks and the like.

Rear occupants, at least in the 130 Years Edition, are well catered for, with heated rear seats, as well as sunshades on the second-row windows to protect eyes from harsh sun glare.

There are also two USB-C ports and, thanks to tri-zone climate control, the ability to set temperature and fan speed for the back row separately from the front without having to ask the driver or front passenger to do it for you.

And, like some other Skoda models, the Elroq comes with a removable storage box on the floor in the middle that can hold more drinks and other items. If there’s someone sitting in the centre position, it would rob foot space, but otherwise it is a neat and handy USP.

Compared to its closest rivals, the Elroq has the largest boot at 470 litres with the seats up and 1580L with them down, accessible through a powered tailgate in the 130 Years Edition. Without the electric assistance, the tailgate in the 85 Select is quite heavy to pull down.

The EV3 has slightly less, with 460L when the rear seats are up, but a much lower 1251L with them folded.

The Atto 3, meanwhile, offers 440L with the rear seats in position, boosted to 1340L with them flat, and the Kona is the smallest with 407L and 1241L, depending on the configuration.

The Enyaq’s extra length gives it 100L more in the boot with the seats up, and even though the Karoq is overall smaller than the Elroq, it too has more boot space at 521L.

The Elroq’s boot would easily fit a pram and a few school bags, or alternatively, eight grocery bags.

For families, in typical Skoda fashion, there are several practical touches, including an umbrella in the driver’s door, a charging cable storage net pocket on the bottom of the parcel shelf, bag hooks in the boot, and a separator that can effectively cut the boot in half to stop smaller items rolling around when you’re on the move. 

There are also small shelves on either side, which are handy for stashing little items like clutch handbags, first aid kits, toys, shoes etc.

The back seats can also accommodate two child seats, with ISOFIX anchors for the two outboard positions, and there are three top-tether hooks on the back of the seats accessible via the boot.

The Skoda Elroq hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP or ANCAP, but Skoda tells us it will be in the coming months. The related Enyaq, however, was given five stars in 2021.

It has a good level of safety equipment as standard, with the higher-spec 130 Edition gaining a 360-degree camera over the 85 Select’s rear-view camera, as well as two more airbags (for a total of nine) in the second row.

As standard, both grades get autonomous emergency braking with intersection awareness, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist and stop-and-go, blind-spot monitoring, lane-centring assist, rear cross-traffic alert and door exit warning.

In practice, the lane-assist technology works well. The steering assistance is really accurate, and if you do happen to start drifting out of your lane, all that happens is a gentle visual warning flashes up orange on the instrument cluster, and there's a vibration through the steering wheel. 

It does the job it was designed to do without going over the top.

For families looking for an EV with a decent driving range, either for weekend trips or running around town on the daily grind, the Skoda offers a healthy 529km on paper coming from a 77kWh battery (82kWh gross). Its claimed energy consumption figure is 16.6kWh per 100 kilometres.

It’s significantly down on the 581km claimed for European cars, due to the examples coming to our shores being more highly equipped and riding on larger wheels.

Testing the claim at launch on a mix of freeway, city roads and windy roads through the Royal National Park and along the Grand Pacific Drive between Sydney and Wollongong on the NSW South Coast, I found the average energy consumption to be better than claimed, at 13.8kWh/100km in the 85 Select and 15.5kWh in the 130 Years Edition. 

And that’s bearing in mind that test conditions aren’t necessarily reflective of real-life driving styles or habits, with the cars driven harder, by a number of different drivers, and used in Sport mode more than you would likely in your day-to-day.

In comparison, the Atto 3 has a much lower driving range claim of 345km, EV3 436km, and the Kona 370km, all based on their entry-level grades and WLTP testing.

Powering the Elroq is said 77kWh battery combined with a single 210kW/545Nm electric motor, with drive sent to the rear wheels through a single-speed automatic transmission.

Like other models from the Czech brand, the Elroq’s dynamics are standout.

It has excellent steering, which is intuitive, direct and well weighted. There’s no noticeable body roll, and the rear-wheel-drive set-up makes it a lot of fun to take for a leisurely outing along windy country roads.

The 545Nm on offer makes it exceedingly quick, off the line and at speed, even in Normal mode. Eco mode puts the reins on slightly, as you might well expect, and Sport increases the throttle response, and it just goes like the clappers. There’s also an Individual mode you can use to customise the experience to your own tastes.

While starting is no issue, stopping is another matter. The brake pedal is very soft and travels too far, meaning it needs a lot of input to bring the Elroq to a stop. There’s no one-pedal mode or regenerative braking settings either, so what you get is what you get.

Whether the ride is comfortable or not in the Elroq depends on what version you’re driving, because the experience really is night and day.

In the 85 Select, the ride is comfortable, no matter the surface, and it absorbs the impact of even large potholes well because it rides on 19-inch wheels wrapped in chunky Kumho Ecsta PS71 EV tyres.

The 130 Years Edition, in contrast, rides on 21-inch wheels surrounded by Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 rubber, and the ride is incredibly firm.

As a result, hitting any kind of imperfection in the road, or travelling over, for example, a stretch of poorly repaired potholes, will clatter and send shockwaves through the cabin. If the road is smooth, the ride is okay, but the Elroq is easily unsettled when conditions aren’t good.

The noise kicked up by the tyres on the 130 Years Edition is quite significant too. There’s some noise from the rubber on the 85 Select, but it’s not quite as pronounced.

The Hankooks offer good grip, but the Kumhos aren’t markedly worse in this regard.

With its striking good looks thanks to the new Modern Solid design language and equally strong pricing, the Skoda Elroq could do well in the medium SUV segment.

Its European styling and dynamics give it something else to offer in the growing electric space, and add to its other strengths, such as its generous amounts of space, practical touches, lower energy use than even the claim, and subtle application of the driver assistance systems.

Only a few things could really make it better, such as an optional sunroof to make the cabin lighter, physical buttons for the heating controls, and switching out the wheels/tyres on the 130 to improve the ride.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for the Elroq – especially since an even hotter RS variant is also on the cards for us next year. Watch this space.

A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

Read more about Kathryn Fisk