Skoda Epiq Review

The small SUV is about the most popular type of car there are right now, and the sales charts prove that battery-electric cars are growing more and more popular all the time, too. So, with the entire automotive industry moving towards electric propulsion anyway, it follows that, if you're a car company, then the small electric SUV is definitely an offering you want covered off in your model portfolio.

And that's precisely what the new Epiq gives Skoda. This small crossover is about the same size as the Skoda Kamiq, but rather than using combustion engines, the Epiq offers buyers all-electric power. It's available for order now with a single powertrain variant, that being the Epiq 55. This marries a 52kWh (usable capacity) battery with a 211PS motor driving the front wheels, giving a driving range of up to 272 miles according to official figures. This will be followed in very short order by a new entry-level variant, fitted with a smaller 37kWh battery and a 135PS motor, giving a range of about 190 miles.

The initial model offering comprises two trim levels - SE L and Edition - both of which look well equipped, especially given the very reasonable-looking price you pay. Again, this situation will change in fairly short order, with a new range-topping SportLine trim level about the hit the configurator imminently.

We'll be perfectly honest right from the get-go: we haven't yet had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Epiq yet, let alone drive it, so there's still an awful lot we don't know about it. Everything we do know, however, is documented in this article to give you a flavour of what to expect from Skoda's new entry-level EV.

That will depend on how you plan to use your Epiq. If you only ever do short journeys, then the limited range (around 190 miles according to initial projected figures) of the entry-level Epiq 40 version might not be a problem for you. If you need you Epiq to be longer-legged than that, though, you'll need to upgrade to the Epiq 55 for its longer range of up to 272 miles.

In terms of trims, we reckon that entry-level SE L trim will have more than enough kit for most buyers, so you might as well save yourself a few quid and make do with that.

Currently, the published prices of the Skoda Epiq start at £24,950 for the Epiq 40 in SE L trim. However that might well drop by a further £1,500 if it's confirmed that this version qualifies for the Government's Electric Car Grant (ECG). And we can't see why it wouldn't qualify when the Epiq 55 version does. Prices for that start at £26,200 for the SE L with the grant applied.

Upgrading from SE L trim to Edition trim costs £2,750 regardless of which powertrain you choose. That puts the price of the current range-topping version, the Epiq 55 Edition at £28,950 including the ECG. However, that upper end of the price spectrum will rise to £32,450 in fairly short order on the arrival of the forthcoming top-of-the-range version, the SportLine, which is only available in  Epiq 55 form. It's not currently clear whether or not that includes the ECG, however.

A a small electric SUV, the Skoda Epiq has no shortage of rivals, These include - but are certainly not limited to - the Volkswagen ID.Cross, CUPRA Raval, Ford Puma Gen-E, Renault 4, MINI Aceman, Suzuki e-Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Citroen e-C3 Aircross, Volvo EX30, and Peugeot e-2008.

If you're not dead-set on your teeny SUV being electric and you'd consider combustion- or hybrid power, then your choice broadens even more to include cars like the Nissan Juke, Toyota Yaris Cross, Renault Captur, and countless others.

The Epiq is a five-seater SUV, and although it's small, Skoda's cars usually bat above their average when it comes to interior space. We can't be sure whether that's the case here, but we'd be surprised if it felt cramped.

The boot is a decent size at 475 litres, although unlike some small SUV rivals, the rear seats don't slide to allow you to vary the bias between luggage space and rear legroom. The 60/40 split-folding rear seats allow you to boost cargo-carrying capacity up to 1,345 litres: the Epiq's 60/40 split isn't as versatile as a 40/20/40 split, but to be fair, not many small SUVs have that kind of arrangement anyway.

The Epiq does, however, have a variable boot floor as standard, which should give you underfloor storage and level off the load area when the back seats are folded.

Under the bonnet sits a frunk, but it only has a 25-litre capacity, so it remains to be seen whether it's big enough to carry your charging cable in.

Being a Skoda, the Epiq has a variety of 'Simply Clever' features designed to make everyday life easier. Expect umbrellas concealed in the doors and phone pockets built into the backs of the front seats.

The Epiq is similar in size to Skoda's combustion-engined small SUV, the Kamiq. It measures 4,171mm long, 1798mm wide (2,000mm if you include door mirrors), and 1,581mm tall.

All versions of the Epiq have a 13.0-inch touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard to facilitate the car's infotainment functions. In base-level SEL trim, those functions include DAB, Bluetooth, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also have five stereo speakers, and two USB-C ports in the front of the car.

Edition versions of the Epiq add seven speakers and two more USB-C ports in the rear, along with native sat-nav, voice control, and wireless phone charging.

We haven't yet encountered the Epiq, so commenting on the quality of its cabin materials with any detail is impossible. We can say, however, that Skoda usually performs well in this regard, and its products usually feel just as posh as those from any other mainstream brand within the Volkswagen Group.

To begin with there are two versions of the Epiq, the Epiq 40 and the Epiq 55. Both are built on the Volkswagen Group's MEB+ platform, which is designed to underpin the group's small electric cars, and bot are front-wheel drive.

The two different batteries in the two versions two don't just have different capacities, they also use different chemistry. The entry-level Epiq 40 has a lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery pack with a usable capacity of 37kWh, which Skoda. says should give it a WLTP driving range of around 190 miles.

The Epiq 55, meanwhile, uses a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) item with a usable capacity of 52kWh, giving a WLTP range of up to 272 miles.

In terms of motors and performance, we know that the Epiq 40 has 135PS, but no performance figures for this version have been released as yet.

The Epiq 55 has more power at 211PS, and we also know that this version has a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.9 seconds, and a top speed of 99mph. Having not driven the Epiq in any form, though, we can't comment on the sensation that its level of performance gives.

This is the area in which facts and figures won't help you get an idea, and we can't comment on the Epiq's driving experience until we've had a proper go. We can say that Skoda's cars are usually more focused on comfort and refinement than they are agility, but they're usually not bad on that score, either. Again, we'll update this article with our thoughts once we have more direct experience of the vehicle.

All versions of the Epiq come with driver assistance features including front assist, side assist, lane assist, traffic sign recognition, and blind spot detection. All versions also have adaptive cruise control, while Edition versions get a slightly more sophisticated version of this with traffic jam assist and a lane-keeping system.

If these preventative driving aids aren't enough to keep you from from having an accident, the Epiq has seven airbags and three Isofix. child seat mounting points, including one on front passenger seat.

The entry-level Epiq 40 has a lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery pack with a usable capacity of 37kWh.

The Epiq 55, meanwhile, uses a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) item with a usable capacity of 52kWh.

Hook these up to your average 7kW home wallbox charger, and a complete empty-to-full charge will take a little over five hours for the smaller battery, and around seven and a half hours for the larger one.

On domestic power that's billed at the UK national-average rate, those charges will cost £10 for the smaller battery and around £14 for the larger one. However, you'll pay a lot less than that (probably less than half) if you get your home on a variable tariff that allows you to charge up your car overnight on heavily discounted off-peak power.

Skoda says that the Epiq 55 has a maximum DC charging speed of of 105kW, allowing a 10%-80% top-up in under 25 minutes. No maximum DC charging rate is given for the Epiq 40, but you'd have to assume that it's slower than for the 55 because it has a smaller battery and the top-up time given is identical. Charging this way on a regular basis will be way, way more expensive than charging at home, though, variable tariff or no variable tariff.

All brand new Skodas come with a warranty of three years or 60,000 miles, whichever elapses first, with no mileage limit on first two years of cover.

Skoda gives the Epiq's service intervals at 24 months, but to this point, we've seen no mention of any mileage limit. You also get free roadside assistance for one year, with no mileage limit.

So far, we've only seen insurance group information for the Epiq 55, and these fall into groups 21 or 22 depending on trim level. We'll update this article with groupings for the Epiq 40 once they're released.

As of April 2025, electric cars now cost the same in VED road tax as their petrol and diesel counterparts. That means you'll pay the standard flat rate of £200 per year.

The Epiq's pricing is such that you it's not possible spec it up to bust the £50,000 barrier, which would trigger the higher rate of tax on an EV. As such, you don't have to worry about the temporary £440 additional charge.