The Utterly Brilliant Tesla-Crushing EV That's Not Coming To America
Sorry, Škoda is a European thing.
EV sales are beginning to fall off a cliff due to our struggling economy, and EV companies are attempting to make that difficult transition from a niche product to a ubiquitous part of everyday life. As such, manufacturers are desperate to gain traction, launch EVs with unbelievable specs for the price, and soak up as much of the market share as possible. This has led to some brilliant new EVs, like the Kia EV3, Volvo EX30, and the refreshed Tesla Model 3. But Škoda, a European manufacturer across the pond, has just thrown down the gauntlet with their astonishing, brilliant Elroq.
Škoda is a bit of an odd brand. It is part of the VW group and functions as its budget brand. But the cars don’t feel budget in any way, shape, or form.
They achieve this feat by adopting new platforms a little later than the rest of their VW counterparts. Take the VW Golf; it’s based on the VW MQB platform, which is also used by the VW Passat, Audi A3, Audi A4, and SEAT Leon. When this platform is refreshed or replaced, all these models get refreshed or replaced at roughly the same time. But Škoda also uses these platforms; for example, their Octavia, Superb, Kodiaq, and Scala models all use the MQB platform. However, Škoda adopts these refreshed or updated platforms a few years after they have been launched with the other brands. This means they don’t have to spend loads of money refining the production line and instead inherit one that is already optimised and super cheap to run. They then manufacture these cars in cheaper locations, such as Eastern Europe, and only sell to countries that are efficient to export the cars to, like Europe and Asia. Hence why, if you are from the Americas, Africa, or Australasia, you don’t get Škodas.
This is how Škoda can sell you a car with VW or Audi levels of quality, technology, and specs for far less than VW’s other brands. In fact, I can attest to this, as our main family vehicle is a Škoda, and another family member has the Audi equivalent, which costs well over £10,000 more, yet is slower, has less technology onboard, and offers no better quality.
This brings me to the new Elroq, Škoda’s latest EV. It is based on the same platform as the VW ID.4 but is slightly smaller and significantly cheaper. This puts it in a totally different category of EV and makes it possibly the best purchase in the automotive world right now. I mean, check out the specs in the table below:
The Elroq utterly destroys other EVs in the low £30,000 price range, with far longer ranges and far faster charge rates. A mid-spec Elroq is a thousand pounds cheaper than a Tesla Model 3, yet has over 40 more miles of range, with a similar charge time, similar 0–60 mph time, and a similar cargo capacity when you consider the usable space. It might be a thousand pounds more expensive than the Volvo EX30, but it has over 60 miles more range and a far larger cargo area. It also charges far faster on a miles of added range per hour charging basis. In short, it is now the EV with the best price-to-performance ratio in the Western market.
It’s not like the Elroq is worse to use, either. Reviewers have noted how it arrives with VW’s updated infotainment system that is far better than their old, practically unusable one, which was a major problem with the original ID.4. It even comes with advanced driver assist systems that work brilliantly. And reviewers have even described its driving dynamics as accurate, nimble, and very natural, and its ride as supple, soft, and very quiet with no road or wind noise at all. No EV in the sub-£40,000 price range has this mix of refinement; even the Model 3 has been accused of having too harsh of a ride and too much wind noise.
Unfortunately, unless you live in Europe or Asia, you won’t have access to this brilliant EV, which is a huge shame! However, I live in the UK, so I will be marching straight to the dealership once it lands.
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Sources: Autocar, EV Database, EVSpecs.org, EVSpecs.org, EVSpecs.org, EVSpecs.org, CarWow, Car Magazine