New Skoda Epiq Coming Soon: Specs, price and release info

If teamwork is dreamwork VW’s snappily titled ‘Brand Core Group’ with Seat and Skoda is – finally – delivering the goods when it comes a new generation of affordable electric cars. Built on shared battery and motor tech, we’ve already had confirmation of VW’s ID. Polo and its ID. Cross Concept SUV spin-off. This is the Skoda version of the latter.
• Pay attention at the back – Skoda’s electric SUV line-up is expanding! Where the Enyaq plays premium and the Elroq is a smaller, more affordable version of the same this new Epiq is built on new, more affordable foundations shared with VW • Smaller than the Elroq, the Epiq is equivalent to the existing petrol-powered Kamiq in terms of size, and will be priced at a similar level as well • Skoda boasts the Epiq will do 264 miles on a full charge, which is three miles more than the ID. Cross Concept on which it is based – in your face, VW! • The Epiq will be on sale by next year, the starting price likely in the £25,000 ballpark

It’s still – officially – a concept, but Skoda isn’t really making any pretence about this being a flight of fancy, the CEO describing it as a ‘concrete’ vision of what’s to come. While it’s certainly adopted some suitably earthy tones we’ll assume the chunky looking bodywork isn’t made of actual concrete, though. Despite having already refreshed its range under what’s known as the ‘Modern Solid’ design ethos the Epiq is apparently the first Skoda entirely developed as such, though it inevitably shares its basic shape and proportions with the ID. Cross Concept on which it is based. Nothing wrong with that, given the crossover stance will work well in urban environments and the square lines are good for visibility and interior space.

No interior pictures as yet but a lot of talk of Skoda’s typically functional and practical features, with bag hooks, underfloor storage and a generally no-nonsense theme. Which we like in a car likely to be used and abused for the school run, kids’ club runs and stuff like that. Like the ID. Cross Concept expect a bigger driver display than the Enyaq and Elroq, paired with a large central screen and – we’re promised – a mix of physical controls and touch-sensitive equivalents. We’ll hope for more of the former.

With apologies for all the acronyms where models like the Enyaq and Elroq are built on VW’s rear-wheel drive MEB platform this Epiq and others in the new EUCF – that’s Electric Urban Car Family in the Volkswagen group jargon – use the new front-wheel drive MEB+. Thankfully the numbers are a little simpler and the only one we have so far is a claimed 264 miles of range. Which is … enough.

Skoda says the new Epiq will be priced equivalent to the combustion-powered Kamiq it will sell alongside. The monthly figures people actually use to spread the cost of their cars will be harder to calculate right now but, for reference, that equates to a bottom-line starting price of under £25,000. Hopefully.

Well, nothing has been said yet but given VW has built a new Polo based on this tech we’d place a bet on Skoda creating an electric Fabia using the same. You heard it here first. Possibly.

The market for small, urban-friendly and affordable electric cars is – at last – really kicking off. There are already strong players in the class like the Volvo EX30, the Epiq also set to compete with its close relatives like the VW ID. Cross Concept and Cupra Tindaya.