New Skoda Epiq is virtually production ready

Skoda has shown off its almost production-ready Epiq at Munich, alongside other new offerings from the VW Group. The show car fills in many of the missing pieces for this important budget electric offering from the brand.

Skoda’s Epiq is a 4.1m five-seater rival to Volkswagen ID. Cross. Both debut lower-cost LFP battery technology and originate from the same Spanish factory. 

Range from the larger of the two battery packs (38 and 56kWh) is a claimed 422km, while its boot space is a surprising 475L. Expect the usual Skoda clever items inside, including bag hooks, fasteners, hidden stowage and an umbrella concealed in the driver’s door. 

Compared with the previous Epiq concept car shown, this now has production ready bumpers with number plate housings, parking sensors, headlamps and sizeable alloys. 

Skoda says that the final car, launching midway through next year, will cost much the same as its Kamiq petrol SUV equivalent. Here it kicks off around $40k.

The Epic will sit below the Elroq in Skoda’s range and will constitute Skoda’s third all-electric model. 

Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer commented: “The Epiq show car embodies the essence of Skoda. There’s Modern Solid design, a spacious interior within a compact footprint, and user-friendly intuitive digital interfaces. Expect Simply Clever details that ensure a seamless experience, and above all an attractive price point. With the Epiq, we’re taking another step towards making electric cars a practical and compelling choice for everyday drivers.”

Interior and tech

There are no interior shots of the Skoda Epiq available as yet but the firm says much of what was shown on the concept would be carried over. Therefore, expect a large central display with a row of shortcut buttons for things like the ADAS features and drive modes. There will also be a smaller digital instrument cluster directly ahead of the driver. The steering wheel should get physical switches too, in response to industry-wide negative feedback over haptic controls.

Expect some ambient lighting inside too as the concept car had that. It would mark it out as the smallest and most youthful of its SUV line-up.

Riding on the MEB-Small platform, a recharge from 10-80 per cent will take around 20 minutes thanks to a peak charge rate of 125kW, as with the ID. Cross.

There will be various models available, one of which, the range topper, will be a vRS version with 166kW. It should run to 100 from zip in under seven seconds. More sedate models from 112-134kW will comprise much of the range, for a sensible mix of performance and efficiency.