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By Jonathan Crouch

The Skoda Epiq could be its brand's most important EV yet, thinks Jonathan Crouch.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 56

The smallest Skoda electric car yet might have the biggest part to play in driving forward this Czech maker's EV aspirations. The Epiq is a VW Group small electric crossover that could be the perfect second family car you've been looking for. Epiq? Maybe not, but it's a really solid piece of sensible small car engineering.

Backgroundword count: 155

Skoda is getting progressively more mainstream with its electric cars. Here's the most accessible yet, the Epiq. The Czech brand is slowly widening its market for EVs, though the company continues to limit itself to the crossover genre. First in 2020 we had the lower mid-sized Enyaq. Then in 2024 the family hatch-sized Elroq. Followed in Spring 2026 by the car we look at here, the even more compact Epiq. This model is part of the VW Group's 'Urban EV Family' of cars based on the Wolfsburg conglomerate's MEB+ platform, an initiative that's already brought us the CUPRA Raval and the Volkswagen ID.Polo. The Epiq's (somewhat nominal) status as a crossover though, means it's a more direct rival to the Volkswagen ID.Cross, the two cars almost identically engineered. The Epiq is being positioned within Skoda's line-up as a direct alternative to the combustion Kamiq model - and is similarly priced. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 303

Move right along, there's nothing to see here - at least in terms of much Skoda-specific engineering. The Epiq is entirely engineered with the parent VW Group's MEB+ architecture. Which means that (unlike the Elroq and the Enyaq) the drive motor is up-front. As for the drive battery, which sits under the floor between the two axles, well as with this model's most direct clone, the Volkswagen ID.Cross, there's a choice of two sizes of powerpack. Urban-based folk or owners using this as a second car may well decide that the smaller LFP one used in the 'Epiq 40' is sufficient, 37kWh in size and rated for around 190 miles. It comes with a 135PS front motor. If your Epiq might also be used for longer trips, then you'll be considering the 'Epiq 55' model's larger 52kWh NMC battery, good for up to 272 miles and offered only with a 211PS motor. Performance is quite leisurely across the mainstream part of the line-up: expect 0-62mph to take around 10s and top speed is limited to 93mph for the 37kWh versions and 99mph for the 52kWh model. Skoda does have the option to bolt in the 226PS e-motor used in the Volkswagen ID.Polo GTI and CUPRA Raval VZ to create a top Epiq vRS variant, but hasn't yet decided whether to bother. More important than speed to a typical Eqiq customer will be ride and refinement, which is where the engineering development of this car has rightly centred. Expect the comfortable demeanour to be much like that of this car's Volkswagen ID.Cross close cousin, but of course with extra Skoda value and practical features thrown in. All Epiqs get brake regen steering wheel paddles, with near 'one-pedal' driving possible on the fiercest setting. But you only get drive modes if you've avoided base trim.

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