Skoda Elroq 2026 review: Select 60 – Australian first drive

Chinese electric cars are too cheap, they are heavily subsidised by the Chinese government and no other carmaker, particularly those from Europe, can ever get close on price.

Right? Well, maybe not.

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Think I’m being hyperbolic? Well, consider this. The new Elroq Select 60 is priced from $49,990 drive-away. For comparison, the much smaller Hyundai Kona is priced from $54,000 (plus on-road costs) and the similar-sized, Chinese-built, Hyundai Elexio starts at $59,990 drive-away, so right away the value is obvious. 

But then, when you compare it to what the Chinese are offering, the deal starts to look even better. Yes, there are cheaper options, such as the $40,990 Geely EX5 and $45,888 Leapmotor C10, but neither can match the Elroq in terms of quality, both in terms of design and driving dynamics.

In terms of pure popularity, the BYD Sealion 7 is one of the most popular electric SUVs on the market, behind the Chinese-made Tesla Model Y. Both of those models cost more, significantly so, with the BYD starting from $54,990 and the Model Y from $58,900 - both of those prices exclude on-road costs.

When you compare the Elroq to other electric mid-size SUVs, the value equation looks even better, the Toyota bZ4X starts at $55,990, the Subaru Solterra is priced from $63,990 and notable Zeekr 7X starts from $57,900.

What makes the Elroq Select 60 even more impressive is, while it has less equipment than the other variants in the range, it still comes well-specced for the price. Standard equipment includes 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, keyless entry and start, a 13-inch infotainment screen, a 5.0-inch digital instrument display, dual-zone climate control and heated front seats. Yes, there are cloth seats, instead of leather, and the trims used in the cabin are less premium than more expensive alternatives, but the overall level of fit and finish in the cabin leaves a positive impression.

Further to that are the ‘simply clever’ features that are a Skoda trademark, like an umbrella housed in the driver’s door and the mobile phone pockets on the back seats, which add to the positive impression of the cabin and the feeling of value.

Skoda has also included an array of passive and active safety features, including adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, turn assist and a rear-view camera as well as Volkswagen Group’s mild autonomous ‘Traffic Assist’ functionality.

While it’s a generous amount of safety, it could do with some fine-tuning for the real world. In particular the active lane keeping assistance, which asks you regularly to take control of the steering wheel on the freeway, even when you have your hands firmly placed on it. It needs a significant amount of torque applied, enough for the Elroq to move in the lane, or it will sound an alert and vibrate your steering wheel.

The net result of this system is you need to noticeably veer in your lane on the freeway every minute or so, which is not particularly safe and would likely get you pulled over by the police if they were following you. Skoda isn’t the only brand with such a system, but it’s yet another example of modern active safety needing improvement in real-world conditions rather than being rushed into cars to meet on-paper safety requirements.

In terms of powertrain specifications, the Elroq Select 60 gets a unique powertrain compared to the rest of the range, which currently includes the 85 Select and 130 Years Edition; the latter of which will be replaced later this year by the new Elroq Sportline.

Unlike the 210kW/545Nm powertrain in those models, this cheaper option gets a single, rear-mounted electric motor good for 150kW and 310Nm. It also has a smaller battery, 63kWh instead of 82kWh, which provides a driving range of 395km. Skoda also claims a ‘city range’ of more than 500km, for those who plan to primarily drive in the urban environment, so while the overall range is a significant drop from the 529km for the 85 Select, the range is still very liveable for most people.

Perhaps where the Elroq shines best, and most clearly sits ahead of its Chinese rivals, is its on-road driving dynamics. The rear-mounted motor, and therefore rear-wheel drive layout, means the Elroq feels more like driving a premium sedan than a modern SUV. 

The steering is responsive and direct, while the suspension manages to find a nice balance between controlling the weight of the car and not jarring the occupants on every bump. The chassis has the firmness you expect from a Volkswagen Group product, which only helps that responsive, dynamic feeling even further.

But around town, at lower speeds, it feels quiet and comfortable, so it feels like it would be an easy SUV to live with.