It’s a truism that most motor show concept cars are actually just production models with a bit of eye-catching tinsel added, and that’s something confirmed by the appearance of the full production version of the Skoda Epiq.
The all-new small electric SUV looks identical in all but a few details to the pre-production version shown in 2025, and the ‘concept’ revealed in 2024.
It will come to Australia later this year, with a potential range of 430km, and with pricing said to be in line with the petrol-powered Kamiq small SUV, which currently ranges between $33,990 and $44,990 before on-road costs.
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In fact, the Epiq might be even cheaper than that – Skoda’s parent company Volkswagen has shown some aggression in how it’s pricing the new electric ID. Polo, which is identical under the skin to the Epiq, and so Skoda might follow suit in order to claim a bigger share of Australia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle market.
The Epiq will come in three versions, badged 35, 40 and 55. The 35 and 40 share a common lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a choice of 85kW or 99kW electric motors, driving the front wheels.
The official range for those variants stands at 315km, but the entry-level 35 can only manage a sluggish 50kW of DC fast-charging power; the 40 can stretch that to a more useful 90kW, giving it a claimed 10-80 per cent charging time of 28 minutes. Both can charge at 11kW on suitably powerful AC chargers.
The Epiq 55 gets a bigger, more sophisticated nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery, its 51kWh capacity giving it a range of up to 430km – and it pairs that battery with a 155kW electric motor and 133kW DC charging, which knocks five minutes off the 10-80 per cent charge time. All three versions get an official energy consumption figure of 13.0-13.1kWh/100km.
Although it’s a compact vehicle, the Epiq has been designed to be practical, with a 475-litre boot when you lower the adjustable floor to its lowest position. That’s considerably more space than what’s on offer in the related ID. Polo.
There are the usual Skoda niceties such as an ice scraper clipped to the inside of the boot lid (there’s not a massive amount of demand for that in Australia, but it’s a nice thought and there are options such as a handy cable tidy bag that clips upright to the back of the rear seat to keep charging cable out of the way.
If you want more storage space, there’s an optional clip-in ‘frunk’ tray that slots under the Epiq’s bonnet, which can hold up to 20L – enough space for a charging cable, assuming you coil it up tightly enough. If you go for the optional Canton stereo system, just be aware that its sub-woofer robs the same 20L of boot volume.
Fold down the rear seatbacks and there’s 1344L of luggage space available and, if you don’t need it, the rigid cargo cover clips upright behind the seats.
Design-wise, the Epiq really does stick very closely to last year’s concept. The only real exterior change is to the bottoms of the bumpers. Skoda has left these largely unpainted, which is good news for those who hate parking scrapes.
There is also a series of chunky-looking air intakes – eight in all – spanning the width of the nose, giving the Epiq a rather Jeep-like look. That motif is repeated on the rear bumper, which along with the wheel-arches is also mostly unpainted plastic.
There are some neat aerodynamic details, such as a pair of slim front air slots, hidden by the bumpers’ curving ‘volcano line’ styling, which duct air around the front wheels for greater efficiency.
There are also two neat little winglets on the rear wheel-arches, which are designed to deflect stone chips away from cars driving behind you.
The Epiq is a compact vehicle at just 4.1 metres long, but it’s impressively roomy inside, with enough space for four 185cm-tall adults to get reasonably comfortable.
Skoda has ramped up its use of recycled materials in the cabin (all of the seat fabrics are made from recycled PES, and there’s a new ‘Techtona’ material for the dashboard), but that hasn’t detracted from the overall feeling of high quality.
The dashboard is relatively low set, thanks to the inset driver’s instrument screen, and that gives the Epiq impressive forward visibility.
The 13-inch touchscreen infotainment system has Google-based software which makes it rather slicker to use than older Volkswagen Group touchscreens, although it’s disappointing that Skoda hasn’t fitted more in the way of physical buttons.
There are some shortcut buttons, but you still have to use the screen to change the cabin temperature, for example.
The rest of the interior is just as practical as the boot, with a claimed 26L of cabin storage space including a very large and deep area under the front-seat armrest. There’s also copious adjustment in the driver’s seat and steering wheel, so nobody should be left with an uncomfortable driving position.
Skoda has also gone big when it comes to the Epiq’s safety credentials, including an updated Travel Assist 3.0 system, in which the adaptive cruise control can now also respond to traffic lights and stop signs. There are seven airbags as standard, including a central airbag between the front-seat passengers.
MORE: 2027 Skoda Epiq review