Skoda Epiq review

Recommended on-the-road price for the 40 is currently listed as £24,950 in the most basic format SE L, without the Electric Car Grant deducted – that's still being finalised across the line-up. So for now the 55 is £27,700, or it’s £30,450 for the better-equipped Edition 55, making it seem good value.

There’s also the limited-run First Edition 55 at £31,450, which is all the bells, whistles and gongs. Although those prices can jump even on the more basic cars if you start adding in the option packs, matrix LED lights and nicer seats. For the car we drove, the VED band (vehicle excise duty) will be A, insurance group should be 21E, with benefit-in-kind at four per cent.

Run me through the kit on those?

At launch there are six body colours, with 17- to 19-inch wheels depending on spec… although European pricelists include a 20-inch ‘Macaw’ option. Unusually, the wheel designs are universally terrible, so just go for the least offensive (probably the three-spoke-ish ‘Saola’, standard on the Edition 55).

The SE L 55 gets lots of things as standard, with room to improve. So there are three child restraint systems (two in the back and one for the front passenger seat), manual comfort seats, black roof rails, single-zone climate, LED headlights, rear parking sensors, DAB radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 5.3-inch digital cockpit and 13-inch touchscreen.

The usual walkup across the models means LEDs at the rear as well as the front, bigger alloys, climate controls that disobey the laws of thermodynamics, cameras, privacy glass and digital keys. Plus there are standalone options like a panoramic sunroof, though exact options and pack prices will get decided soon.