Skoda Epiq review

The love you feel for the Epiq’s interior will no doubt be gently influenced by which grade you purchase, but generally the architecture is very solid.

There’s a circular steering wheel (not a given these days), with rollers and buttons, plus a 5.3-inch digital cockpit and 13-inch portrait touchscreen in the middle, hovering over a bar of physical buttons. Under that is a U-shaped storage that houses the wireless charging pad (if you’ve optioned enough cash away), in front of the usual cupholders and armrest cubbies.

There’s storage underneath with USB-C charging ports, plus a pass-through for cables if you didn’t do the optioning thing. Ambient lighting under the horizontal surfaces of the dash liven things up, and the seats are comfortable and manually adjusted – with electric seats being offered before the end of the year.

How spacious is it?

It’s passable for tall people in the back, though only with shoulder-rubbing if there’s three abreast, and there’s a voluminous but deep-seated 445-litre boot, plus a small frunk. So remarkably practical for the footprint.

You can also apparently pick different colourways for the interior, called “Design Selections’ that comprise ‘Studio’, ‘Loft’ and ‘Suite’. Studio is made up of fashionable recycled plastics, while Loft gets more colour, a mint green option and fake leather. Suite is the plushest and gets fake leather and suede, although a quick scan shows that the UK configurator only offers Loft Grey at the moment. Seven airbags, too. There’s also Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ stuff who h you can read about below.

Materials are practical and hardwearing rather than particularly plush, but that’s not to say hard or scratchy: it’s a well thought out cabin that feels lightly minimalist, and the shapes and tones are actually quite soothing. In a world full of complex cars, the Epiq makes getting in and just driving feel simple. Plus, once you’ve used the velcro bag holders in the boot, you think everyone at Skoda is a genius.

One interesting addition is the fact that Skoda has actually published the Epiq’s internal dimensions publicly, so people can 3D-print their own accessories, from phone mounts to hooks and pegs, coathangers to coin holders. And if you print them in a colour theme, you can make the interior a bit more interesting.

Other thoughts?

The two models we’ll get in the UK, the 40 and 55, get 90 and 105kW of DC charging respectively. That’s a 25 minute and 24 minute charge time from 10 to 80 per cent, making the bigger battery a smidge quicker to charge. Which is decent, if not mind-blowing.

There’s an optional heatpump, though all cars will get bi-directional charging and vehicle-to-load. And the Skoda ‘Simply Clever’ bits remain; the rubber lid for the windscreen washer spout that folds up into a little funnel, the door umbrella and the ice scraper in the charging flap.

There’s a pouch for charging cables (with cleaner), little storage pockets for smartphones in the backs of the front seats and the transparent parking ticket holder in the windscreen hasn’t been forgotten. The small things that make Skoda stand out, just that little bit.