John Kendall takes delivery of our new Škoda Elroq long-termer.

Škoda Elroq SE L 60

OTR price: £34,665  BiK: 3%   Claimed range: 265 miles  On fleet range: 260 miles  On fleet efficiency: N/A

First report:

Electric cars are typically quiet, but sometimes that means you hear noises that an internal combustion engine would normally mask. That is not true in the new Škoda Elroq’s case, not least because there is no petrol- or diesel-powered model. Just the same, Škoda’s engineering team have done their critical noise path analysis well and the Elroq is quieter than many electric cars I have driven in the past.

Our new Elroq SE L 60 arrived, quietly, a couple of weeks ago. It features the medium battery option – 63kWh – but that is enough to give it a WLTP combined range of up to 265 miles, plenty for many fleet drivers’ purposes. The medium battery helps to keep the price down and also helps to demonstrate that electric cars are not necessarily as expensive as you might think. Our model has a recommended OTR price of £33,350. Add in Velvet Red metallic paint (£1,065) and Škoda’s Transport Package (£250) and the total comes to £34,665. The Transport Package? It’s another clever Škoda’s touch, as with the umbrella in the door. Effectively, it’s a rear parcel shelf with a storage net on the underside – useful for keeping the charging cable off the boot floor but easily accessible. Simple and very useful. Price and cost-wise, it’s right where it needs to be for many fleet drivers.

Like many rivals, the Elroq is well equipped, including a 13-inch touchscreen display, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated steering wheel, cruise control and speed limiter, gesture and voice control, heated front seats, LED headlamps and ambient lighting, satellite navigation, smartphone integration and much more. Fleet drivers will be pleased to see that it can handle rapid charging up to 165kW – you might struggle to drink a coffee and have a bite to eat before it’s fully charged