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I’ve driven the Skoda Peaq before, but this time there was an important difference: the camouflage had gone, the prototype status had gone and I was driving the production car that customers will actually be able to buy. And the more time I spent with it, the more impressed I became.
In fact, there’s something slightly unexpected about the Peaq. For me, this feels like Skoda’s cut-price answer to the Range Rover Electric. Clearly the badge on the bonnet will mean very different things to different buyers and the two cars aren’t direct price rivals, but there are similarities in the way the Peaq looks and feels. Even the rear lights, which seem to disappear into the dark trim until they’re illuminated, remind me of the hidden-until-lit treatment on the Range Rover.
The Peaq is Skoda’s new electric flagship, its biggest production car yet and its first large seven-seat EV. At 4,874mm long with a 2,965mm wheelbase, it’s a substantial thing, but one of the biggest surprises from driving it through German towns and tighter urban streets is that it rarely feels intimidatingly large.
You sit high, the view out is excellent and the controls give you confidence. Add in the cameras and assistance technology and there’s none of the slight apprehension you can sometimes get when threading a big SUV through narrow streets. My supermarket car-park test confirmed it, too: this is a big seven-seater you can actually imagine living with every day, rather than nervously abandoning at the far end of the car park.
It looks smart, too. Skoda’s Modern Solid design language gives it a clean, unfussy appearance, with slim T-shaped lighting, the glossy Tech-Deck Face and, for the first time on a production Skoda, flush door handles. There’s presence without the designers having felt the need to throw every crease, vent and styling gimmick they could find at it.
The bigger step forward is inside. This feels like a flagship in a way no previous Skoda has. The design is stylish, the quality is really good, it’s tremendously spacious and, crucially, it’s all very usable. Nothing feels as though it’s been made more complicated simply to appear clever.
And after driving the finished car rather than the prototype, my view has strengthened rather than softened. This is a seriously impressive Skoda and, for me, the best large all-electric SUV in the Volkswagen Group. I’d consider buying one myself, which probably tells you quite a lot.
How we tested
After an initial drive of a pre-production Peaq while judging German Car of the Year, I drove the production Skoda Peaq extensively in Germany on motorways, urban streets and town roads, testing its ride, steering, technology, practicality, visibility and manoeuvrability, including my usual supermarket car-park test.
I drove the production version of the Skoda Peaq in Germany, popping into Aldi for my usual car park test (Skoda)
Independent rating: 9/10
Pros: Exceptional space, genuinely usable seven seats, superb interior quality, best Skoda tech yet, impressive comfort and refinement, surprisingly easy to manoeuvreCons: Price starts at more than £50,000, rapid charging isn’t among the very fastest
Skoda Peaq specs
Price: £51,980Battery size: 86kWhMaximum claimed range: 390 milesMiles per kWh: 4.6Charging : 199kW, 10-80 per cent in 28 minutes
Battery, range, charging, performance and drive
Every Peaq gets an 86kWh usable battery, the largest yet fitted to a Skoda EV, with two powertrain choices. The rear-wheel-drive Peaq 90 produces 282bhp, while the Peaq 90x adds all-wheel drive and increases power to 295bhp. The 90x gets from 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds, so there’s more performance than anyone’s ever likely to need in a big family SUV – let’s be honest, you’re not trying to convince everybody on board that they’ve accidentally bought tickets for a rollercoaster.
The Peaq looks good and drives well, with a hint of Range Rover about it (Škoda)
The rear-wheel-drive 90 offers the longest maximum claimed range at 390 miles, which equates to around 4.5 miles/kWh. DC rapid charging peaks at 199kW, with Skoda quoting around 28 minutes for a 10 to 80 per cent charge on a suitable charger. Those numbers are perfectly respectable, although 199kW isn’t especially remarkable now that some rivals are pushing charging speeds considerably higher.
There’s Vehicle-to-Load, so the Peaq can use energy from its battery to power external electrical equipment, plus one-pedal driving that I enjoyed using, and an available heat pump. SportLine cars also get paddles behind the steering wheel to alter the regenerative braking.
The numbers only tell half the story, though, because the production Peaq drives better than the prototype I tried previously. The ride seems slightly more forgiving now. There’s still enough control to stop such a large car becoming floaty, but sharp surfaces are dealt with more calmly and the whole thing feels more settled.
That improvement suits the car perfectly. The Peaq isn’t trying to be a giant hot hatch and nor should it. It feels happiest flowing along comfortably, quietly and confidently, whether you’re on town roads or covering ground quickly on the motorway.
The steering is good, too. There’s enough weight and accuracy to place the car confidently without adding unnecessary effort, and that combines with the elevated seating position and excellent visibility to disguise the Peaq’s size remarkably well. Even on narrower urban roads I never felt as though I was piloting something enormous.
At just under five meters long, the Škoda Peaq is a rival for more expensive seven-seat EVs like the Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Volvo EX90 (Škoda)
Then there’s manoeuvrability. I was impressed by this on the earlier car and the production Peaq confirmed it. You can wind on plenty of steering lock, which helps enormously in tight spaces, while the camera technology takes much of the guesswork out of parking. I deliberately took it into the sort of supermarket car park owners will use all the time rather than just admiring the technology on an empty launch-site car park, and it passed the test very comfortably.
At higher motorway speeds it feels planted, quiet and secure. So the Peaq does something a good large SUV should do: it feels substantial when you want reassurance, but not enormous when you’re squeezing past parked cars.
Interior, practicality and boot space
Space is one of the Peaq’s great strengths and this really is a proper seven-seater, rather than a five-seat SUV with two occasional chairs hidden under the boot floor. The 2,965mm wheelbase gives Skoda plenty to work with and it’s used extremely well.
Even the third row in the Škoda Peaq gets room for adults – just (Skoda)
The second row is generously proportioned, but it’s the third row that impressed me most. I’m close to 6ft tall and I can get back there and sit reasonably comfortably, provided the second-row seats are moved forward a little. Do that and there’s still decent space for the people in the middle row, so you’re not simply transferring discomfort from one set of passengers to another.
That makes a big difference in the real world. Plenty of seven-seat SUVs are fine if seats six and seven are occupied by smaller children, but the Peaq’s rearmost seats are genuinely usable. There’s good headroom as well, and the cabin doesn’t leave those in the back feeling as if they’ve been posted into a dark cupboard.
The interior itself is excellent. It looks stylish, it feels beautifully made and the quality is really good throughout. There’s a maturity to the design that suits the Peaq’s flagship status without losing the straightforward usability that Skoda buyers tend to expect.
Five interior Design Selections are available, ranging from Loft and Lodge through to the two Suite treatments and SportLine. The lighter Ceramic interior uses Techtona, Skoda’s leather alternative, while Suite Black combines leather and artificial leather. SportLine brings a darker look with Suedia and Techtona, sports seats and a three-spoke steering wheel.
There’s plenty of clever thinking, too. The optional Relax Package brings electrically adjustable heated seats with ventilation, massage functions and legrests, plus cushions, a folding table and a wellbeing app that can coordinate things such as the climate control, ambient lighting and seat massage.
Boot space is equally impressive. Even with all seven seats being used there are 299l available. Fold the third row and that becomes 890l, while dropping both rear rows creates a huge 2,075l space.
And there’s more under the bonnet: 37l of storage for charging cables or the parcel shelf. I still prefer my own name for it – a froot rather than a frunk – but whatever you call it, it’s useful.
Skoda has scattered its usual Simply Clever ideas around the Peaq as well. There’s a display cleaner, ticket holder, a USB connection near the rear-view mirror if you want to fit your own dash cam, extra charging for passengers further back and wipers with the washer jets built directly into them.
The Škoda Peaq gets a boot with 299 litres, 890 litres, or 2,075 litres with seven, five or two seats in place (Steve Fowler)
The huge panoramic roof adds to the feeling of space. It’s the largest fitted to a Skoda and uses Dynamic Shade Control rather than an ordinary blind, with nine sections that can alter how much light comes through. The result is a cabin that feels expensive, spacious and thoughtfully designed rather than merely big.
Technology, stereo and infotainment
For me, this is the best technology we’ve yet seen in a Skoda. There’s plenty of it, as you’d expect in the company’s flagship, but what impressed me is how well it has been integrated rather than simply how long the equipment list is.
The new Škoda Peaq gets a high-quality interior with a great touchscreen, plus plenty of traditional Škoda ‘simply clever’ features including a fold-out table (Škoda)
The centrepiece is the 13.6-inch portrait touchscreen, the first vertically mounted infotainment display in a Skoda. I’m a fan. Portrait screens can make a lot of sense in a car because they leave more room to display navigation information ahead of you, while keeping the controls you use most regularly lower down.
Skoda has thought about the physical ergonomics, too. The centre armrest is positioned so you can support your elbow while operating the touchscreen, rather than holding your whole arm in mid-air and hoping your finger lands on the right icon as the car moves. It’s one of those wonderfully obvious ideas once somebody has actually done it.
There are still proper controls where you want them. The centre console has temperature toggles, a separate control for fan speed and a physical volume wheel, while the steering wheel gets conventional buttons rather than asking you to swipe and prod your way around everything.
The Skoda Peaq’s rear lights – like the Range Rover’s – stay hidden until lit (Škoda)
The Android-based infotainment system is quick and clear in use and includes Skoda’s own applications alongside services such as Spotify, YouTube and Google Maps. A 10-inch digital display sits in front of the driver, while wireless phone charging can deliver up to 25W to two devices. Magnets help hold the phones in exactly the right position, something I particularly liked when I first saw the Peaq, and it takes the guesswork out of phone positioning on wireless chargers.
There’s plenty of assistance technology without it feeling as though the car is constantly fighting you. Standard equipment includes traffic sign recognition, front assist, turn assist, crosstraffic assist, blind-spot monitoring and predictive adaptive cruise control, while higher specifications add features including the area view camera, remote park assist and trained parking. The latter can repeat a previously learned parking manoeuvre, which could be useful if your driveway requires the sort of steering routine normally associated with docking a ferry.
And then there’s the Sonos system. The optional 16-speaker, 755W set-up was developed specifically for the Peaq, and having now spent more time listening to it I’m impressed. There’s a lovely richness to the sound, plenty of punch from the bass and good separation, so individual parts of a track remain clear rather than being mashed together into one loud noise.
The first Sonos sound system in a Skoda is an impressive audio system – I enjoyed it (Škoda)
It would be even nicer if a future software-over-the-air update could add Dolby Atmos. There’s no suggestion here that it currently has it, but it’s something I’d like to see added to an already excellent system.
There’s a neat Sonos connection for early buyers, too, with the first Peaq customers able to get a free Sonos Play speaker. It’s a nice extra, although the in-car set-up is probably the more convincing advert for the partnership.
Prices and running costs
And here we arrive at the Peaq’s biggest problem: the price starts with a five rather than a four. The range begins at £51,980 for the rear-wheel-drive Peaq SE L 90. That’s a lot of money for a Skoda, even allowing for the fact that this is the biggest, most spacious and most sophisticated model the company has built.
The Škoda Peaq hides its size well both in terms of design and how it feels to drive (Škoda)
You do get plenty for it. SE L comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, the powered tailgate with virtual pedal operation, heated front and rear seats, a heated windscreen, the 13.6-inch infotainment display, digital instruments, wireless phone charging and the mobile digital key.
Move to the Edition 90 and the price rises to £55,130, while the all-wheel-drive Edition 90x costs £57,230. Edition adds the Suite interior, matrix LED headlights, the illuminated light band, area view camera, remote park assist and trained parking.
SportLine starts at £58,280 in rear-wheel-drive 90 form and £60,380 as the 90x. It brings 20-inch wheels, the darker exterior treatment, sports seats, three-spoke heated steering wheel and dynamic chassis control. There are options beyond that, including the Relax Package with its massage seats and legrests, panoramic roof and the Sonos audio system, which is available after launch.
I can see some buyers looking at £51,980 and wishing Skoda had somehow found a way to make the first number a four. I do, too – £49,995 would have been better psychologically. But the Peaq makes a strong case for itself once you spend time with it. The space is exceptional, the third row actually works, the cabin quality is excellent and the technology feels like a genuine step forward rather than an excuse to fill the dashboard with bigger screens.
Physical controls mean the touchscreen doesn’t have to take care of everything (Škoda)
I also think it’s a way better car than the Peugeot 5008. The Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 are tougher rivals, but the Peaq has its own combination of usability, size, range and quality. And while the Range Rover Electric sits in very different territory financially, the Peaq gives you some of that big, calm, expensive-feeling electric-SUV experience for considerably less.
The verdict: Škoda Peaq
The Peaq is another winner from Skoda – it’s a seriously impressive flagship: spacious, beautifully made, easy to use and surprisingly manageable. It’s a nine for now, with 10/10 possible after a UK drive.
Škoda Peaq rivals
FAQs
How long does it take to charge?
The Skoda Peaq can charge its 86kWh battery from 10 to 80 per cent in around 28 minutes on a suitable rapid charger, with peak DC charging of up to 199kW. That’s a perfectly usable figure for long-distance driving, although some rivals now offer higher peak charging speeds.
How much does it cost and is it worth it?
The Peaq starts from £51,980 for the rear-wheel-drive SE L 90, rising to £60,380 for the all-wheel-drive SportLine 90x. I’d dearly like that starting price to begin with a four rather than a five, but you get a seriously impressive seven-seat electric SUV for the money. The space, quality, technology, 390-mile maximum claimed range and genuinely usable third row are all major strengths. Having driven the finished production car, I’d consider buying one myself.
Does Skoda replace batteries for free?
Škoda will cover the battery for any faults for eight years, while the standard warranty of three years is less than rivals like Kia and Hyundai offer.
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