Styling
The Peaq wears the same, fresh 'Modern Solid' exterior design as the Epiq, complete with attractive T-shaped light clusters fore and aft, clean flanks, and the evolved Tech Deck Face with the loop motif, this being a step up from the Elroq and Enyaq's masks. At 4,874mm long and with 2,965mm of that taken up by wheelbase, the Peaq is a physical giant but doesn't seem hulking as you walk up to it. Ten body colours, alloys ranging from 19 to 21 inches in diameter, and a racier Sportline model with tinted windows and black exterior detailing - including for that 'Skoda' wordmark on the SUV's D-pillar, a new aesthetic conceit the Peaq shares with the Epiq - round out the look.
Interior
Inside the Peaq is a touchscreen-centric interface, based on the portrait-oriented 13.6-inch Android-powered infotainment, a 10.25-inch digital cluster and a driver's head-up display too. Thankfully, Skoda retains a few proper shortcut switches for the climate control, while the infotainment itself is quick to respond, carefully ordered and graphically sharp. Meanwhile, material finishing is excellent and the amazing Relax Package (£1,800) brings in large electrically extendable footrests and front-seat attachable pillows, for one of the comfiest driver's seats in the entire business, as well as a 16-speaker, 755-watt Sonos premium sound system - well worth the money. Heated front and rear seats are also standard-fit on a Sportline.
Practicality
As you might expect of a big Skoda, there's acres of room inside the Peaq, although the sixth and seventh chairs remain on the smaller side and therefore suited for the smaller of stature. But with multiple configurations of seating on offer, you can tailor passenger space in the car to your heart's content, while legroom in row two is vast if you so require it to be. So, too, is the boot, at almost 300 litres with seven onboard and packing in more than 2,000 litres of volume in two-seat mode. Yet our favourite practicality feature is the fold-out table you can make with the front cupholders - it's part of the Relax Package, and it's a superb concept.
Performance
Three versions of the Skoda Peaq are available from launch, but we're unlikely to get the small-battery (59kWh usable), low-powered (204hp/350Nm) 60 here in the UK - only the two 90 models are listed on the configurator. The first of these is a single-motor, rear-driven car with 286hp/545Nm, a 7.1-second 0-62mph time and the 86kWh battery providing almost 400 miles of range.
This 90x is a dual-motor AWD, though, increasing power to 299hp and dropping the 0-62mph time to 6.8 seconds, without too much detriment to range (381 miles). In practice, this is a perfect-match powertrain for the Peaq's relaxed nature, while real-world efficiency seems on the ball too. Our only complaint with the Skoda in this department is that it can sometimes feel every ounce of its 2.5-tonne-ish kerb weight when you're standing a little harder on the brakes, as it still has drums fitted to its rear axle.
Ride & Handling
This is the discipline the Skoda Peaq utterly excels at. Our 90x Sportline car comes with Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) dampers as standard and, despite sitting on optional 21-inch alloy wheels - the largest available for the SUV - we have absolutely zero complaints about the SUV's ride comfort or rolling refinement. None at all. The thing is comprehensively imperious on any road surface, any road type and at any road speed you care to show it. We adore it.
The handling's not quite so good, as it - like the brakes - is an area where the Skoda betrays its mass. Not that the Peaq is bad in the corners; there's some lean but it's controlled, while grip is plentiful and the steering is surprisingly lovely. But this isn't an EV that likes to be hustled. Not a problem when it is as sophisticated as the dignified Peaq is when it's on the move.
Value
Conceptually, you're going to have to grapple with the concept of a sixty-grand Skoda to make your peace with the Peaq. The range ostensibly kicks off at nearly £52,000 for a 90 SE L, but you'll probably want an Edition (from £55,130) for the desirable equipment it brings in. You need to add £2,100 to any 90's price for the AWD benefits of the 90x (including its ability to haul 2,000kg of braked trailer, 200 kilos more than any other Peaq), and then things like the essential Relax Package and the biggest panoramic roof Skoda has ever fitted to one of its cars, which also features a first for this company with nine-panel electrochromically dimmable glass (£1,910), all add further expenditure to the ticket. Also, it's a shame a heat pump for the Peaq is not only an option across the board, but a bloody dear item to boot at £1,115.
Verdict
The Skoda Peaq is the most expensive car this company has ever put on the market, while it also isn't particularly dynamic and it can sometimes feel like it needs a little more braking power than it actually possesses. Also, seats six and seven remain cosy, rather than capacious.
But that's about where our negatives start and end. In a market sector including the super-talented likes of the
Hyundai Ioniq 9,
Kia EV9 and
Peugeot E-5008, and when Skoda itself builds such wonders as the
Kodiaq or the
Superb Estate, it's really quite remarkable that we can immediately install the Peaq at the pinnacle of its class, and also crown it the best car the Czechs have made so far.
In fact, it's so blinkin' good that we'd seriously question why you'd even consider something much dearer, like the
Volvo EX90. Effortless luxury doesn't come much finer than that served up by the Skoda Peaq.
