- Navigating Lake Como in the Skoda Peaq Prototype
- Peaq is Skoda's new 7-seat flagship
- Set to arrive mid-2026
- One of the best family EVs we've driven
We've driven the new Skoda Peaq - and first impressions suggest lease customers are in for a treat when it arrives later this year.
Sometimes, you get a feeling that something’s going to be good. It’s like when the takeaway bag feels heavier than expected, or when you hit “shuffle” on a playlist and the first song is already a banger. A similar thing happened when I first laid eyes on the Czech giant’s new flagship — the Skoda Peaq — in Lake Como, Italy.
Being a prototype, the car was artistically disguised. But this somewhat worked against Lake Como’s deliberately composed steep green hills, still water. It felt like two kinds of art colliding: the deliberate abstraction of the car, and the effortless composition of the lake’s surroundings; I almost want Skoda to make this a selectable colour, but I’m betting it won’t be the most popular palette.
What is the Skoda Peaq?
Up to this point, the Enyaq had been Skoda’s large electric all-rounder — and it remains a highly capable all-electric family car. However, Skoda has since introduced its flagship seven-seater, the Peaq, into the lineup.
Judging by the pictures, you might assume the Peaq is a colossal machine that will dwarf the rest of the brand’s range, but you’d be mistaken. Instead, think of the Peaq as an all-electric Skoda Kodiaq (Skodiaq). The two are similar in size, although the Peaq’s wheelbase is 17cm longer. This also means it offers more legroom in the second and third rows, while its boot is not only larger (890 litres with the third row folded) than its ICE counterpart, but also surpasses that of the Kia EV9 and Peugeot E-5008, the latter being a direct rival.
Skoda Peaq batteries and powertrains
There are two batteries to choose from: a 91kWh and a 63kWh. Skoda claims the smaller battery is good for 430km (267 miles), while the larger battery is claimed to return over 610km (397 miles) from a single charge.
There will also be three powertrains: the rear-wheel drive 60 and 90, and the all-wheel drive 90x. In typical Skoda fashion, the number refers loosely to the battery capacity.
Each version also gets varied power outputs, too, thanks to improved electric motors: the 60 produces 201 bhp (150kW), while the 90 produces 281 bhp (210kW). Upgrading to the 90X, unleashes 362bhp (270kW).
Traversing Lake Como in the Skoda Peaq
After being briefed, we hopped aboard — and as much as I’d love to tell you what it looks like inside, I can’t, for now. I promise, however, that it’s worth the wait.
What I can tell you is that the Peaq is packed with clever details. The 37-litre frunk not only stores cables but also the car’s retracting parcel shelf. There’s a pair of MagSafe wireless phone chargers, a small folding table that sits between the front seats, and a relaxation package, making it more like a second living room for when you’re charging.
Like the rest of Skoda’s lineup, the Peaq’s dashboard is fairly unfussy, dominated by a large central touchscreen and horizontal lines. The 10.25-inch instrument cluster is free-standing and features a frameless bezel, tying up the interior nicely.
Getting comfortable inside is easy, thanks to Peaq’s acres of space. There’s a lot of leg and headroom in the second row, and if you slide it forward a bit, you’ll get two six-footers in the third row. As with most seven-seaters, though, these aren’t the comfiest seats.
With all seven seats in position, you get 299 litres of boot space, which puts it slightly behind the Kodiaq’s 340 litres, although the Peaq offers more floor space from the seat backs to the boot lip – and there’s underfloor storage, too.
Of course, you don’t need to buy the seven-seater, as Skoda will also offer a five-seat variant, which means 1,010 litres of boot space if you utilise the available mesh partition and load to the roof. The optional 2.12 m2 electrochromatic panoramic roof completes the package, as does the 16-channel Sonos hi-fi upgrade.
The thought of tackling Lake Como’s tight streets in a large electric SUV was quite daunting at first, but you get used to the car’s size quickly and soon realise it’s not as titanic as its exterior portrays.
We navigated the meandering Italian roads, which weren’t short of traffic, in a convoy of five-plus brightly camouflaged Peaq 90s. As cool as it was, this meant I couldn’t fully get to grips with the car, as there were no motorway sections or open roads, but the Peaq hasn’t exactly been signed off yet, either, meaning that time will come.
Our proto-Peaq shrugged off drain covers and glided over the various sections of uneven tarmac, but our car was fitted with the Dynamic Chassis Control suspension, an option I’d highly recommend ticking, based on my experience with it in previous cars. Skoda’s chassis engineers also told us that the car will cleverly adjust its suspension regardless of mode. For example, if you leave sport mode active, the car will continue to glide, albeit with a slightly firmer dynamic than that of its comfort counterpart, until you sink the throttle or attack corners with gusto, where it’ll firm up.
Similarly, the Peaq is whisper-quiet at modest speeds. Sink the right foot, and it’ll surge forward, making overtaking an easy task. There are also three regenerative braking levels: D (regular), and two B modes. Switching between D and B is done via a column shifter, while adjusting the B strength is done via the touchscreen.
Regarding efficiency, the Peaq returned 16.4kWh/100km over the 33.5-mile run, which equates to 3.8mi/kWh. An impressive figure for the vehicle’s size. It’s worth noting that Skoda officially targets 15.5kWh/100km (4 mi/kWh).
Skoda Peaq first review - our verdict
If you haven’t already done so, visit Lake Como. Just ensure you do it when it’s warm, as it was bitter cold and windy when I visited in March. Secondly, once you’re there, be brave. Try the food. I’m a picky eater, but I loved almost everything that was ladled my way.
And the car? This could easily be one of the best family EVs I’ve driven to date. Of course, being a prototype, a thorough test on British roads will reveal more, but as it stands, this is Peaq Skoda.
Prices haven’t been confirmed yet, but we think it’ll be priced from sub-£50k.
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