SKODA ELROQ

Electric car plus 400-mile day equals... minimal stress

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I'd not long had the Elroq before it was pressed into service for some fairly arduous long-haul work. After a couple of days pleasantly trundling around London suburbs, where it quickly impressed with sublime low-speed drivability and commendable efficiency, it was time to properly test this compact SUV's do-it-all credentials with a few hundred motorway miles - an endeavour that can so often be the undoing of an otherwise-agreeable EV, given the energy demands and NVH implications of sustained high-speed cruising.

First was a run up to Crewe for an early look at Bentley's new brand-shaping EXP 15 concept. And when I say early, I'm not just referring to pre-embargo access but the sickening 4am start necessitated by our tight schedule. Correctly predicting that I wouldn't have much patience for public chargers at such an early hour, I 'brimmed' the 82kWh battery the day before and had a confidence-inspiring 343 miles of range on the display when I set off.