They were among the very first owners of the Škoda Elroq electric car in Germany. Now — six months and 6,214 miles later (10,000km) — the Wilk family from Neukirchen-Vluyn in North Rhine-Westphalia are completely satisfied with their car.
Back in March this year, the entire Wilk family – Silvia and Thomas, together with their children Sophie and Niklas – gathered at the Autohaus Minrath dealership in Moers to take delivery of their new car. They were all excited to be among the first owners of the new Škoda Elroq in Germany. The compact electric SUV quickly won them over.
“We had never owned an electric vehicle before and weren’t sure if it would suit our lifestyle. But now I can say for certain that I have no interest in going back to a combustion engine,” says Silvia Wilk.
She uses the Elroq daily to commute to work in nearby Duisburg and regularly drives her children to their training sessions. Daughter Sophie travels to Meerbusch for vaulting (a combination of gymnastics and dance on horseback), while Niklas commutes every day to Geldern for swim training. Both destinations are about 30 kilometres from the family’s home but in opposite directions. It’s no surprise, then, that the Elroq drove more than 6214 miles (10,000 kilometres)in its first six months.
“The Elroq is a real pleasure to drive and feels much livelier than the Kodiaq I used before, which my husband still drives as a company car,” explains Silvia. She particularly enjoys the electric motor’s instant dynamics when overtaking. “Whenever I accelerate, my husband calls me ‘Mrs. Schumacher’,” she reveals with a smile.
As an everyday companion, the Elroq has fitted seamlessly into family life. “For very large grocery runs, I do notice the difference compared to the longer Kodiaq. But when it comes to interior space, it’s more than sufficient – even though my husband is two meters tall,” says Silvia. Even the family’s Weimaraner, Bex, has his own safe spot in the car thanks to a partition grille and a special dog cover.
The Elroq has already proven itself on bigger trips as well – for example, a journey to Niklas’s swimming camp in Nordheim, some 400 kilometres away. On that occasion, it even towed a trailer carrying luggage for 32 swimmers.
“It worked out perfectly. We stopped to charge once, having booked a fast-charging station in advance. By the time we returned from a short break, the battery had already been fully charged,” recalls Silvia. For everyday use, plugging in the Elroq every other day is sufficient.
The owner particularly values the ability to pre-heat or cool the cabin. “Getting into a warm car at 5 a.m. in winter, or into a cool one after work in the summer, is a fantastic feature I can hardly imagine living without,” Silvia says.
Both mother and daughter highlight the usefulness of having key driving information projected directly onto the windshield. Silvia also praises the extensive personalization options available through the infotainment system. “You can customize so many settings. At first, I spent two hours in the car just configuring everything,” she says.
