Testing is beginning to ramp up for Skoda’s new entry-level EV ahead of its arrival in the middle of next year.

Set to be priced under £25,000, the Epiq will sit below the new Elroq in the Czech firm’s line-up. It will use the Volkswagen Group’s new MEB Entry EV platform and be a sibling to the VW ID 2 and Cupra Raval superminis and the the VW ID 2X crossover.

The Epiq will rival the likes of the Fiat Grande Panda and the reborn Renault 4 and has already been revealed as a concept, but this is our first chance to see how Skoda’s new EV will transition to production form.

These latest spy pictures suggest that the road-going Epiq will retain the concept’s chunky, rugged proportions as well as, most notably, the lower split grille at the front. Lights seen shining through the test vehicle’s heavy camouflage indicate that the concept’s nose-flanking daytime-running lights will also carry over.

Under the camouflage, the Epiq will follow the larger Elroq and Enyaq by adopting Skoda’s new Modern Solid design language, which, says the brand, majors on “robustness, functionality and authenticity”.

While no interior pictures of the test mule have been taken, Skoda has already confirmed that the Epiq will be the first Skoda to carry that Modern Solid theme into the cabin.

As part of a push by the wider VW Group, and in keeping with the brand’s practical and utilitarian style, the Epiq is expected to feature an array of physical buttons for key functions, including on the steering wheel. It will also major on storage, said Skoda, with boot space of 490 litres (the same as the VW ID 2all concept).

No powertrain details have yet been confi rmed, but the VW Group has said the MEB Entry platform will accommodate a single front-mounted electric motor and battery options of 38kWh and 56kWh. Skoda is targeting a range in excess of 400km (249 miles).