Skoda Enyaq iV review

Skoda Enyaq iV

I’ve always thought that Skoda has long been in the shadow of its VW parent company. Not getting the very latest tech, almost having a bit of a ‘hand-me-down’ status in the Wolfsburg giant’s family.

And when the time came to hand out the tech that Volkswagen had developed for its ID range of EVs, it was good to see Skoda first in line to get hold of the ID.4 and see what they could do with it. After all, they had ditched the much-loved Yeti to bring us some ‘me-too’ SUVs over the past couple of years, so they had some making up to do in my book.

Well, they have made up to me very well, and by some margin. The new Enyaq is a triumph in my book, and in case you didn’t really want to read to the end or watch the video (why not????) then I will also state that I think it is a much better car than the ID.4. And I quite liked that car.

Here at AutoEV we have said time and time again that, although many EV’s share a lot of underpinnings and tech, their individual character can still be allowed to shine through. And in the case of the Enyaq, that character is one of a sensible, well-thought out, beautifully engineered family car that also happens to look very handsome indeed. It has much more presence than its VW cousin, and the build quality of the interior is now rivalling Audi in my book, feeing much more expensive and higher quality than the ID.4.

Ah yes, price. The literal price to pay for this new-found quality is that Skoda can no longer be seen as the budget brand of the group. Although prices start at just over £32,000 for the entry level ‘60’ Loft, the car I had on test (an ‘80’ Suite) was optioned up to £45,000. And that isn’t the most expensive one you can buy. And there will be even more expensive ones coming along soon with a performance ‘vRS’ variant on the horizon.

Yet, as much as I enjoyed ‘my’ car, the real sweet spot of et range lies at that entry level. With a WLTP range of 256 miles, the 62kWh battery in the ‘60’ (the ‘80’ has an 82kWh battery giving 333 miles of range on the same cycle) offers enough to sway you away from our current pick of the bunch, the Kia e-Niro 64kWh. As well as being more handsome to look at, the Czech car is vastly more commodious, just as well equipped despite the long list of options available and is every bit as comfortable and refined. Only when performance comes in to play does the Kia claw back an advantage, albeit one so small it is so negligible not to really notice. Perhaps Kia’s warranty package is the only other area where you might find the Far Eastern car a winner. Otherwise, the Skoda is the new class champ.

Handling is tidy and the ride, whilst a little more pronounced on the test car’s 21-inch alloy wheels (optional of course), was acceptable enough to past muster. Throw in a 585-litre boot space, standard 13-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and enough interior space to shame the latest Royal Navy aircraft carrier, and you have pretty much the definition of the perfect family car.

With the Enyaq, Skoda has emerged like a graceful swan from under the wing of Volkswagen, and in doing so, given us a car that is worthy of being the new leader in its class.