► Life with an Enyaq finishes up
► We like it so much we’re shopping for one
► Read month 6
When you live with a car like this Skoda Enyaq for a few months you wonder why anyone who can afford to go electric hasn’t by now, and why sales of electric cars are in decline in major European markets. I mean, how much better do you need your daily driver to be? On top of near-silent operation, sports-car pace, a real-world 270-mile range, cheap energy if you charge at home, great design, solid build quality and relative affordability, what else do you want? A chauffeur? Skoda to pay you?
I’m oversimplifying, of course. It’s not just about the product. Volatile energy prices, the removal of subsidies and the still-unsatisfactory nature of the charging network are all major influences too, and if we want EV uptake to increase significantly we also need significantly cheaper EVs.
They’re coming. My point is simply that when the product is this good at existing price points, sales shouldn’t be stalling. At least EV adoption is still growing here in the UK, if not as quickly as politicians want and the car makers need.
I’m about to become part of those growth statistics. The range-topping vRS we ran as a family car went back to Skoda this morning, and we liked it so much that much of today was spent shopping for one of our own. Despite the vRS being the most powerful, fastest-accelerating production Skoda ever, you can get one on a standard three-year, 10,000-mile PCP deal for under £500 per month, and business leases are even cheaper.
I found the Enyaq pretty hard to fault as a family EV, but I’m not sure I’d pick this exact model when spending my own money. In the Enyaq’s facelift at the start of 2024 the 80 version with the same 77kWh battery as my vRS became the 85 and saw its power leap by 81bhp. It claims 348 miles on a charge – officially 12 miles more than the vRS but essentially the same in daily use – and so I wonder if the 85 or the all-wheel-drive 85x might be the sweet spot in the range.
But having thought myself terminally allergic to coupe-SUVs like this vRS on philosophical grounds, I’m surprised to find myself considering another one, rather than the estate-SUV option. Despite hauling bikes, dogs and the assorted baggage of a four-strong family, the coupe’s boot coped with everything. And partner Sophie (who’s paying for half of whatever we buy) sees a difference between the two Enyaq body styles which I just don’t: for her the estate version is middle-aged family transport and the coupe far more stylish.
We’ll argue that one out, but we’re agreed that of the five EVs we’ve run as family cars, this was the first time we’ve felt unconstrained by driving electric: a combination of small improvements in the charging network but more importantly a small but significant difference in the real-world range this Enyaq delivers. Getting an actual, reliable 270 miles from a full charge means you can drive for way longer than you’d want to without a break for a coffee and a pee. Those extra miles also give you an exponentially greater choice of charge points, including the option of going a bit further to one where the electricity is cheaper or flows faster.
In actual use, this meant we could do our regular schlep from the South Coast to Yorkshire to see family on a single charge and with 50 or miles left for running around when we got there, whereas we’d previously had to divert off the M1 to Gridserve’s 12 350kW chargers at Rugby services on the M6. On the long drive down to the Massif Central to watch the Tour de France, we didn’t have to plan recharging stops as our bodies needed recharging before the Skoda did, and every French service station seemed to have an excess of rapid chargers.
And the car itself? I have very few notes. Fast, comfortable, very refined and good-looking. Nothing went wrong. The infotainment system remains slightly counter-intuitive but we just used Apple CarPlay like everyone else. The odd brake modulation, requiring a much firmer shove than expected for final retardation, isn’t great but just takes a bit of getting used to, and seems to be shared with other VW Group products on this platform. And I still don’t like the road feel and poor-surface grip afforded by the Hankook tyres, but was somewhat reassured recently to see that BMW is fitting them to the M5 wagon.
Deliberations continue on what to replace the Enyaq with, but other than a Polestar or maybe another Kia EV6, its main rivals are all VW Group products. We’ve been lucky to be the beneficiaries of former CEO Herbert Diess’s bold decision to go hard and early on EVs, and do them properly: thus far it’s worked out rather better for us buyers than for him or the company.
Read month 6
Read month 5
Read month 4
Read month 3
Read month 2
Read month 1
Logbook: Skoda Enyaq vRS
Price £54,155 (£58,800 as tested)
Performance 77kWh battery, twin e-motors, 5.5sec 0-62mph, 111mph
Efficiency 3.9 miles per kWh (official), 3.5 miles per kWh (tested), 0g/km CO2
Range 336 miles (official), 270 miles (tested)
Energy cost 8.7p per mile
Miles this month 2103
Total miles 10,359
Count the cost
Cost new £58,800
Part-exchange £34,850
Cost per mile 8.7p
Cost per mile including depreciation £2.40