Skoda has released its first fully electric car.
I spent a week with the Enyaq, which may sound like an Irish singer but is actually a very capable electric SUV.
Two battery sizes are available, in models called the Enyaq iV 60 and Enyaq IV 80. The former is priced from around £32,000 (including the government’s £2,500 electric car grant) and has a range of 256 miles.
The latter, which I spent a week with, weighs in at just over £39,000 and can cover 332 miles on a full charge.
The electric motor generates 150kW – 204bhp in old money – and 310Nm of torque. That’s enough to take it from 0-62mph in a zippy 8.2 seconds. Power delivery is instantaneous, making it feel faster than its numbers suggest.
Beguiling appearance
The Enyaq is the sister car of Volkswagen’s ID.4, sharing the same platform, battery and motor.
Unlike the VW, which has gone for unashamedly futuristic styling, the Enyaq could pass for a common or garden petrol-powered car.
That doesn’t mean it’s boring, though – to my eyes, it’s handsome and well proportioned.
I took my Enyaq from Dundee to Pitlochry and back. Even after a journey totalling a little over 100 miles the car was still showing more than 200 miles left. That puts it right in the upper echelons of electric cars for range.
True, this was at the tail end of summer, but I had the air conditioning on high. Even in the winter, with heating and lights at full blast, you should still be able to cover 275 miles before you start looking for a charge point.
Ride quality and refinement are both excellent, thanks to good sound insulation and, of course, the absence of engine noise. At 60mph on the A9, the Enyaq was virtually silent.
On the return leg I threw in a few backroads around Loch Tummel just for fun, then drove home via Dunkeld and Coupar Angus. On some twistier roads the electric Skoda acquitted itself well.
It weighs in at over two tonnes so it’s never going to handle like a Mazda MX-5.
The batteries sit in the floorpan, though, meaning the centre of gravity is low, and it handles much more tidily than other Skoda SUVs such as the Kodiaq and Karoq.
Spacious and stylish Skoda Enyaq
The interior of the Skoda Enyaq is a pleasant place to be. There’s plenty of light thanks to the large windscreen, and space is excellent.
Even people well over six feet tall will be comfortable in the back and the boot is a capacious 585 litres.
There’s even a little cubby beneath the boot floor where you can store charging cables so they don’t get in the way.
The 13 inch infotainment screen is easy to use and packed with features, including smartphone integration.
Charging the Enyaq takes around nine hours if you have a 7kW home wallbox, though a 50kW public charger will bring that down to not much more than one hour.
My Skoda Enyaq was rear-wheel drive. I had the car in early September when Scotland was enjoying an Indian summer, with temperatures still over 20 degrees, so grip was never an issue.
Those living out in the sticks will be pleased to know you can also specify the Enyaq with four-wheel drive, which should cope with anything Scottish winters can throw at it.
If it were my money I’d go for the smaller battery version of the Enyaq – purely for financial reasons.
The government’s electric car grant is capped at cars costing £35,000, meaning the Skoda Enyaq iV 60 is the only one that qualifies.
The gap in price between the smaller and larger battery versions becomes a bit of a gulf once that’s factored in.
Whichever version you go for, the Skoda Enyaq is extremely impressive.
It’s bigger and cheaper than its sister car, the VW ID.4. It has an excellent range, even if you save money and go for the smaller battery. It’s refined, spacious and comfortable.
I would have one in a heartbeat.
Price: 39,350
0-62mph: 8.2 seconds
Top speed: 99mpg
Range: 332 miles
