The electric Škoda continues to show its versatile face.

Enyaq 85 Edition

P11d (BIK): £44,485 (2%) RANGE: 348 miles ON FLEET: 300 miles EFFICIENCY: 3.9mpkWh

Report 7:

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A few news stories of late have exemplified the versatility of Škoda’s electric SUV.

First up was the news that National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has converted the Enyaq into a new 4×4 utility EV with the help of Škoda and vehicle conversion company Strongs. Turned into a light commercial vehicle with all-terrain capability, it’s meeting NGED’s fleet needs for its engineering crews in a way that no off-the-shelf solution within the commercial motor trade could.

And in a somewhat polar opposite, Škoda Motorsport has created an Enyaq RS Race concept, based on the Enyaq Coupé RS but using biocomposite parts to deliver a significant weight reduction that’s cut the 0-62mph time to sub five seconds. Škoda says the new concept car serves as a pilot project and incorporates ideas for future production cars, including sustainable and lightweight materials.

Finally, two lower-cost Enyaq models have also recently arrived, kitted out with a 55kWh battery pack for up to 234 miles of range, while shaving £2k off the entry price, which now starts at £36,970. It’s over four years since the Škoda was first revealed and shows that it’s still delivering the goods.

Our long-term Enyaq is still fitting the bill too and a recent play with the onboard menus uncovered a wealth of functionality. Accessed via the 13-inch screen, there are options for pretty much everything, from light functions to climate control.

On the subject of the latter, one thing I have to fess up to is originally thinking I could only use the infotainment screen to control fan speeds and getting annoyed with how many button presses it took, which seemed dangerously distracting, although there are handy buttons for temperature and heated seats. And then I noticed the Clima toggle button, which gives you instant access to the lot. It even has simple-to-use, confusion-free ‘fresh air’, ‘warm feet’ and ‘warm hands’ explanations alongside the buttons, which I thought was neat and very Škoda.

The wireless phone charger has been much appreciated as I seem to have lost all my USB-C to USB-C chargers. One problem is that it sometimes warns that the device is overheating and to remove it – and sure enough, the phone does feel a trifle warm after. Plus you can’t see if it’s charging or not and I end up having to take it out to check.

The fact that the keyless entry works on the back doors too has been a godsend. I’ve lost track of the number of times when I’ve been struggling to load things and given a silent thank you for not having to either plip the car or open a front door to unlock the rear.

I even like the fact that the stereo switches off just at the right moment when I’m halfway through opening the driver’s door – for me, it’s exactly the right point where I’ve decided I’m definitely exiting the car rather than sitting back down and listening to the latest news headline in more detail.

Every time I have a play around with the infotainment and onboard settings, I’m flabbergasted by just how much you can tailor and tweak to meet personal preferences – and optimise the raft of technology onboard. Although I love the fact that you can equally just get in the Enyaq and drive.

Report 6:

A last-minute holiday gave another chance to head off to the West Country again in the Škoda over the summer break.

This time, we ventured to the other side of Exmoor, stretching the Enyaq’s legs further.

While I may have been a bit complacent about our last trip away, this holiday’s 150-mile journey each way and concerns over destination charging meant I was less lackadaisical.

Hand in hand with this, and the fact that I was in convoy with a motorhome, I was far more eco focused on this trip.

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My Driving Miss Daisy impression meant that I arrived at our destination with a figure of 4.6mpkWh and actually plenty of miles left ‘in the tank’ but it was clear that I’d either need to charge again before leaving the following week or stop on the way back, which I wanted to avoid.

Several reccies of the bustling sister campsite over the road from ours showed that the two connectors onsite were frequently occupied, during the day and in evenings. They were also regularly ‘ICEd’ by guests and campsite staff alike.

There were no other chargers in our village but a venture into the next town revealed a 22kW device with two connectors. Run by SSE, it was mercifully partly unoccupied and seemed to save the day. Until I checked the Škoda app to find the other driver had disconnected our car from charging at some point, and with three kids and two men entirely bored of shopping, there was no time left to make up for it.

A late evening trip over to the main campsite eventually sorted me out but it did leave the friends we were on holiday with, who were driving a diesel van, complaining about charging issues, and didn’t paint the EV switch in the best light to them. That’s regardless of me pointing out the dearth of petrol stations in the area, the fact that I could easily charge on the way home, and also highlighting that our campsite certainly didn’t have a diesel pump on hand for guests.

In any case, it’s also worth pointing out that many people driving a 150-mile journey for a holiday would normally want to stop, either to refuel the car, themselves or their kids.

Škoda’s first purpose-built electric car again proved its prowess on holiday as a family mover, replete with plenty of helpful features and extensive luggage and cabin space.

One other thing I appreciated on this trip was the Škoda Connect navigation. While I normally connect wirelessly to Android Auto and use Google Maps for latest traffic info, the lack of signal in Devon lanes on my return journey meant I couldn’t plot a route this way for the first half an hour, but I could access the in-car navigation.

And another feature that I’m increasingly becoming a big fan of is how the Enyaq takes notice of prevailing speed limits, junctions etc and helps slow the car accordingly. I found it annoying at first, now I actively use it to drive more safely and efficiently. It’s even become a party trick to show passengers that the car is slowing itself down; another thing that the Škoda just takes care of helpfully.

Report 5:

Range anxiety may still be a barrier to going electric for some drivers but a trip away to the West Country this month showed just how ill-founded such worries are.

Now, a journey of some 90 miles each way in a car with a 348-mile WLTP range was never going to ruffle the Škoda’s feathers but it did reinforce just how much EV technology has advanced.

Better still, our holiday park came with four 11kW EV chargers – and we were able to choose the caravan right by them.

Charging was not incident-free. I tried and failed to access a supermarket charger before leaving just to ensure I was all set. The screen implied it was working but the phone app said different.

Once at the campsite, I initially tried – in the dark, late at night – to charge. I ended up downloading four different apps and trying a website too before I was able to access the charger, which was not operated by the manufacturer but by a different firm and accessed via an app for a different company again. Payment was a headache too as there was no contactless option and the only method that worked in the end was topping up the payment wallet to £30, which then had to be done the next time.

Nonetheless, the ability to charge the Enyaq some 15 metres from our holiday accommodation was greatly appreciated. And despite only being a small seaside town, there were a further 12 public chargers, according to Zapmap and other EV drivers I spoke to, so there were always backup options.

The trip also reinforced just how family friendly Škoda’s electric SUV is. Its 585 litres of boot space (which rises to 1,710 litres with the seats folded) was more than up to the task of transporting a family of four away for a week, aided by a flat loading surface and various boot nets and hooks too.

I barely scratched the surface of the cabin storage cubbies too, which are many and varied. As well as the 6.2-litre, and appropriately named, ‘Jumbo Box’ under the centre armrest, there’s a second storage compartment under the centre console with a further 11.4 litres of storage space. Thankfully, the handy Simply Clever umbrella, stored in a compartment in the driver’s door, wasn’t pressed into use.

Over some 350 miles of motoring, I spent around £35 on public charging, which worked out a lot cheaper than fuel bills in previous years.

Probably the best thing of all was returning back home with an efficiency figure of 4.2mpkWh for the journey without even trying; a new PB.

Report 4:

To my mind, there are two types of people in life. Those who are impressed by all-singing, all-dancing light displays in cars and those who aren’t.

I am definitely one of the former. I actually smiled when I first saw the Enyaq’s puddle lights. I still give a little smile now when the animated lights dance up when I walk past with the keys and I love the Coming/Leaving Home function. You can even change the tail-light settings. Meanwhile, the kids have pointed out the ambient lights in the cabin to friends while my mates noticed them straight away too.

The full LED Matrix headlights with variable light distribution are also amazing. I smile again when I put main beam on and the lights dance up, and it’s fascinating to watch – as much as you can while driving – how they adjust to stop dazzling other road users. The sensors picked up on a rather reflective road sign once and politely blocked it out – cause for another smile – but generally work very well.

The touch sliding functions for the panoramic sunroof and its cover have proved a party trick with the kids but I now just keep the cover open to let light flood in. It’s a roomy cabin anyway but particularly so with the roof fully uncovered.

After a fair bit of time behind the wheel, I can completely vouch for the quality of the Enyaq’s interior. The EcoSuite Design Selection on our model might not be everyone’s cup of tea, with its ‘Cognac’ leather seats, faux leather dashboard with stitching, Cognac piping on the mats and the piano black décor but personally I think it elevates the cabin and gives a very plush look, and it’s been well received by all my passengers to date.

It’s also seriously hard-wearing and robust too. After a few months with the Škoda, it’s looking every bit as premium as when it arrived (that might be tempting fate…)

The seats are really comfortable and I like the squared-off seat squabs, designed for more longer limbs, while also accommodating more average heights nicely too.

I also like the handy child lock buttons, located just by the window switches for the driver. Bit late for my kids now but they would have been hugely useful years ago.

Despite its plush look, the cabin on the Enyaq is actually really practical. Between me and my sons, we have a whole brace of accoutrements that we like handy, from my water bottle and various pairs of glasses/sunnies to their hairbrushes for the school run and travel sweets. The Enyaq’s centre console just swallows it all up. Any complaints I’ve ever had about any other car’s storage space have just melted away. The bottle holders cater for all sizes and there’s even removable cubby sections for tailored storage. There’s also a double layer underneath.

I’ve even now put the Enyaq’s centre console to the test by using it to transport an open 4-pint bottle of milk – possibly trumping editor Challen’s gravy jug that he transported in a Honda ZR-V. Said bottle of milk arrived intact at its destination.

Passenger space is also great. This is one sizeable car – and it means passengers onboard get plenty of room. I can’t imagine anyone struggling for head space. Visibility is also great – much better than I was expecting too – despite the Enyaq being rather long and having some rather thick C-pillars. Along with the front and rear parking sensors and rear-view camera, it means parking is a lot easier than I’d have thought.

I was also pleasantly surprised with a recent trip to a multi-storey in Poole where I thought the Enyaq’s bulk might prove a problem. Said car park is some 50 years old and built for the days of smaller cars, as shown by the many scrapes on the ramps. The drivers of the BMW X5 arriving before me and the Mitsubishi L200 leaving before me were clearly worried too, given their slow pace and back-and-forth manoeuvring but the Škoda was actually easier to pilot round than I’d been expecting.

The boot is definitely practical. It’s squarely shaped, completely flat and a great height for loading. It also comes with a flip-down section through to the rear seats, a plethora of pull-down hooks, a 12V socket and flippers both sides to plip down the seats – along with another one in the front door. With just days to go until the annual Middleton pilgrimage, it will be pressed into use.

Report 3:

We’re averaging around 290 miles of range per full charge

Some longer-distance journeys have seen our Enyaq perform well in recent months while also demonstrating its more frugal side when it comes to going through the electrons.

Our Great British Fleet Event in Milton Keynes late April was a good case in point. Work commitments meant that I left late the evening before the show and was highly unlikely to have any time to charge before heading back the next night, and not even when I got home in the wee small hours.

With 280 miles ‘in the tank’, a 220-mile round journey and no desire to stop anywhere in the dark to charge, I took it steady and completed the 110-mile trip using 117 miles of charge one way and 114 the other. The biggest challenge was not burning through range on motorways and dual carriageways, which entailed sticking to under 70mph. On rural routes, and even quiet suburban roads, keeping the range in parallel with the sat-nav mileage countdown was pretty easy.

That’s remained the case ever since and I’ve found that the figure for miles left is generally keeping pace with miles covered (albeit with the odd random leap). That’s surprised me as having a home charger now means I’ve got a trifle nonchalant generally and don’t tend to actively eco-drive as I did with other EVs when I was reliant on public chargers. Despite this, I’m still getting around 290 miles out of a ‘tank’ compared to the official figure of 348.

Range is definitely being helped by the eco setting in D mode with radar and smart sign recognition, whereby the car adjusts regen braking in line with the prevailing speed limit in D mode. It’s got clear eco benefits along with safety but is easily overridable.

The regen braking on the Škoda is easy to use and has three levels of assistance, again in D mode. But one thing that I’ve not got used to is the fact that the paddles to adjust it are fixed to the back of the steering wheel, not the column. If you’re steering into or out of a corner, the shifters are very often out of reach and I’ve had to just give up and use the brake pedal in some situations.

One other thing I like is that our Czech electric long-termer has an inbuilt cover for the Type 2 AC connector built inside the flap, which means you don’t need to worry about popping any cover back on again. Good old Škoda practical thinking.

Report 2

The return to electric motoring has on the whole gone extremely well and I’m embracing the opportunity to cut my carbon footprint and my motoring costs at the same time.

We did have a slight hiccup a few weeks after the Enyaq arrived when it suddenly came up with an error one morning. A rather scary looking message told me ‘Electric drive not working correctly. Stop vehicle safely.’ It also flatly refused to start.

A quick Google indicated that other drivers of other Enyaqs, as well as Volkswagen’s mechanically related ID.4, have also suffered the same issue but with some very different causes.

A very nice man from the AA came out but couldn’t sort the error and thought it was related to a software update. So the fully electric SUV headed back for a check-up with its Czech maker.

They say every cloud has a silver lining – and the issue with our silver Enyaq (well, Brilliant Silver Metallic) turned out to have a silver lining too as we ended up with a bright orange Enyaq vRS for some two weeks.

The pinnacle of the Enyaq line-up, it has two electric motors, giving all-wheel drive along with a hefty 340hp of power and 545Nm of torque. It also delivers a top speed of 111mph and a 0-62mph time of 5.7 seconds – making it the fastest-accelerating production Škoda ever made. Despite all that extra performance, its 77kWh battery delivers a WLTP range of 336 miles – only a smidge off the 348 for the 85 Edition with the same battery.

It also looks the part – from the in-yer-face Metallic Orange paint job, 20-inch alloys with aero inserts and sports bumpers, through to the vRS Suite design selection for the interior with carbon-look dashboard. My favourite bit – it came with the divisive Crystal Face grille that my husband and I argued over getting for our own Enyaq, ordered through a salary sacrifice firm before a series of delays put paid to plans.

I thought I would struggle with the return to our slower and less flamboyant original test car – which turned out to have a fault with one of the sensors connecting to the 12V battery. This was replaced as part of a sealed control unit. But in the end, heading back to the 85 Edition, with its 286hp, longer range and softer suspension was by no means a chore.

In fact, the biggest drop was with the actual price tag  – including all extras, our standard Enyaq comes out some £10k less than its haloed vRS brother, providing some veritable food for thought.

P11d (BIK): £44,485 (2%) RANGE: 348 miles ON FLEET: N/A EFFICIENCY: N/A

As our SEAT Ateca moves onto another team member, I’m now heading behind the wheel of a distant relation, slightly removed, in the form of the Škoda Enyaq.

Built on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform and closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4, the Enyaq launched early 2021 as Škoda’s second electric car and its first electric SUV. Also available as the more rakish Enyaq Coupe, it’s being joined by the Elroq compact SUV, an electric successor to the Karoq, which arrives later this year as the first of six new Škoda battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The brand has also newly previewed its Epiq entry-level crossover ahead of its 2025 unveiling.

Ours is the Enyaq 85 model, complete with a 286hp rear-mounted motor, giving a top speed of 111mph and a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds. Along with the all-wheel drive 85x, it sits above the entry-level Enyaq 60 but below the flagship dual-motor vRS model – which boasts 340hp and a 5.5-second sprint for the 0-62mph dash.

It was previously known as the Enyaq 80 but, as with most of the range, was given extra range, power and equipment for the 2024 model year.

In terms of vital statistics, the Enyaq 85’s 82kWh battery gives an official WLTP range of 348 miles and WLTP consumption of 4.1mpkWh. I’m not the greatest at hypermiling in ICE cars and my EV skills are a bit rusty so it’ll be interesting to see how the range fares – but luckily the Enyaq has rocked up as the UK weather (hopefully) is warming up.

Our Edition grade comes with a mighty long list of features, such as adaptive cruise control, heated front seats, keyless entry and LED Matrix headlights. In fact, too many to go into for this report. It’s also fitted with various design and comfort-orientated packages and options, bringing the total OTR price to £48,140. As always, it’s the brand’s signature Simply Clever features that I look forwards to the most.

Electric vehicles might not be everyone’s cup of tea but for me personally, after nearly two years of being back driving ICE cars, I can’t wait – not just for the elevated performance and technology that electric cars give but also to slightly escape that feeling of guilt every time there’s images of melting ice caps on the news.

As someone who does have a home charger fitted, I’m on the right side of the ‘driveway divide’. But having previously relied solely on public charging for the first five months of my last electric long-termer, I know that anything is possible if you want to make an electric car work.

Really looking forwards to the next five months.