Skoda Enyaq Review

If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember when Skodas were the butt of car jokes. That’s absolutely not the case now, with the brand flourishing under VW’s ownership. In recent years, Skoda’s been known for its practical, solid-feeling, good-value cars – which give you VW quality for less money.

So the Skoda Enyaq shares its ‘leccy bits with the Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4, as well as the Audi Q4 e-tron and Cupra Born. Of those, the Enyaq is the most practical and, arguably, the best value.

No, it’s not as tech-heavy as the Tesla Model Y, it won’t do 400 miles on a charge like the new Peugeot e-3008, and it’s not as stylish as a Kia EV6. But we’ve been living with a Skoda Enyaq for six months and, in that time, it’s become clear that it’s one of the very best electric SUVs you can buy. Especially if you’ve got kids to tow around.

It has Skoda’s handsome design language, and there are versions with a sportier body kit and an illuminated grille if that’s your bag. Interior quality and space are both top-tier, and it’s really pleasing to drive. A lot of thought and effort has gone into the Enyaq, that’s for sure.

We’re not sure how VW has allowed this to happen, but the Enyaq has a much nicer interior than its ID.4 cousin. Even the cheapest model has a full-width slab of fabric right across the dashboard, which continues down each side of the lower centre console. The different textures, natty design touches and big screen make the Enyaq feel modern and expensive.

The screen is a whopper, at 13 inches across. When the Enyaq was launched it boasted the biggest infotainment screen of any VW Group product. It’s generally pretty intuitive to use and boasts great graphics, although the system can take a while to load. Sat nav is one of the many included features, but a car this big should have a reversing camera fitted as standard in our opinion.

The Enyaq is almost the same size as the seven-seat Kodiaq but it’s a strict five-seater. That means there’s plenty of rear-seat space and a large boot as well. Whether you’re sitting in the front or the rear, you’ll have room to stretch out, with legroom and headroom both very generous indeed. Five tall adults will have no problem getting strapped in in the Enyaq.

As well as a load of useful cubbies and pockets throughout the cabin – plus a ski hatch to allow you to carry long items – the boot is huge. The 585-litre space is more than the Q4 and ID.4 offer – in fact, most midsize SUVs fall short of the Enyaq’s capacity. There’s also a space under the boot floor for charging cables.

Sitting beside the standard Enyaq is the Enyaq Coupe, which trades a little bit of practicality for a sleeker style. The Coupe still has 570 litres to fill, but clearly it won’t fit quite as much in if you have to load all the way to the roof.

Until recently, the Enyaq was available in 60 and 80 versions. Correspondingly, the 60 comes with a 58kWh usable capacity, and the 80 has a 77kWh battery for a longer range. Official figures stand at 255 miles and up to 336 miles respectively, so even the cheapest Enyaq should provide enough range for the majority of buyers. We’ve regularly seen around 200 miles from a charge in the Enyaq 60 in mixed driving.

Skoda regularly updates the Enyaq’s powertrains, improving things like efficiency and charging speed. All Enyaqs can now charge at 120kW at least, and four-wheel-drive cars from late 2023 offer 175kW of charging power – so a bigger-battery Enyaq might take less time to charge to 80% than a smaller-battery one.

The Enyaq won’t win many drag races, but it has enough power to feel brisk in day-to-day driving. Its instant power makes it effortless to get up to motorway speeds or to dispatch a quick overtake, and we don’t feel that a family SUV needs any more power than that. If you’d like a bit more punch, go for the range-topping vRS or for one of the post-2023 ‘85’ models.

If you want a car that’ll take all the stress out of driving, the Enyaq is perfect. Not only is it an automatic with the point-and-squirt acceleration that all electric cars have, but it goes further to make the daily commute as easy as possible. Come to a stop and give the brakes a prod, and the handbrake will come on automatically – instantly coming off as soon as you touch the accelerator. No rolling back or sitting on the brake pedal necessary.

The Enyaq can almost drive itself, especially if you pick a car with additional driver assistance features. The intelligent speed assist sounds intrusive but you quickly get used to the car slowing you down when you approach a 30mph zone, and the car will automatically keep you from getting too close to the car in front – even if cruise control isn’t on.

In terms of how the car actually drives, you wouldn’t call it fun but it is enjoyable and very talented. With the weight kept low down, there isn’t much body roll, and the steering is direct and light – but not overly light that you’re wondering what the wheels are doing.