2021 Skoda Enyaq IV 60

[domhnall]

So when I ordered the Enyaq back in March, the dealer took a gamble on allowing me to do so without committing to an order without a test drive.  We've known each other and I've been buying cars from him for 21 years so there's a degree of trust there but still I wasn't sure when I started the test on Satruday night whether I would be happy with the car. After all, I've come from driving a Tesla Model 3 which is supposed to be the best EV out there.  

 

So on Saturday I was handed the  key to an Enyaq 60 iv, ie the 58 kWh version, so it has  a battery that's 11 kWh bigger than my model 3 but it's less efficient. On Saturday evening it was 11 degrees and returned around 3.8 m/kWh on a mix of motorway and A roads. On Sunday it was about 16 and it returned 4.5 m/ kWh  (anythign above 4 is pretty good, but the Tesla used to give above 5 as it is a ridiculously efficient car). 

Bottom line, wow it's a good car. It's a real step up from the ID4 which I tested previously.

 

The infotainment is fast and snappy and the 13 inch screen is really clear. It's not a rocket ship like a model 3 but it's got that noitcable ev punch that makes it feel faster than an ice car. And it's incredibly quiet. Noticeably quieter than the model 3.

 

I only covered around 100 miles so I've not had masses of experience with it yet but the stand out feature for me is the adaptive regeneration. A lot of the reviews have said there's no one pedal driving. But the car reads the road ahead and works out whether it's best to coast or whether you need stronger regen. It works really well. It spots roundabouts and traffic lights and beefs up the regen accordingly. It does the same if there's a speed limit sign. It even spotted a 20mph sign where I was having to go through the central reservation into a contra flow. The car slowed automatically to 20mph. Very impressive.

 

The two annoying features I found were there's no battery percentage, just a miles guesstimate (which seems very accurate thankfully). No matter where you look all you can get is the guesstimated range and a battery graphic showing how many bars of charge you have. And when you're charging it doesn't tell you what kW rate you're getting from the charger, just how many mph are being added. There's an app you can use to tell you this but I didn't set all that up for a test drive.

 

It's bizarre that the sat nav shows you ev chargers and petrol stations though, maybe it's because they always have a shop you might want, or air for your tyres. I mainly used Google maps though. Or waze. I really just tried the car system for completeness.

 

The voice commands were fine when using google but the Skoda ones (aka Laura) were a bit more slow and ponderous. Whereas with google you say "hey google, navigate to X", with the Skoda one you say navigate to X and she says "ok what's the city", then "what's the street" etc. It all worked way better than the system in the Tesla but I think I'll stick with Google unless I'm adjusting the aircon etc. 

 

So am I sold? Totally. It's comfy, quiet, has a huge boot and it's smaller than my model 3. It's got a 9m turning circle, close to a London taxi turning ability.

 

My car has had lots of options selected whereas this one had nothing, it's the plain £32k car with zero options. If anyone is looking for a hatch back ev this is well worth a look. The dealer said that the Renault dealer next door remarked that this is just a couple of thousand more than a zoe, and went away looking worried 😂.

 

I'll let you know yes it goes when my actual car arrives and I can play with things like the HUD.

 

And as for the supercharger shot, it was juvenile but we were passing by and.... 😎

Edited 21 June, 2021 by domhnall

[SusansDad]

Taken your previous advice and have ordered the suite with the light headliner, just have to wait now for 15 weeks or so.  Thanks for the revue Domhnall 

 

[domhnall]

On 25/07/2021 at 15:49, SusansDad said:

Taken your previous advice and have ordered the suite with the light headliner, just have to wait now for 15 weeks or so.  Thanks for the revue Domhnall 

 

 

happy to have helped. My own car is here now and it is even better than the one I tested :-)

 

[FrankBear]

Just changed over from a 2018 Superb III Greenline SE L Executive Estate to an Enyaq iv60 Loft. They are both lease cars, so I didn't get to try either of them out before ordering, I just had to use the Skoda website to make decisions (at the time I made the decision to get an Enyaq, press reviews had not started to come through). I thought I would list a few first thoughts after one day of the new car, so that anyone else making a similar change is better informed. My first impression is that the Enyaq is quiet, quick off the mark and does what I need. 

 

I didn't specify any driver assist packages as they seemed over-priced. Time will tell if I really miss the adaptive cruise on the Superb. I specified the climate pack plus (heated windscreen is a must for me) and convenience std options. I have found it a bit difficult to work out how to switch on the heated screen (seems to be via the air conditioning system), but I enjoyed jumping into a preheated car for my morning commute by setting up the schedule. 

I went for the parking pack (rear camera is necessary as the rear window is high up), panoramic roof (family like it), the heat pump (Scotland, duh!), 19" Regulus Anthracite alloy wheels and the fast charging (although there doesn't seem to be much supply over 50kW just yet, I'm hoping there will be). 

 

However, the Superb is definitely the nicer car to be in, and some of the "simply clever" touches, like the boot lamp that can be removed and used as a torch, are missing from the Enyaq. The luggage cubby holes in the Superb are closed with flaps to make them neat, but the Enyaq's are open so everyone can see how messy you are when accessing the boot. I also reckon the storage capacity will be much lower without the little doors as I used to cram stuff in. There is more room in the Superb too, I have grown-up children over 6 foot tall, but they can still be fitted into the Enyaq. The boot space is just as wide in the Enyaq as it is in the Superb, but about 12cm shorter in length. The leather seats in the Superb seem softer; due to an ordering mix up, I got Loft seats instead of Suite ones but I expect I'll get used to them. 

 

 

Edited 1 December, 2021 by FrankBear
Remove number plate