Skoda Enyaq 80 review: Tesla-rivalling electric range comes at a price (msn.com)

 

They think it comes out well in comparison with the VW ID.4, including regarding some of the control ergonomics, but still not perfect.  I sat in an Enyaq last week, whilst my Karoq was being serviced and was impressed with the cabin ambience in the front.  However, as it is an SUV, I was expecting a more upright driving position, but presumably the undefloor batteries mean the floor has to be higher up.  Getting in & out is still likely easier than for a conventional low saloon as the seat is still higher up when compared to ground level outside.

 

Though the car looks better outside in the flesh than in photos I'd seen previously, I have to say I much prefer the ID.4 appearance and detailing touches externally - that new Skoda radiator grill!

 

I saw a review of the ID.4 last week and one thing i hadn't realised is how poor EVs seem to be for range on long distance drives - i assume this is universally true.  The quoted ID.4 range is 300+ miles and this was easily exceeded in about town driving, but the range was almost halved on a distance run at motorway speeds.  Both cars seem to be limited to a 99mph top speed, presumably to minimise the range issue.  I.C. cars are in a way the reverse, poor economy & range about town, but much better on long runs, even at motorway speeds, but even better if kept down to say 50mph.

Reviewers that are going to keep quote the charging speed on 50 kW chargers from 10-80% should then go drive on a motorway with the EV loaded wiith people or weights and see just how far they can go starting with 80% and needing to find the next charger.

 

So many people say they charge quickly to 80%.  That is great if you are not needing to get on with your journey of some distance and not do charger to charger journeys but actually get on with your day and use the car just as a means of transport, not a whole new lifestyle of hanging about public chargers.

50 kW/ 43 kW chargers not even giving that out are a PITA, then having 100 - 100 + charging speed and only the choice of 50kW chargers is a PITA.

 

 

As much a MPV as a SUV.  Multiple People Carrier if 5 people at a squeeze is Multiple. 

Sports or Suburban Utility Vehicle covers any car really no matter how many it can seat.

Time will tell who many have bikes on the roof or are towing jet ski's, quads / motorcycles etc.   

 

99 MPH is pretty fast in a country with a 60 mph NSL (50 MPH towing) and a max 70 mph on some roads, ie Dual Carriageway / Motorway.

 

The sooner there are more Estate Car EV's the better, better for practicality like load carrying and better for the vehicles range.

Not everyone needs tall vehicles to get into, lots of people have short legs.

Edited 27 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

Yes I agree that the ID.4 is a (slightly) better looking car, but the Enyaq would be improved no end by a re-style of the pointless grille. Horses for courses though, many people prefer the more traditional styling of the Enyaq.

 

Agree with Roottoot that 99mph is more than fast enough. EVs are affected by wind resistance and therefore speed, just as ICE cars are. The difference is in an ICE car you just don't notice it as much, as the 500 mile range at 60mph reduces to 425 or so at 70. I had an old Isuzu Trooper where you really noticed the difference - 33mpg at 60, 24mpg at 70! In my ID.4 driving 60 roads will give close to 300 mile range whilst a motorway run would reduce that to 250-ish at 70. The only thing that will improve highspeed efficiency will be a very aerodynamic body shape. It's no coincidence that Tesla are best for range and are all a similar shape - they have relatively good drag coefficients.

The SUV shape is very fashionable at the moment and fashion is not necessarily sensible, think high-heels, flared trousers or smoking

The Achilles heel of the SUV shape is the large frontal area and relatively poor drag coefficient. The Enyaq is quoted at 0.27 whereas the mk4 Octavia sedan is 0.25 and that is despite including a possible 30% penalty for the ICE engine radiator. You would think an EV optimised version of the Octavia sedan would achieve about 0.23 , maybe better?

The proposed Mercedes EQS EV is quoted at 0.2 but that efficiency is achieved at the expense of a jelly mould shape, although I personally don't mind it.

 

My ideal EV specification is not yet available:

Affordably priced 

Battery technology more simple and durable than current Lithium tech with no complex cooling/heating requirements for rapid charging, and also lighter than current batteries. 

Relatively small battery capacity with say a useable 50kWh capacity

Efficient aerodynamics and low weight that allow 500km cruising range at 100kph, although capable of cruising at higher speeds (with increased consumption).

 

There are some very interesting new battery chemistries that hold some promise for what I am looking for, but they are a few years from production.

 

I have yet to hear anyone i talk to that drives a BMW i3 for work or domestic, pleasure / leasure moan or complain about their range or charging speed or comfort.

They are a very well built vehicles that had become very expensive and yet overnight dropped thousands of quid because the UK Government changed the grant so BMW got them to under £35,000.   (i have heard plenty with a MINI moaning about the range of their BMW MINI, but in the main they knew that before getting them.)

 

Big & Fugly and people will be leasing/ subscribing in lots of numbers.

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

No drive so I have no easy domestic charging from the public highway and I'd need a long distance range of at least 400miles, preferable more at motorway speeds, for an EV to be viable for my purposes.  No doubt these will gradually emerge, but a plug-in hybrid may well be my next car, but in no hurry as hanging on to the Karoq for a good while yet.

 

Regarding SUVs v normal estate cars - agreed the latter can accommodate more stuff and particularly long loads, so they do suit some people better + the lower frontal area & maybe better Cd does improve economy & thus emissions, but not by all that much.  However, I've never liked low cars, they all seem like toys and climbing in and out of them is a chore as far as I'm concerned - even the Karoq seat fully up is an inch or two lower than ideal for my long legs when by a pavement, but just right for my wife, who has had 2 hip replacements.  She found ordinary saloons really rather awkward, particularly before the operations - sliding front doors would be even better for getting feet in and out, but I believe Peugeot found that too expensive to continue with.

 

I've gone off big cars ever since small car automatics have become so good, allied now with the spaciousness of modest sized SUVs/MPVs.  I so much prefer their compact length, just for manoevering around town and on country lanes and particularly for parking - just wish the Karoq was 2-3" narrower particularly for convenience in multi storey car parks.  Not a factor in low population density areas & country driving in Scotland I suspect.  Mind, the Enyaq does look rather long.

 

Anyhow this is all a bit of an aside for what is prompting me to write, this time.  The Independent really likes the Enyaq, the best car they've driven this year, bar a Merc S-type.

 

Car review: The all-electric Enyaq is brilliantly, impressively luxurious. And yes, those letters spell S-K-O-D-A (msn.com)

 

Spacious, Smart, Smooth, Quiet, Nippy & Gorgeous, they even say it looks better than the ID.4.  Well maybe that grill isn't too bad, but I'd argue with that last point, but i'd love to try one out.  (Yes E-root, 99mph is plenty fast enough, I didn't mean that as a downside).  It's a rather skimpy review though, for one thing, no mention of ride - I'm sure the S type does much better there.   Maybe in due course, DCC + more sensible smaller wheels with higher profile tyres (A-W preferably) and possibly the Adaptive anti-roll bars now available on the big VW SUV, will become possible, or even air suspension, though I suspect the last 2 do need a reasonable amount of range-depleting electical power to work.  The S type probably has most of these anyway and I bet it's just as heavy.

@croquemonsieur. Do you drive the like of 400 miles in 7 to 8 hours non stop?

@croquemonsieurDo you get 400 miles from your Karoq at motorway speeds? I only ever did that once on a particularly good run to Scotland in my 3 years of ownership and 37k miles. Even on that run we had 3 stops for breaks, pee, coffee, lunch etc. Everywhere we stopped had a rapid charger. This convinced me 250 mile range was more than adequate for an EV. (Remember the EV charges while you are getting lunch etc. No need to stand there like fossil fueling)

34 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

@croquemonsieur. Do you drive the like of 400 miles in 7 to 8 hours non stop?

 

I often see posts like this in EV threads, often saying a bladder will not withstand going for more than 2 hours without a relief stop, or sometimes even its dangerous to drive such distances in one day.

 

Well, this year as most years I have made half a dozen journeys to Heathrow which is a 375 mile round trip. Total trip time approx 6.5 hours. Granted I stop twice, once at Heathrow for no more than 5 mins to drop off or pick up my son. Second at some horrible service stop (often Leicester Forest east) for a maximum of 5 minutes to eat SWMBO's sandwich and have sip of water, solely because SWMBO would be irate I didn't eat it because of my well controlled (by tablets) Diabetes. Even though I have prostate problems, I don't have the desire to even venture to the toilet during the journey.

 

Fortunately my Superb has 800+ mile range so no need to use Motorway inflated priced services. BTW I have never seen a charger during my brief drive throughs at Leicester Forest East. However at one place somewhere near Bedford where my son insisted on buying a drive thru Starbucks something or other, as I drove out there must have been over a dozen or more chargers, the vast majority were Tesla superchargers and only one Tesla sat thete charging.

 

My son does ridiculous mileages travelling to/from TV O/B jobs. No time in the day to stop for recharging.

Plenty do ridiculous miles for work in EV's daily and seem to do OK in saving money and doing calls or online work while charging, or they have their break / food.

 

It is each to their own, but south of Perth in the UK really seems ready for EV long distance travel. Maybe the very bottom of the UK is another area with poor charging facilities.

 

Purple is Rapid Chargers.

Edited 31 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

14 minutes ago, e-Roottoot said:

Plenty do ridiculous miles for work in EV's daily and seem to do OK in saving money and doing calls or online work while charging, or they have their break / food.

 

When you have, on average, a 16 hour day including travelling, then adding a couple of hours (at best if you don't have to queue, or the charger is not working)  is not even worth considering for "saving money" which I'm pretty sure he would not anyway.

 

If he doesn't get to his job on time, he not only would lose the days pay, several hundred pounds, but could lose future work from the client, permanently, which could be 10+ thousands per year for ever. Live TV doesn't tolerate late arrivals because your transport arrangements are inadequate.

 

He eats at work during his breaks.

Edited 31 July, 20214 yr by xman

Not for you or your son then, but it takes all sorts.   Some that normally spend hundreds per month on diesel are in EV's now.

 

I see business owners & reps working regularly while charging, doing the orders etc and making their calls.

The are busy busy busy, taking a 45 minute stop and then getting on up or down the road.

 

EV's suit their type of work, and there are those that increased their fleet of EV's and employees because the type of orders they deliver time important might be from business that picked up because of the Pandemic.

Several drivers i see regularly are in the quicker EV's like Jag's, Audi & Tesla.  Bar codes for test samples are the kind of things they are delivering.

 

Planners and Technicians heading places, maybe flying out or sailing out to jobs once they get where they are going.

The customers or destinations often have chargers for the type of business users driving EV's for work..

Grants for vehicles, grants for chargers and HMRC / Tax Payers helping them drive prestige cars rather than ICE prestige cars or vans.

 

I meet one lady various places south of Perth who drives a Tesla, she is visiting her businesses from the Scottish Borders to north of Inverness and gets around them all each week doing what she needs to oversee or manage.

She stops, starts charging gets on with work and then sets off, if there is a charging issue she just moves on.

 

 

 

Edited 31 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

No RootToot, but I go to Bristol from just outside NE London every 4 weeks or so, at least I did in non pandemic times, staying over a few days, 300miles round trip + pottering about down their & excursions into Wales, Somerset etc.  I very much doubt there'll be charging places in that part of Bristol for a good time yet, if ever, as it's a near City Centre location, and finding parking itself can be a bit competitive in itself.  So finding & leaving the car somewhere for an hour or so to charge up & would not be close by & if not impossible, very inconvenient - would probably have to get a bus there & back - sounds like taking up at least 2 hours, but maybe facilities at large supermarkets will become a feasible option & reasonably priced, but even then I'd still have to ensure the car was more or less fully charged heading out from East London, so worries at that end too.

 

A few years ago, as my mother was growing infirm in her 90s and particularly once she moved into a home, I'd go to Derbyshire there and back in a day - 350miles overall.  Also, next week I need to go to near Llandudno from Bristol in one day, 450-500miles round trip - normally I'd stay over, but don't want to use hotels just yet.  I'd prefer to & make it a short breal & maybe will feel it's safer soon, but this winter could be risky for us grey revolution types, even if we have been double vaccinated and who knows how long Covid & it's mutations will last.  I suppose fast charging at motorway services might just make that Welsh journey feasible in the Enyaq, whilst I have elevens's, lunch & afternoon tea, but I'd be be getting range anxiety from the word go, worrying that charging spaces are not occupied & anyway, I'm keeping clear of services for now.  Hopefully charging station availability is a short term problem & no doubt EV range will grow year by year.

 

Yes Luckypants from a 1.0 DSG, does 46 - 50mpg actual, occasionally even as good as 53mpg, so 500mile range is not impossible and that's travelling at 70mph with a few bursts even occasionally up to almost 90 to get past a knot of traffic, but admittedly the upper consumption figure does include a substantial amount of 50mph distance while the M4 'not so Smart' motorway works continue - will they ever finish, taken at least 4 years so far.

 

Xman, I doubt I could go 6.5 hours without a comfort break & in normal times even for the 150mile journey to Bristol, we'd stop for a coffee.  I'm past boasting I can drive for hours on end without stopping, what's the point - I like driving, but not without breaks - morning coffee is one of life's many joys.  However, during the pandemic, we are doing the London - Bristol journey in one go, maybe 2.4 - 3 hours depending on traffic, but we are careful how much we drink beforehand, as most other times I stoke up with what seems like gallons of tea early on in the day.

Bristol does look like the Authorities have a long way to go with public charging in a short period of time.

 

Lots of Cities & large towns just need to get the park and ride & public transport sorted and dozens of chargers at the P&R if they want to keep traffic out of city centres, and then they need to get Hubs for Commercial Deliveries and last mile type deliveries by zero emission vehicles.

 

Edited 31 July, 20214 yr by e-Roottoot

My circumstances are maybe a bit unusual and no no doubt EVs do suit some - I do like towns & cities. but not that atracted to the usual suburbia & pleased to end up living where we do, even if it involves some compromises, particularly regarding garden size.  Neither location is good for running an EV in their present state of development.  In non-pandemic times, we use the very good Bristol local bus services a lot, very convenient & the best way to get around in cities (walk down there through leafy squares & bus back), but not at the moment...  Though where we spend most of our time is very pleasant and we wouldn't want to move, the edge of East London by Epping Forest is too far out & population density probably too low, to support enough local bus routes at a sufficient frequency for convenience.  Most local people a little further away from our town centre have bigger houses and gardens and drives with 2 or more cars, but we like being able to walk not too far from the centre.  2 or 3 houses down our road have managed to squeeze in a parking lot with big posh EVs in all of these, one jutting out into the narrow pavement, which I find annoying.

 

I think Citroen have brought out a 'Smart' like EV that would suit my pottering about in East London, as it would just about fit in our cottage front garden.  I have an allottment a couple of miles away and going there in the Karoq, as I do at present is crazy.  As well as cold starts, it's hilly + lots of stop/starting at traffic lights & through the town centre etc. so terrible for economy & engine wear - why I'd consider a hybrid if they could replace all that mechanical transmission complicated stuff with electrics.  But I'm instead going for a Mi-rider electrically assisted collapsible bike for now, as I can avoid all the busy roads and take short cuts partway along tracks, that are not available to cars & it's also an attractive route scenically, even if hilly (too much for unpowered bikes) - journey times will likely be a bit less than by car & it would then be worthwhile going there just to do the odd 1/2hr job, even twice a day occasionally + the ride might even do me good.  So I'm sort of getting in on the EV bandwagon.  Will also be useable sometimes  in hilly Bristol.  I'm not a cycling junkie though and unlike a friend who goes on long bike journeys such as East/West, coast to coast, with one or two others, I've no desire to emulate him, nor probably even consider moderately big journeys - no criticism meant, just not my choice.

 

https://mirider.co.uk/mirider-one-2021-the-best-rated-folding-ebike-on-bikeradar/

 

Re Magazine ratings, they do need taken with a pinch of salt.  They mirider might suit many but certainly not all.  Much like EV's.  You need to try before even considering buying.

3 hours ago, croquemonsieur said:

Xman, I doubt I could go 6.5 hours without a comfort break & in normal times even for the 150mile journey to Bristol, we'd stop for a coffee.  I'm past boasting I can drive for hours on end without stopping, what's the point - I like driving, but not without breaks - morning coffee is one of life's many joys.

 

Driving in the UK is not joy for me, its a necessary evil. When I'm alone in the car I just want to get home asap. UK service stations are grim places full of grim people and rubbish strewn all over. My morning coffee is served with breakfast at home.

 

When with the wife on a long journey, she'll always prepare or pre buy some sandwiches and sometimes a flask of hot fruit tea for consumption on the move. She is the one who might want a quick comfort stop at about 2 hours, but a quick in/out, she hates the places as for some reason it seems often women's toilets can be horribly filthy unkempt places with stuffed or broken toilets or no toilet paper (we always take a roll for such an eventuality). 

 

Years ago we regularly travelled the full length of Europe to visit relatives. Usually about 600 miles a day. 2 days to reach destination, overnight stop in a nice hotel/motel. No point in hanging around German rest areas too long, they were usually jampacked and unbearably hot in July or dangerously cold in Dec.

 

Hope to do that again once normality returns.........

I don't know, I find driving around in Wales very enjoyable, many of the A roads with sweeping bends seem to have good smooth tarmac surfaces and not too busy.  I imagine Scotland is still similar, just not been up there for years.  Some areas in England make for pleasant driving too & even like going up the M5 around Gloucestershire area, setting off early in the morning.

 

Agreed, I much prefer taking my coffee breaks at home or in winter particularly, city/town cafes, but then I'm a towny at heart.  I read that when the M1 first opened, before speed limits, the well off with fast cars (including the Beatles) used to blast up there for a coffee or a meal at Watford Gap and then blast down again.  Sounds a bit sad now, but I have to admit that when occasionally driving up the M1, I even look forward to stopping at the 'Gap' for breakfast or a coffee - Macdonalds or if feeling extravagent at Costalot, I must be one of those grim people.  But after less than 2 hours cocooned in any sort of tin box on wheels, however quiet & comfy it is, I just need to get out and stretch my legs and be outside even if just a short while.  it's even worse being a passenger, so boring on motorways.

 

Yes, most services are not nice, but the eco one on the M5 near Gloucester is rather pleasant, sitting by the lake, as long as you stay outside away from much of the the crowds, ditto the big one on the M40 near Beaconsfield.  I'd never eat a big lunch while travelling & not worth spending a lot - and it would send me to sleep, but a basic Mac cheeseburger & a coffee suffices & even that I look forward to it after being in the tin box a while.  Actually, I do enjoy driving, but you can have too much of anything after a couple of hours.

 

I have to say, blasting through Europe 600miles a day is not my idea of a holiday.  I find the getting there almost as enjoyable as being at the destination, lots of interesting places to see on the way in France & feels so refreshingly different to this country, not that I'm bored with Britain, it just makes a nice change.  200-300miles a day is then is my limit & do too hope I can get back to those days soon, hopefully old age and senility won't take over in the meantime.

Having got carried away, I meant to bring the thread more or less back on topic by noting that in the latest 'Which' - looking at EVs, they do like the ID 4 and talk about the superb ride comfort, which seems rather at odds from what I recall from other reviews.  They criticize the interior materials & infotainment though.  I am a bit wary of 'Which' conclusions, but VAG do well generally, with the Porsche Taycan top of the list and the Audi E-Tron being overall best for comfort + practicality (but middling overall).  Kia E-Niro & Soul EV in 2nd & 3rd places, but not particularly regarding comfort & Tesla 3 lower middling & X & S near the bottom, with talk of'woeful' reliability problems.  Enyaq not looked at yet.