Skoda Enyaq iV 80 Long Term review

All white now?

But there was a much harder task first – we needed to choose the specification. The boy and girl racers among us were keen for a vRS Coupe, but while the swoopier looks are undeniably more attractive and more aerodynamic, it’s not nearly as practical. The Enyaq’s big boot is a big part of its appeal, so we went for the SUV. 

And while the vRS would be good fun, we value efficiency too, and would feel a bit silly on longer journeys if we needed to stop and charge just short of home, when the standard car offers an extra 18 miles of range.

So with that decided, the next choice was the colour. Except there was no choice. When we ordered the car a few months ago there were still waiting lists, and the Enyaq is a car which people were prepared to queue for. So we either ordered from the factory and waited or took something from stock and got it faster. 

We went for speed, and got white. Did we make the right choice? Well it certainly seems to be cooler in the hot weather. But it’s certainly not the most flattering of colours and looks a bit, well, utilitarian. We might have a fix for that though, so stay tuned.

Other than that the car has been as good as we expected, with efficiency hovering around the high threes to low fours in miles/kWh. That equates to an empty-to-full range of around 290 miles in summer conditions. I reckon 300 should be possible on a good run (of which we have plenty planned this year.) Our car has the optional (£1,025) heat pump fitted, so it will be interesting to see if this helps reduce the cold weather range drop-off when winter arrives. 

So far it’s been charged at home almost all of the time, but the one time I tried a quick top up on a rapid it happily took 80kWh. That’s off the claimed 120kW maximum, but meant I had enough charge after a coffee break to get me home.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know the Enyaq because we're big fans already. The Czech SUV impressed us enough to award it Family Car of the Year in our annual Electrifying.com awards, and its become a real benchmark car for quality, price and practicality since its launch. The phrase, ‘yeah, but is it as good as an Enyaq?’ is a frequently used one at Electrifying HQ, which gives you some idea of how highly we rate it. 

We also know that is has some serious long distance chops. Deputy Ed Mike drove an Enyaq 80 identical to ours back from the UK launch in Inverness in 2021, stopping only twice on a 600 mile, 13 hour mileage marathon. Any electric car that can do that without breaking sweat is worthy of being on any buyers shortlist.

Sadly, though, my grip of the keys has already slipped. Boss Ginny has earmarked the Enyaq for the rest of the loan period, so it had better be prepared for countless trips to Cornwall and dashes to filming locations around the country. 

About our Enyaq

Our Enyaq 80 comes with a list price of £42,925 and comes with a chunky £4,835 of options that lifts the price to £47,460 as tested. The options include Climate Package Plus (£325), Moon White Metallic paint (£660) and Comfort Seat package (our backsides thank you Škoda!). Our car also comes with what Škoda calls 'Suite Design Selection (£1,380)' which is one  of the brand's highest interior trim spec levels. It comes with leather seats, piano black strips on the dashboard and a posh-looking faux leather dashboard with stitching. It all looks very premium and hard-wearing for now, but we'll have to wait and see if a summer with the team will take its toll. Let's hope not...