Skoda Enyaq iV first drive | an impressive overall package

It may be relatively late to the battery electric vehicle (BEV) party, but Skoda has made its entrance in style with the Enyaq iV.

The SUV joins plug-in hybrid versions of its Superb and Octavia models in the manufacturer’s iV electric vehicle sub-brand, with the latter highly commended in the Best Plug-in Hybrid Car category in this year’s Fleet News Awards.

The Enyaq, too, should be a success with company car drivers by offering the family-friendly practicality for which Skoda has become known in an SUV package, as well as the 1% benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rate for zero-emission vehicles.

About the same size as the Octavia, it offers oodles of interior space: there’s plenty of head- and leg-room both front and rear, while the boot is a vast 585 litres.

Enyaq’s driving range adds to its usability. It is available with two battery sizes, a 62kWh and 82kWh, and these are fitted, slightly confusingly, into the Enyaq iV 60 and the Enyaq iV 80 respectively. The 60 has a WLTP combined range of 256 miles, with the 80 offering 333 miles. The 62kWh battery model has a 177PS motor, and the power output rises to 204PS for the 82kWh vehicles.

Both can charge at up to 11kW from an AC charger, meaning that a full charge from a 7.4kW wallbox will take either nine-and-a-half hours or 13 hours, dependent on the battery.

As standard, both battery sizes are fitted with an on-board 50kW DC charger, giving the 60 models a 0-80% charging time of 55 minutes. The 80 variants will take 70 minutes for the same charge.

The 60 can be specified with an optional 100kW charger for £440, cutting this time to 35 minutes, while the 80 is available with a 125kW onboard unit. This means the same charge takes 38 minutes.

Enyaq is available in six interior specifications – Loft, Lodge, Lounge, Suite, EcoSuite and SportLine – which differ in terms of upholstery, decorative trim and dashboard materials to deliver a different feel.

A number of option packs can then be specified to enhance equipment levels, covering areas such as comfort, convenience and safety.

Whatever the trim level selected, the interior is dominated by a 13-inch touchscreen, while standard equipment across all models includes sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, LED headlights, autonomous emergency braking, cruise control, parking sensors, climate control and Keyless Go.

P11D prices start from £34,440 for the Enyaq iV 60 Loft, rising to £42,845 for the range-topping 80 SportLine.

We drove the Enyaq iV 60 Loft, 80 Loft and 80 Suite models and the quality of cabin build and materials used was consistently high throughout the range.

The 80 models are, unsurprisingly, the quickest, but only by a tiny margin: according to Skoda, they take 8.2 seconds on the 0-62mph sprint, just 0.2 seconds less than the 60’s time.

Based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, on the road the Enyaq provides plenty of comfort and, despite its bulky 2.5-tonne weight, handles well, partly due to having a low centre of gravity as the battery is mounted low down in the floor.

How it drives is unlikely to be a major factor for someone looking for an electric SUV, with practicality and low BIK tax much higher priorities, but it is the icing on the cake of what is an impressive overall package.

Specification shown for Skoda Enyaq iV 80 Lounge