Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Skoda Enyaq iV vRS Coupe
Pricing: From £51,885 as tested
Electric system: 220kW twin-motor electric system with 77kWh battery
Transmission: single-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Body style: five-door, five-seat coupe-SUV
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
Range: 310 miles
Top speed: 111mph
0-62mph: 6.5 seconds
Power: 299hp
Torque: 460Nm
Boot space: 570-1,610 litres
What's this?
This is the Skoda Enyaq Coupe - a rather handsome, chopped-roof version of Skoda’s deservedly popular electric Enyaq SUV. In taking a slice of the rear roofline, Skoda has managed to achieve that which has eluded even the mighty BMW, in that it has actually created a handsome slope-roofed SUV. OK, so such a car might be inherently pointless (why would you spend extra on a big, heavy car to make it slightly less practical?) but you’ve got to admit this is a good-looking thing.
Even better is the fact that this is the vRS version, so it’s Skoda’s first overtly sporting electric model, and inheritor of the mantle established by the quasi-legendary Octavia vRS, and the slightly-less-legendary-but-still-pretty-good Fabia vRS and Kodiaq vRS. To help you spot it - from at least a mile off - Skoda has helpfully painted this one in a striking green colour called ‘Hyper Green.’ It’s awesome - like someone turned the Incredible Hulk into a friendly Czech electric car - but thankfully for those with sensitive retinas, it’s also available in less overt hues. The vRS does get special body styling though (mostly new bumpers front and rear), along with gloss black details and badging, and optional 21-inch alloys that look rather nifty. There’s also the light-up ‘Crystal Face’ grille, which is either totally awesome or appallingly tacky and we can’t quite decide which. All of the new Enyaq Coupes get body-colour lower cladding, and an all-glass roof that uses thermal insulation so that it doesn’t need a bulky and headroom-robbing sunblind.
Inside, aside from some lovely bucket seats in the front, and lashings and lashings of Alcantara suede on the dash, the cabin is basically the same as that of a cooking Enyaq, and that’s no bad thing. Quality levels are high (arguably, this feels better-made than an equivalent Audi Q4) and the big 13-inch touchscreen looks impressive. It’s actually more impressive than it used to be, as Skoda has upgraded the software, which has brought with it a more sensible menu layout, and over-the-air updates. There’s also improved battery management for faster charging (which now goes up to 135kW) and extra safety systems including emergency steering assistance, more intelligent lane keeping, lane changing on the motorway, and an up-gunned parking assistant that can remember your favourite parking spots, and effortlessly slip into them. Helpful cabin tech includes wireless phone charging, lots of USB-C sockets, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections, which are also wireless. You also get a nice heads-up display, which includes some extremely helpful augmented reality arrows for the navigation. Oh, and the navigation will now automatically route you via the most convenient charging stations on a longer journey. Owners of older Enyaqs will be able to upgrade, for free, to the new software later this year.
The rear compartment of the Enyaq Coupe hasn’t suffered from the coupe conversion. In fact, Skoda says that headroom remains unchanged, thanks to the clever glass roof, although you will feel a little cosier back there. The lengthy legroom of the standard SUV model remains. In the boot, there’s 570 litres of luggage space, which is less than the 585 litres offered by the regular Enyaq, but it still what we’d call ‘lots.’ Fold the back seats flat (there’s a lever in the boot for that) and you’ve got 1,610 litres if you pack it to the roof, which again is less than the 1,710 litres of the bigger Enyaq, but again still plenty. Will Skoda ever make an impractical car? Doubtful...
How does it drive?
The standard Enyaq is an impressively smooth thing, gliding over the worst road surfaces with an almost Rolls-Royce-esque demeanour. The Enyaq vRS Coupe isn’t as good at this. The 21-inch rims don’t help, but there’s also lower, stiffer suspension than that of the SUV Enyaq (the regular, rear-drive Enyaq coupe also gets the same setup) so you feel more of the road surface than in the standard car. It’s not rough, just a bit stiffer. If you’ve got the optional adaptive dampers set to Comfort, then it’s still a pretty smooth thing.
Switch over to Sport, and the Enyaq vRS starts to come to life a little more. The front electric motor starts to chime in more than it does in Normal, Comfort, or Eco modes and the whole car tautens up and starts to feel a little zippier. Not quite zippy enough, though. With 299hp and 460Nm of torque, the Enyaq vRS isn’t exactly slow (0-62mph in 6.5 seconds is alright...) but because it’s a chunky thing, and weighs 2.3 tonnes, it never feels all that fast. The early low-down urge typical to electric cars fades quickly to a rather more reserved sense of shove. It’s free from drama - thanks to impressive levels of traction and grip from the four-wheel drive system - but equally not what you’d call thrilling.
The same goes for the handling. On initial turn-in to a corner, the Enyaq vRS feels agile and biddable, but it soon lapses into consistent understeer, and while the steering wheel is well-weighted, it doesn’t give you much feel which saps a touch of confidence. The Enyaq vRS is sure-footed, stable, and utterly solid on the road, but it’s not actually much fun. A Tesla Model Y obliterates it in a straight line, while a Mustang Mach-E does a better job of pivoting around the driver’s hips in a fast corner.
On the upside, the Skoda is hugely refined and incredibly comfortable, so a long journey becomes a thing of pleasure. You just sit back, relax in that big bucket seat, and let the optional Canton 12-speaker stereo assault your ears.
The good news is that the battery will take quite a while to run out. Skoda claims a one-charge range for the vRS of 310 miles, which is pretty good, and the worst available range we saw during our test - which included some vigorous mountain road driving - was 233 miles on a 90 per cent battery. However, you can do better. The ‘regular’ Enyaq Coupe uses the same 77kWh battery, and has the 204hp rear-drive, single motor setup from the standard Enyaq. Thanks to its more aerodynamic body, the standard Coupe has a one-charge range of 335-miles, which should see you through most journeys you might undertake. Hook up to a rapid charging point and, with that increased 135kW charging speed, you’ll have an 80 per cent full battery again in around 30-minutes.
Verdict
Skoda has probably set our sights a bit too high by labelling this Enyaq Coupe as an RS - really, it’s more of a GT with attitude, which is fine but perhaps not quite as thrilling as we were hoping (especially given the £50k+ price tag). That said, it’s hugely likeable thanks to its good looks, lovely cabin, assured performance, and practicality. We even like the colour...
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
