Heading 1: Skoda Enyaq iV Coupé: A Stylish Family EV
Skoda’s Enyaq iV Coupé is a stylish and spacious electric SUV that has been a big success for the Czech car maker. Launched as part of Skoda’s first foray into the growing electric SUV market, the Enyaq iV Coupé has helped to push Skoda to become the sixth most popular brand in Europe in 2022. With a focus on style to win over customers, the Enyaq iV Coupé is available in four trims, but we’re testing the middle-of-the-pack Suite-trim Coupé.
Heading 2: The Suite-trim Coupé: A Premium Feel
The Suite-trim Coupé is a mid-range trim that offers a premium feel for a small price increase. For £1380 more than the standard Loft trim, you replace cloth and artificial leather with a soft black leather across the dashboard and doors, as well as gaining leather-clad seats. However, the lack of electric seats at this price point feels both odd and a bit cheap. Our car also gets Race Blue metallic paint (£660) and the Clever package (£2755), which adds keyless entry, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats, a host of other tech, and a rather lovely two-spoke steering wheel. All up, this rolls off the forecourt at £49,620.
Heading 3: Spacious and Practical
At 4653mm long and 1879mm wide, the Enyaq iV Coupé offers a heck of a lot of space. With two six-foot adults in the front, there is more than enough leg room for another two adults to sit comfortably in the back. Three is doable too, but it’s just a bit more of a squeeze. Headroom is also generous, despite the raked roofline. Another key feature for a family is storage space, and the Skoda again delivers. The EV offers 570 litres of boot space, way more than a Volvo C40’s 413 litres. With the seats down, this increases to around 1700 litres. Oh, and speaking of storage space, if it is raining, there is an umbrella that sits inside the door, so no need to bring your own. Points for quirkiness, too.
Heading 4: Infotainment Tech
Skoda’s infotainment tech uses the same fundamental system as other Volkswagen Group brands. In a textbook case of form over function, you browse through certain settings by rotating a picture of the car, and turn up the volume by using a touch-sensitive slider rather than a handy and easy-to-use knob – and without a backlight, this slider is quite difficult to see at night. The tech also crashed on me when I attempted to leave the Android Auto screen, which I found I preferred to use, especially when navigating. Regardless, the majority of usage with the huge, 13.0in infotainment screen – which, without many buttons, is home to the majority of the car’s functions – is relatively painless, especially while driving.
Heading 5: Driving Experience
On the road, the Enyaq iV Coupé is pleasant to drive. Yes, it is big, but its nimble steering makes life much easier than the car’s size should allow. It also offers some feel, which is most welcome. During our test, the car’s range, displayed on the VW-derived digital display, also held true to Skoda’s claim, which is pleasing. This is probably in part down to the Enyaq Coupé’s limited poke: 201bhp from a single rear-axle-mounted motor. The Coupé also has a rather superb regenerative braking/one-pedal driving mode, which again makes saving those electric miles all the easier.
Heading 6: Downsides
The biggest annoyance with the Enyaq iV Coupé is its harder ride compared with its Swedish counterpart, with potholes needing to be looked out for, rather than taken in your stride. The car also struggles slightly with body roll, which wouldn’t normally be an issue, but the lack of support from the seat, especially in the shoulders, makes it worth mentioning. The inability (or difficulty finding how) to turn off auto-hold also came to the fore during our test: reversing off an inclined driveway took a number of attempts because the car refused to roll, and stopped dead when the brake was touched.
Heading 7: Final Thoughts
The Enyaq iV Coupé is a very good everyday family SUV, with enough range to get from A to B and then to head off to C and back again to A. Its price means it will be compared with the more luxurious Land Rover Discovery Sport, which in Dynamic SE and with a much more hassle-free diesel-hybrid powertrain, starts from around £50,000 – a grand more than the Skoda. But, with the electric future inbound, the Skoda offers what the Land Rover doesn’t: future proofing. And if fuelled with a home-mounted charger, the cost of travel – a key point for any family – will, over the course of a year or more, be significantly reduced over petrol and diesel rivals.
