Skoda Enyaq Coupe 85 Edition long-term test: an impressive start to life on the fleet

Verdict

Despite an early puncture, the Skoda Enyaq has been a delight. It’s a striking EV, with plenty of family-oriented touches and lots of space. I’m looking forward to some longer journeys to see what it can do.

• Efficiency: 3.3 miles per kWh
• Mileage: 882

A recent report from UK leasing company Zenith suggested that half of all electric-car drivers also have a petrol or diesel car as a back-up, and until recently that was the case for me. But no more. The arrival of a Skoda Enyaq Coupé 85 Edition in the Baiden household means we are now a fully electric family for the first time and I’m looking forward to seeing how we will cope over the coming months.

I have always had a petrol-powered car on the Auto Express fleet, so for the past few years I plumped for an electric car as our own personal back-up – currently a Hyundai Ioniq 5. I love it and find it perfect for short trips and medium-length journeys, but whenever it came to anything farther, I always resorted to petrol power. I found it the perfect way to introduce myself to the world of EVs and to gain a lot of confidence that many of the critics struggle with.

But now I have no choice other than to embrace the UK’s charging network. I’m actually excited about the challenge and have already planned some far-flung trips.

It was a bit of a bumpy start, though, because literally within days of its arrival, the Enyaq suffered a puncture. I called Skoda’s ‘Roadside Assistance’ scheme and someone from the AA arrived within the hour. A large nail was extracted, but unfortunately the tyre could not be saved. However, the hole was temporarily plugged and I was able to limp to a local garage.

An EV tyre is a curious thing, and something many independent garages still don’t fully understand. A nail in a tyre should be a simple £10-£15 puncture repair, but the acoustic foam lining present in most EV tyres is unable to be fixed once compromised. This means a new tyre is required, costing anything from £150 to £250. Finding one in stock is not that easy, either, which translates into extra time off the road as you wait a few days for delivery. Thankfully Skoda made it a pretty painless experience for me, but I’m not sure every EV owner would be so lucky (please get in touch if you have an EV-tyre story to tell).

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Since then it’s been smooth sailing with the Enyaq. Everybody in the family loves it because it offers plenty of space and it looks great, especially in the Velvet Red paint (a rather pricey £1,025 option). There are loads of great touches that make it a useful family car, such as the rollaway sun blinds that kids can operate themselves, and the umbrella stored in the driver’s door – something that Skoda’s been adding to its cars for years.

I had heard that the ride was a little harsh, especially in Coupé form, but I haven’t really had an issue with it. Yes it does fidget around a little over some of the larger bumps and ruts on the road, but it never feels out of control and I’ve always arrived at my destination feeling relatively fresh.

The 85 model arrived as part of the recent facelift, replacing the 80, and with it came a noticeable jump in power. It now has 282bhp (an increase of 81bhp) and it feels genuinely quick in a straight line; 0-62mph is dispatched in 6.7 seconds, but it feels faster than that in reality. Switch to Sport mode and the throttle is even more responsive.

However, one area I’m still not convinced about is the range. Skoda somewhat optimistically quotes 353 miles, but I’ve yet to get near that, despite our car having the optional heat pump fitted. I’ve averaged around 3.3 miles per kWh across a mixture of urban and motorway driving, which means closer to 250 miles from a full charge of the 77kWh battery; 100 miles less than the official figure is a little disappointing, but hopefully it will improve as the weather gets warmer. I still think I’ll struggle to get more than 300 miles, but time will tell.

Regardless, a range of 250 miles-plus is still more than enough for my needs. As mentioned, I have some longer trips planned, two of which involve travelling from my west London home to my brother’s house in Pembrokeshire. I should have enough to do it on a single charge, but will definitely look to top up en route. With some careful pre-planning, it shouldn’t be a problem, because an 80 per cent charge takes less than half an hour.