Living with a Skoda Enyaq Coupe vRS: how efficient is it?

By James Attwood

26 Apr 2023

The Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is the Czech firm’s first electric performance car, trying to blend driver-pleasing dynamics and power with all the practicalities of a large SUV.

We’re going to be running one for the next few months to find out how well it blends all those traits, and discover what it’s really like to live with.

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Anything you want to know about living with an Enyaq Coupe? Email james.attwood@haymarket.com and we’ll put it to the test.

Report 2, April 25 2023: how efficient is it on motorway journeys?

So far, the bulk for our mileage with the Skoda Enyaq Coupe vRS has been spent on the motorway, with some family commitments requiring a number of trips from MN Towers in Twickenham to Swansea in Wales via Somerset.

The Enyaq was the obvious choice for such trips, and not just because our other vehicle is a Citroën Ami (incidentally, that would make for a great window sticker…). Simply, the Enyaq is ideally positioned for eating up motorway miles, and really does prove that range anxiety really isn’t a thing any more.

The vRS model features a big 77kWh battery, which results in an official range of 309 miles. Now, predictably you won’t actually get that figure, especially if the bulk of your miles are done at motorway speeds. In fact, the biggest number we’ve seen on the dashboard range indicator is 252 miles, and that’s with a completely full battery and the car in Eco mode with the air con turned off.

Still, that’s an improvement: our colleagues at Autocar spent a few months in the Enyaq warming it up for us, and in the cold winter months rarely saw more than 230 miles on the dash. If you’re an EV driver, and especially if you haven’t got a heat pump, warm weather is your friend.

The good news is that the range shown on the dash is generally accurate, so long as you follow some common sense tips to maximise your mileage: gentle acceleration, use the brake regen liberally and so on. We staged one 200-plus mile journey without charging along the way, and still had enough charge left over that I didn’t feel the need to start hunting out charging points as soon as I arrived at my destination.

As the weather has warmed up, we’re averaging around 3.0 miles per kWh, which is solid for a sizeable coupe-SUV if not class leading. As noted, that does cover a lot of motorway miles, and the Enyaq does appear notable more efficient in slower speed city driving.

As an aside, our M4 motorway munching in the Enyaq also shows how quickly the UK’s charging network is expanding. Around a year ago, we were regularly making the trip in a Citroën e-Berlingo, with a range that rarely eclipsed 140 miles. That meant a charge along the way was usually required for our own confidence, and that could be difficult: while most of the M4 service stations did have Gridserve chargers, there were usually only one or two per site, and they were often broken.

Now? Well, there are now huge installations at both the east and westbound Reading Services, and more chargers at a few other locations along the way. Plus, there are some useful chargers from Ionity, Osprey and other firms at handy locations just off the motorway.

It’s notable progress, and it means on the occasions we’ve had cause to charge the Enyaq on our travels, we’ve rarely had a problem finding somewhere to plug it in. That makes it easier to adopt an approach of shorter chargers whenever we stop, giving the battery a quick boost rather than ramming it full, because we’re confident we can find another charge when needed. Seriously, you can get a decent amount of charge in an Enyaq in the time it takes to have a quick toilet break and grab a coffee.

The only downside of this motorway mileage is that, while we can affirm the Enyaq Coupe vRS makes for a very competent cruiser, we’ve yet to really see how it performance as a dynamic performance model when the road gets twistier. So it will soon be time to leave the motorway and find some B-roads…

Report 1, April 8 2023: meet our new Enyaq Coupe vRS

The first thing to say about our new Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is that we’re not going to lose it in a car park. Given we also have a Citroën Ami in full Move Electric branding we’re used to being started at by driving. But, if anything, our new Skoda might take things to another level.

Seriously, just look at those photos: it’s bright. It puts most highlighter puns to shame. We’ve decided to call it Kermit, although hopefully we’ll be able to disprove its namesake’s theory that it’s not easy being (lime) green.

REVIEW: Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV

But if you can somehow look beyond that paintwork, there’s plenty of interest about our new Skoda – and much of it surrounds the little vRS badge that sits on the boot lip. For the uninitiated, vRS (or just plain RS in Europe; in the UK it had to be adjusted because of Ford’s hot RS line) is the badge given to Skoda’s performance models, which have achieved cult classic status in the UK.

Models such as the Octavia vRS has managed to offer a potent combination of practicality and performance at a comparatively affordable level, and without the fuss that accompanies many souped-up hot cars. If you spot a neighbour with an Octavia vRS, you gave them a polite, knowing nod of approval.

The question is how that badge will translate to the electric age. While it’s easy to offer plentiful performance with an EV, thanks to the limitless torque and instant power electric motors offer, heavy underfloor batteries mean it’s so far proven harder for car firms to produce a car that offers the handling and feel of a performance car.

The Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is Skoda’s attempt to do just that. It’s basically the range-topping model in the Enyaq Coupe line-up, so it’s a big SUV that trades a bit of boot space and practicality for a slightly sportier-looking coupe roofline.

So you get two electric motors that combine to offer four-wheel-drive and produce a potent 220kE. That gives the machine a 0-62mph time of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 111mph, so the specifications certainly tick the performance box.

The machine uses the biggest battery in the Enyaq range, which has 77kWh of capacity and has an official range of 309 miles. Predictably, you won’t get anywhere near that official range if you try to hit that 0-62mph acceleration time on a regular basis.

The initial impressions are good. The VW Group’s MEB platform makes for some thoroughly decent cars, and in our view Skoda has ensured that the interior of the Enyaq is among the nicest of the machines built on it. The central touchscreen is big, but the surrounding buttons are easy to access, and there’s a quality feel to the interior materials.

The only real criticism of our vRS model is that the interior is a bit drab and dull, but that could just be because our retinas have been fused by the vivid exterior paint colour.

On first impression it’s pleasant to drive too. The powertrain is predictably responsive and smooth, and there’s enough acceleration for all our needs. Our initial reaction is that the ride is a bit firm around town, but that’s in part because Skoda has stiffened it up somewhat to help meet that vRS performance brief. The hope is the trade-off will be improved handling and performance when we get to some more flowing, countryside roads.

That performance does come at a price: the Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is priced from £51,885. That might be less than some similarly powerful hot EVs, but it’s still a good chunk of money. So much like our bright machine can’t really qualify as an ‘understated’ performance car, you can’t really call it a hot budget bargain like some classic vRS models.

Plenty to delve into in the coming months, then: the Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is the sort of car that raises lots of interesting questions. Even if the one we’ve heard most so far is ‘did you pick that colour?’