Skoda Enyaq iV 80 Long Term review

I have to confess that unlike some members of the Electrifying team, I’m not the kind of person who spends all weekend with the cleaning kit. I prefer to spend any free time hitting the Cornish beaches with my dog and surf-loving son, so the Enyaq’s surfaces have been put to test with everything from sand to mud. And, so far, it’s been remarkably resilient.  

Our car features what Škoda calls 'Suite Design Selection (£1,380), which is one of the brand's highest interior trim spec levels. It comes with leather seats, piano black strips on the dashboard and a posh-looking faux leather dashboard with stitching. I have to confess that unlike some members of the Electrifying team, I’m not the kind of person who spends all weekend with the cleaning kit. I prefer to spend any free time hitting the Cornish beaches with my dog and surf-loving son, so the Enyaq’s surfaces have been put to test with everything from sand to mud. And, so far, it’s been remarkably resilient.  

When I knew I’d be running the Enyaq for six months, my first concern was the infotainment system. I was one of the first UK journalists to drive a very early Enyaq and I have to admit that the system wasn’t particularly good. Laggy, prone to crashes and needlessly complicated to use, it really let the rest of the car down. Although Škoda managed to dodge a lot of the flak that came Volkswagen’s way (the systems are fundamentally the same beyond the brand-specific graphics), it was still a concern when I first took the keys. 

The good news is that Škoda (and parent company Volkswagen) have clearly spent a lot of time fixing things. To the point where the whole system is now one of the best on the market. Although there was a brief feeling of deja vu when I tried to connect my phone and the system promptly crashed, it’s been plain sailing since then. It can go on a bit of a go-slow at times, and the speed at which the system ‘wakes up’ and connects to CarPlay isn’t great, but I like the shortcut button that allows you to create bespoke actions instead of going through multiple menus. For example, I’ve made the ‘switch off lane-keep assist’ a shortcut, which means one press of the icon is all it takes to deactivate it. 

I drive a lot of cars and sometimes one just surprises me because it feels like it's been developed with me in mind. The Enyaq is one of those cars. It’s not super exciting, it's not luxurious or sporty - it’s just really good to drive. 

So, there’s no start button which I love, you just get in, put your foot on the brake pedal, pop it into D (or if you’re me B mode) and off you go. I love how easy it is,

The ride is nice and smooth, the steering is direct and it's easy to place the Enyaq exactly where you want it on the road. I‘ve driven it on just about every kind of road you can name over the last six months and I’ve been equally impressed on all of them. The ride always feels nice and settled – thanks in part to our car’s smaller 19-inch wheels – and while there are sportier options out there, the handling balance is perfect for a five-seater family car.

I also think Skoda has nailed the regenerative braking, I generally put the Enyaq in B mode with full regen on and I can easily do most of my driving just using one pedal - which I love. The thought of all that energy feeding back into the battery just makes me happy!

The Enyaq is also one of those rare cars that seems to fit everyone. Electrifying’s resident ‘tall bloke’ Mike Askew is at the opposite end of the height scale to me, yet we’ve both remarked at how good the driving position is. There’s a lot of adjustment on both the steering wheel and the seats and it just feels like a car that has been designed with real people in mind. 

As I write this, I’ve just completed a nine-hour trek back from Cornwall – a trip that would usually guarantee an extra session at the chiropractors. But thanks to the Enyaq and those seats (which I want to transplant into my next car), I feel remarkably fresh.