Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV vRS 2023 Review

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

Skoda has chosen a particularly eye-piercing green as the default colour for the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV vRS. The company clearly wants you to think this is a special car. The Coupe is basically a regular Enyaq iV with a slantier fastback rear, and the vRS is the most powerful version in the range, ahead of the 80x. Usually, a Coupe version sacrifices rear passenger and boot space in favour of looks. How much do you lose with the Skoda version, and does the vRS have enough to warrant its performance badge?

Price and Options

There are four versions of the Enyaq Coupe iV, starting with the basic 80. Then there’s a SportLine Plus variant of the 80, a Sportline Plus 80x, and finally the vRS we test drove. The 80 is a rear-wheel-drive car with 201hp, whereas the 80x is all-wheel-drive with 261hp. The vRS ups the four-wheel-drive power to 295hp. All versions have a 77kWh net battery capacity. There is no 60 version of this car with a smaller battery and less powerful motor, unlike the original Enyaq iV.

All Enyaq Coupe iVs have a solid basic spec, including a panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors with a rearview camera, and a large 13in infotainment display with connected satnav. There's basic speed limiting cruise control, too. Upgrade to SportLine Plus and you get the VW Group's brilliant Matrix LED headlights, an electric tailgate with kick opening, adaptive cruise control and a bundle of more advanced safety features we will go into later. Apart from the extra power and Crystal Face front, the vRS adds primarily aesthetic touches over the 80x SportLine Plus.

The basic Coupe colour is blue. Then there are some sober blue, grey, white, silver and black metallics for £660, and a velvet red option for £1,045. The vRS has its own paint options, however, with the bright lime green colour of our test vehicle the default choice. It's called hyper green, but you can get the more sober colours for no extra cost, and the velvet red is £390, as is an orange, which is about as bright as the green.

You get 19in wheels with the basic 80, 20in with the SportLine Plus, and a different 20in wheel design called Taurus with the vRS. You can upgrade every car to larger options, however, and 21in rims are also available, which is what our car had – a £620 option for the vRS. These are called Vision.

Skoda’s cars usually also offer a confusing array of add-on packages, and the Coupe iV is no different. These also vary in availability and price depending on the base trim you've chosen. The choices range from a £2,000 Advanced Package, which includes a head-up display, the Clever package for £2,755, Maxx Package for £4,000 and Plus Package nearly £5,000. You can also add a heat pump for £1,025. Our car had four of the less expensive optional packages (Comfort Seat Package Plus for £620, Infotainment Package Plus for £780, Climate Package Plus for £315, and the upgraded CANTON sound system for £400). But you get so much as standard with the vRS it still felt fully loaded. The vRS includes a Head-Up Display, for example.

Skodas are generally quite reasonably priced, and the original Enyaq iV did set a bit of a price precedent for an electric SUV, albeit transcended since its launch. The Coupe iV is not hideously priced, but it’s hardly cheap either. The basic 80 starts at just under £45,000. The SportLine Plus adds £5,500, and if you want the dual-motor 80x that's another £2,000. The vRS starts at over £54,000, and our test vehicle was £57,025 with its options.

That feels like Mercedes territory, but EVs still have a considerable premium attached, and the obvious comparison for a car in this class is the Tesla Model Y. The Rear-Wheel Drive Tesla Model Y costs the same as the entry-level Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV 80. The Y is faster but has 22% less range, which for some people will be an important factor.

The Long Range Model Y costs the same as the Skoda 80x SportLine Plus, and offers similar range and faster performance, making it a superior choice. However, the vRS is only £2,000 more. It's still not as fast as the Tesla but has a bit more character. It's worth noting that Volkswagen's own fastback SUV, the ID.5, is a lot more expensive than the Enyaq Coupe iV at every trim level. Overall, the Tesla Model Y will be the superior car for most people. But the Enyaq Coupe iV is a contender, even if it's not an outright bargain.

Skoda has also recently announced that there will be an updated version of the Enyaq iV in 2024 using Volkswagen Group’s improved drivetrain. This will arrive in an 85, 85x and updated vRS. The latter will have 335hp. The new Coupe vRS will have 16 miles more range, too. The battery size will remain unchanged, however.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

From the front, the Coupe looks exactly like the regular Enyaq iV. The vRS has the Crystal Face option as standard, which is a lit plastic grille between the headlights. It’s not there for air ventilation, but entirely to add some extra bling to the frontal appearance. People will definitely see you coming at night when it’s illuminated.

The sloping fastback is the biggest difference between the Coupe and the regular Enyaq iV. Automakers are now calling pretty much any vehicle with a slopy rear a coupe. This denomination used to refer to a car with just two doors and two seats, but that has been expanded to four seats and SUVs, which is a stretch. But then again Ford is also making electric SUVs with a Mustang branding, so we clearly live in topsy turvy times.

We think Coupe SUVs can be a mixed bag. The Volvo C40 pulls the format off well, but the BMW X6 looks a bit odd and we’re not entirely convinced by Volkswagen’s ID.5 either. The Enyaq iV Coupe, however, is an improvement over its non-Coupe sibling. The standard car looks incredibly functional and is certainly very practical, but not exactly exciting. The Coupe adds a little bit of sportiness, which lifts the appearance considerably. The question is how this compromises the basic Enyaq iV’s interior space.

Interior Comfort

Skoda’s interior designs are a bit more traditional than parent company Volkswagen’s own EVs, although there are still recycled material options. The basic coupe has four interior design choices, but the SportLine Plus only has one and the vRS two. Our review car came with the standard covering for the vRS, but there is a microsuede upholstery option as well. The seats initially feel a bit firm but provide plenty of support during a long journey.

There is plenty of space in the cabin, and if you like your interiors not too futuristic, there are still some discrete buttons. Both front seats are electrically adjustable and have memory slots. They're heated, too, as is the steering wheel. The driver’s seat also has a massage function, operated via an innocuous button on the side of the seat next to the memory functions.

There’s a small cubby in the central console with two cupholders in front, and another cubby with a deep removable tray under the armrest. The cupholders are a bit close to the buttons at the front, however, so if you put a long bottle in one of these it could get in the way. You get a wireless phone charger with the vRS as standard. While there is a second space it isn't for charging and isn't large enough for a handset as big as an iPhone Max. However, Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto supported, so you can just drop your phone onto the pad, once it's paired, and make use of the connection. There are even a couple of little slots for pound coins, which seem a little superfluous in this era of cashless economy. There’s a lower tier with some storage in the central console too. The glovebox inexplicably only uses half the width of the door for the actual compartment, however.

One of the first problems with the coupe format over a regular SUV is that the rear roofline could make the door less easy for ingress and reduce headroom. However, this isn’t noticeably the case with the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV. The rear seats haven't been adversely affected by the slanting roof. Not only is it still easy to get into the rear, but the reduction in headroom isn't significant. Knee-room is great too. The panoramic sunroof further adds to the sense of rear space.

The middle seat, as with most cars, is thinner and less comfortable but its back can be pulled down to make an armrest with twin cupholders. The vRS trim level also offers three-zone climate control, so rear passengers can set their own temperature and fan level. Strangely, there are no USB ports in the rear as standard – you need the Family Package Basic for that – but you do get heated rear seats. The two outer rear seats offer ISOfix points as does the front passenger seat.

Storage and Load Carrying

The non-Coupe Enyaq iV has an enormous boot, and this could be an area where the Coupe compromises on this class-leading feature. The slanty roof will reduce the capacity if you pile things high, but not by much and there is still a huge amount of space here. There is a kick release on the vRS boot, which all Coupe trims but the basic 80 include.

Despite the slant, you still get 570 litres of boot capacity with the rear seats up, just 15 litres fewer than the non-Coupe Enyaq iV. Drop the rear seats forward, which have the typical 60/40 split, and the capacity rises to 1,695 litres, compared to 1,710 litres for the non-Coupe. So even though you do lose a little boot space with the Coupe, there is still a lot more than a typical compact estate car, so you haven't lost a lot for the fastback aesthetics. We call that a win.

We managed to get two large suitcases lengthwise into the boot lengthwise, and there was room on top for potentially two more. You can easily get the baggage for four adults into this car alongside the people themselves. The boot isn’t entirely flat with the rear seats down, with a slight lip where the rear seats start. However, you can pay £320 for the Transport Package, which provides a raised floor so there is no lip, at the expense of a little space. It also adds buttons towards the back of the car to drop down the rear seats without having to go round the side.

A tow bar is a £815 option, with a 1,400kg braked capacity for the vRS and 80x, although that drops to 1,200kg with the single-motor 80. The limit is 750kg unbraked for all versions. So aside from having a massive boot, the Enyaq Coupe iV has strong towing ability (although of course the range will likely suffer quite a bit).

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

Skoda has opted for a more traditional cabin experience than parent company Volkswagen does with its EVs. The instrument binnacle is digital and there's a large 13in infotainment screen, but the buttons are more substantial than the membrane ones VW uses. There is a Start button, but you can turn the system on by simply pressing the brake, and it turns off automatically once you leave the car and lock it, so you might never use this button.

The steering wheel is traditional in feel, with media buttons and a volume control on the left, plus settings for the cruise control on the right. The volume wheel can mute audio, too, something inexplicably missing from VWs. There are windscreen wipers on a stalk on the right, with lights and indicators on the left. There's another stalk below the lighting one for operating the cruise control, which is reasonably intuitive to operate.

Drive controls come from a rather innocuous lozenge-shaped rocker in the centre. This includes a B mode with extra regeneration for urban driving alongside the regular drive mode. There's no park mode, so you must pull the electronic park brake instead. There are paddles on the steering wheel to alter regen level, but only when in D mode, not B mode. Auto Hold is enabled by default.

The climate control has some discrete buttons, but you'll need to use the infotainment screen for major functions, which are reasonably well laid out. The digital instrument binnacle is recessed, making it feel more traditional than VW's display that sits out separately from the dashboard behind the steering wheel. But the information provided is the same, with the speed in the middle, ADAS on the left and sat-nav directions on the right. The vRS comes with a HUD as standard, which is a solid implementation of the genre.

This 13in infotainment screen is larger than on most electric cars from the VW Group. The interface isn't that different, however. The home screen includes a satnav view, media controls, and quick access to a few functions. There's support for CarPlay and Android Auto, which is wireless and worked flawlessly with an iPhone 12 Pro Max during testing, apart from one issue. If you get messaged while using the built-in satnav, CarPlay will pop up and fill the screen, which is a bit irritating. This is not a unique problem with CarPlay implementations, however. There's a DAB radio as standard, and you can stream media from a connected phone as well. The system menu is reasonably well laid out and easy to operate. Finding options is relatively straightforward.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

With vRS branding attached to this car, you would expect a decidedly sporty driving experience. However, it’s still an SUV and weighs over 2.2 tons, neither of which benefit handling. Those 295hp dual motors propel this car to 62mph in 6.4 seconds, so expect 60mph in just over six. This is decent, but there are faster electric SUVs around. Also consider that the much cheaper MG4 Extended Range is about as quick, and that’s not even meant to be a performance version. The 80x is a few tenths of a second slower, and the single-motor 80 takes a much more pedestrian 8.5 seconds to hit 62mph.

Steering is tight enough for precise control, but you can still have an easy time driving around urban areas. However, where the vRS really reigns supreme is on the motorway. It can still pull strongly from 60mph and sits very confidently on the road. Here the weight and size feel very solid. We drove this car in some torrid, windy, rainy conditions down the M1, but it felt very planted and safe.

It is a large car to be driving in a town, but like most EVs the smooth power delivery, B mode, and Auto Hold mean this is still a pleasant experience. Overall, the Enyaq Coupe iV vRS is no Porsche Taycan or BMW i4 M50, but it does have more driver enjoyment than a regular Enyaq iV. It’s basically a family SUV with a bit of extra fun included. However, it’s probably not fast enough for the vRS badge, which used to be associated with motorsport.

Range and Charging

Unlike the regular Enyaq iV, all versions of the Coupe iV use the larger 82kWh (gross) battery, which delivers 77kWh net, so range is great across the board. The battery won’t be increased in size for the 2024 version, although the efficiency has been increased a little. The slopy rear also improves aerodynamics marginally. That means this vRS Coupe has a WLTP range of 323 miles (340 miles for 2024 model). The basic rear-wheel drive 80 version can manage a commendable 345 miles (357 miles for the 2024 model).

During our test driving, we achieved more like 240 miles with the vRS during motorway driving. On a 216-mile round trip up the M1, we managed 3.2 miles per kWh going north and 3 miles per kWh heading south in torrential rain. This also showed some slick integration of the satnav with the dynamic range estimation. During the 216-mile trip, the sat-nav realised it would be a risk to do the whole trip on one charge and recommended a stop at the IONITY in Milton Keynes on the return leg. It then indicated when there was enough charge to continue to the destination. This is not a unique capability, but Skoda’s implementation was relatively seamless.

DC charging goes up to 135kW, and we managed 127kW from the IONITY charger. That will give you an 80% charge in about 38 minutes. A full charge on 7kW AC will take a around 13 hours. Although 135kW DC isn't cutting edge these days, the range of this car is more than enough for a long journey, as our trip up the M1 showed. In fact, this is a great long-distance car overall. However, the 2024 model will increase DC charging on the 80x and vRS to 175kW, which is much more contemporary.

Running Costs

Based on the WLTP rating, the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV vRS delivers 4.2 miles per kWh, but our motorway testing delivered 3.2 miles per kWh in reasonable conditions. Insurance groups are 27 for the 80, and 29 for the 80 Sportline Plus, then the 80x is in group 33 and the vRS group 36.

The service interval is 24 months. You get three years warranty, with the first two for unlimited mileage but the third up to 60,000 miles. While that's standard for a European car, it’s not as good as Korean ones, which often extend to seven years, or MG warranties. You can extend the Skoda warranty, but like everything about the Enyaq iV this requires a considerable extra fee. The battery has an eight-year, 100,000-mile guarantee for 70% capacity, which is typical these days.

Safety

There are lots of safety features built into the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV. Even the basic 80 has speed limiting cruise control, plus lane assistance and traffic sign recognition. There’s also no need for an extra pack to have a rear parking camera as well as sensors front and back, because these are standard fixtures too.

The SportLine Plus trim adds blind spot detection, which makes itself know via very visible orange lights on the inner edges of the wing mirrors. The cruise control is upgraded to adaptive with traffic stop and go. There is more interventionist lane assistance, and urban steering accident evasion.

The emergency braking can be quite aggressive when parking. During testing, we failed to see a low-lying bollard, but the sensors spotted it and slammed the brakes on. It was a bit of a shock but prevented damage to the car. The lane assistance interventions are well balanced, with enough input to help but not so much to make you react too much.

The vRS doesn't add anything significant on the safety front, however. Overall, it's great to have a parking camera as standard, and the safety tech in this vRS further accentuates the secure feeling you have when driving it with your family inside. There is no separate Euro NCAP rating for the Coupe, but the original Enyaq iV is five-star rated, so the Coupe is likely to receive the same rating.

Key Specifications