Skoda Enyaq 85 review (2024) – Significant improvements at a golden price

Good quality perforated leather, deep stitching, plenty of soft-touch plastics, massaging and ventilated seats, generous rear space and sun visors… You could spend hours lounging in this beautiful German car, couldn’t you? However, a glance at the steering wheel is enough to shatter the dreamlike journey and bring you right back to reality. If you’re a car connoisseur, the little winged arrow adorning the airbag leaves no room for doubt: this is a Skoda. But are you sure? With this level of refinement, I doubt there’s a mistake in the merchandise… So you fiddle with the materials for a second time and fiddle with the list of equipment in PDF for a final confirmation. Yes, it’s the top-of-the-range Laurin&Klement version, recently added to the Enyaq catalogue. And it’s a real eye-catcher, because in terms of perceived quality, the Czech is easily ahead of its Volkswagen ID.4 and Audi Q4 cousins. 

The same goes for the design of the dashboard, which I find very well done, to the point where it would be insulting to the Germans. But enough contemplation, it’s time to set sail for our destination, nearly 600 km away. The Enyaq is engulfed in Parisian traffic. So far, so good: its sixteen-step adjustable suspension makes short work of the cobbles, the turning circle is a delight and the 286 PS are enough to make any taxi in a hurry go bananas. Yes, between an Enyaq 85 and a Toyota Camry, there’s no match at the green light, to put it mildly… Even the size, intimidating at first sight, becomes easy to apprehend when weaving in and out between two taxis. You’d have thought that the optional 360° camera would be more helpful in squeezing into a tight space… Alas, its poor resolution means that you have to fall back on good old-fashioned rear-view mirrors, which don’t suffer from any sharpness problems. And in the worst case, if you’re really about to hit something, the Enyaq makes up for it by slamming on the brakes, which can be extremely irritating in certain situations. You leave your usual place, it’s a matter of a few centimeters, but you’re used to it. Well, the car breaks your run for fear that you’ll chip its beautiful bodywork. It may save you a few expenses, but it’s often a problem in everyday life. 

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Good performance and great range too

Ha! here’s a toll booth, and it’s time to switch on the aptly-named Sport mode: the suspension firms up, the steering hardens and the engine unleashes its full potential. Beep, the gate goes up, right pedal to the floor and the gate is effectively erased in the rear-view mirror. With a 0 to 100 km/h time of 6.7 seconds, the rear-wheel drive 85 model does almost as well as the four-wheel drive 85X version, which improves on this time by just one tenth. The latter will have the advantage of better traction in low grip conditions, but that’s clearly not the subject of the day. It was 24°C and the weather was fine, with plenty of sunshine and little wind. In short, the conditions were perfect for optimal autonomy. It’s perfect timing, as I’m in the driver’s seat of the Enyaq with the longest range in the range, with a WLTP rating of 573 km. And this is true at high speed, since at 133 km/h, with a trickle of air conditioning, economy stands at 19 kWh/100 km. A quick calculation shows that you can get close to 400 km of range by using all 77 kWh of the battery. This is made easier by the laminated windows, which effectively absorb wind noise, and the semi-autonomous driving system, which performs quite well. You can even ask it to change lanes. Like many other things, it’s a gimmick but it works well. 

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Then it’s time for a recharge, and here too there’s a big surprise compared to the old Enyaq! Preheating the battery enables higher charging power to be achieved in cold weather. I didn’t need to use this function because the temperature was so mild. But in any case, in summer weather, the results are convincing: with a fairly low battery level, the charge easily reaches 135 kW and manages to maintain it long enough for the waiting time to become very acceptable. Acceptable is also the word that would best describe the plastic of this Enyaq Coupé. Like any Skoda, it is discreet, particularly in this Graphite Grey colour. The Laurin&Klement trim adds exclusive details such as satin grey inserts accompanied by 20-inch wheels with an original design. On the rear three-quarter, some details lack finesse, but that’s typical of all SUV coupes. I set off again with a fully-charged battery and an equally full head to think about one last thing. While the base version of the Enyaq is very competitive, the Laurin&Klement trim is quite different, starting at €65,780. With all options included, the price of my tester climbs to €67,450, propelling it into the premium segment. The 85 version is a smart choice. Combining it with the base trim, which is already very well equipped and exactly €10,000 cheaper, is an even better choice. In short, the Enyaq remains a good product, safe, pleasant and useful… as long as you don’t set your sights too high to keep the price down.

Strengths

• Solid range
• Good fast charging
• Overall comfort

Weaknesses

• Too expensive
• Annoying driving assistances

Verdict : 7/10

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