Skoda Enyaq (2025 - ) Electric review

Skoda has come a long way from traditions as a bargain brand, and the new Enyaq reflects that transition with its more premium vibe. And pricing. There is, thankfully, one model sitting just beneath the £40,000 threshold beyond which you’re hit with the ‘expensive car supplement’ on your annual tax bill and – happily – the Enyaq 60 in question also has the biggest improvements to spec, power and range. So would probably be our pick. Going the other way, our luxurious looking test car (as pictured) now stands scrutiny with much posher sounding rivals, though whether those buyers can bring themselves to buy a Skoda remains a challenge. More generally you should know the drill by now with electric cars, which is to say they can save money for company drivers or those able to buy on a salary sacrifice and running costs are way cheaper if you’re lucky enough to have off-street parking where you can install a home charger and top up the battery on cheaper domestic energy rates.

The Enyaq is built using VW’s electric car ‘toolkit’, which is shared across all the brands within the wider family meaning it’s fundamentally the same as equivalents from Cupra and Audi. Strength in numbers hopefully means the tech is proven, earlier wobbles with the infotainment and other electrical glitches seemingly much improved in the VW ID models and related models like this Enyaq.

Another area where the tech has been steadily refined and improved as the Enyaq has matured, this new one getting the latest software to power its many and various driver aids which operate with impressive slickness. We like the inclusion of blind spot alerts as standard, and the fact the Enyaq’s visibility is generally better than many rivals. So, you don’t need to depend on this and other sensors as much. Family buyers can feel reassured by this and things like the innovative central airbag that deploys between the front seats are all part of the safety kit, though it’s odd side airbags in the rear aren’t included on the base trim level.

Three cheers for Skoda long-since recognising that family SUVs should prioritise comfort and refinement over supposedly ‘sporty’ handling and stiff suspension. And although we probably wouldn’t tick the box for the optional 21-inch wheels our test car came with for the fact they are more about style than comfort this updated Enyaq sticks to the same script, cruises in near silence and rides with a sense of quiet authority to take the stress out of the school run and longer days out alike. It feels like a big car inside as well, with decent legroom in the back (even if the centre seat loses a big of space to the centre console) and a simply massive boot capable of swallowing pushchairs, sports kit, shopping and anything else you choose to throw in there. To those ends if you only choose one option we’d recommend the Transport Package, which has various storage nets to stop stuff rattling about and a variable height boot floor with a reversible panel with a wipe-clean surface on the reverse to handle muddy boots or paws. This is also included in the Advanced trim upgrade available on certain models.

It’s a shame Skoda has dropped its traditional stylised badge for a boring, script style logo on the bonnet, boot and steering wheel, and made the styling more generic than before. Few complaints other than that, this new Enyaq scoring more kit than ever with even the base model getting heated front seats and steering wheel, the uprated safety tech, radar monitored adaptive cruise control, a hands-free power bootlid, three-zone climate control and the same fully functioned big screen central display. Meaning if you are going for that base-spec version to duck that £40,000 tax threshold you’re still not short-changed on kit. Anything you get on fancier models just makes life a bit snazzier, but is more ‘nice to have’ than essential. While we’re here three cheers for Skoda’s clear and simple presentation of its trim options and model line-up – maybe we’re old fashioned but the ability to download a simple PDF document that starts with the bottom-line pricing and then walks you through the features and lays out the optional upgrades and trim packages you can add if you want to makes choosing the right combination so much easier than it is with the snazzy animated configurators used by many rivals. And as true to the brand’s appealing ‘simply clever’ ethos as anything.

Evolution not revolution here, with a standard battery and single motor combo for the Enyaq 60 and bigger battery for the 85 with single- or dual-motor set-ups. Of all the models the 60 gets the biggest boost in power, its 204 horsepower meaning it’s almost a whole second faster from 0-62mph than previously. Which is less about pub bragging rights and more about being able to merge safely into fast-moving traffic, as and when required. Range has also increased on the base model to nearly 270 miles, while the 85 and 85x can do closer to 350 depending on the exact combination of trim, wheels and other factors. On this showing we’d be happy with the 60 and the money it saves upfront and in ongoing running costs, though we did appreciate the extra shove of the single-motor Enyaq 85 we drove and the effortless sense it would be just as fast fully loaded with people and kit as it is when you’re on your own. Whichever one you go for the Enyaq’s refinement and smooth driving manners just make life that bit easier when there’s a million and one other things going on, which is another huge tick for family buyers.