New Tesla Model Y RWD and Skoda Enyaq Coupé vs Hyundai Ioniq 5: costs
It was already a huge seller, and with the introduction of this new RWD version, the Tesla Model Y is more temptingly priced than ever. But are rivals from Hyundai and Skoda actually better?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Factor in the small discounts you can get on the Skoda Enyaq Coupé and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (either by haggling with a dealer yourself or buying through our online New Car Buying service) and less than £1000 separates our trio. However, that’s only really relevant if you plan to buy the car outright and run it into the ground.
So, let’s say you have the wherewithal to pay the £45k in one hit, but you want to change cars again in three years’ time. Then you’ll want to consider depreciation, which is predicted to be much slower on the Tesla Model Y than the other two. In fact, add in all the bills you’re likely to face during three years and 36,000 miles of ownership (including electricity, servicing and insurance) and opting for the Model Y will save you an estimated £3300 over the Enyaq and £3800 over the Ioniq 5.
The Model Y’s glacial predicted depreciation also explains why it’s the cheapest for those signing up to a PCP finance agreement. Put down a £5000 deposit and you’ll pay £566 a month for the next four years, assuming you cover 10,000 miles per year. Under the same terms, you’ll pay £582 for the Enyaq, while the Ioniq 5 will cost you an eyebrow-raising £621, mainly due to the higher APR rate that Hyundai charges.
The Ioniq 5 claws back some ground by giving you plenty of luxuries for your money, though. Both it and the Model Y come with heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and wireless phone charging. If you want all that in the Enyaq, you’ll need to stump up an extra £2755 for the Clever Package. You still won’t get an electric tailgate, though; for one of those – which again is standard on the other two – you’ll need the £4830 Plus Package.
The Ioniq 5 edges the Model Y with standard vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging, which in effect converts the car into a three-pin plug socket that can deliver up to 3.5kW – plenty for boiling a kettle. However, the Model Y is the only one with heated seats in the back and a heat pump for more efficient warming of the interior in colder weather. If you want one of these for your Enyaq or Ioniq 5, you’ll need to stump up around £1000.
The Ioniq 5’s final trump card is how quickly it can charge. Granted, you need to find an ultra-rapid 350kW CCS point to realise this (and there aren’t a huge number of these in the UK just yet), but in ideal conditions you can go from 10-80% in just 16 minutes. The Enyaq’s battery, meanwhile, will take around half an hour to complete the same 10-80% charge in a best-case scenario.
A similar battery boost in the Model Y can take as little as 25 minutes, but remember it has a smaller battery that will take on less potential range during that time. The massive bonus, however, is that you get full access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. In our experience, it’s more reliable than most public providers and, thanks to numerous connectors at most Supercharger locations, you’re less likely to have to queue before plugging in.
All of our contenders have been awarded a five-star (out of five) safety rating by Euro NCAP. A closer look at the reports shows the Model Y and Enyaq do a slightly better job of protecting children in a collision, while the Model Y is marginally better than the other two for adult crash protection.
While all three have stability control systems to help keep you on the straight and narrow, the Enyaq is alone in missing out
on steering assistance (to help you stay in your lane on the motorway) and blindspot monitoring. To get these things, you’ll need to add the Clever Package we mentioned earlier.
None of these cars featured in the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, but Hyundai ranked highest in the overall brand league table, in joint fifth place. Skoda came 12th and Tesla 15th.
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