Skoda Enyaq long-term test: report 5
Is it possible to live with an electric car even if you can't charge it up at home? We're finding out with the help of the Skoda Enyaq electric SUV...
The car Skoda Enyaq iV 60 Loft Nav Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor
Why it’s here To show that it’s possible to use an electric car as your sole vehicle, even if you can’t charge it at home
Needs to Have enough range to not need charging every day, be comfortable for longer trips, and function as a mobile office when needed
Mileage 1472 List price £34,850 Target Price £34,850 Price as tested £40,005 Test range 190 miles Official range 256 miles
16 January 2022 – Time to go green?
The good thing about any new technology is that, over time and with enough people using it, the cost of entry comes down. When Oculus launched its Rift virtual reality headset in 2016, for example, it cost a heady £600 in the UK. Just six years later, and the latest and more powerful Oculus Quest 2 can be bought for less than half that, at £299.
The same is true of electric cars. Price was once a major barrier to entry for many potential owners, but today you can drive a new electric car for as little as £231 per month. And even my Skoda Enyaq, which we count among the best electric cars on sale, is competitive if you stick with the 60 model.
It used to be even cheaper, but you might have seen the news that the Government has cut the £2500 electric vehicle grant to just £1500, as well as reducing the maximum price of qualifying cars from £35,000 to £32,000.
That means several What Car? favourites, including my Enyaq and the former What Car? Car of the Year-winning Kia e-Niro, no longer qualify. And while I appreciate we need to make the money ring-fenced for the grant spread as far as possible, I also think it’s a potential backwards step for those people who need a larger car but also want to go electric.
In other news, the blustery and rather wet winter we’re having so far has given me plenty of cause to use one of my Enyaq’s hidden features. You see, I always forget to bring an umbrella with me when I head to my local country park for a walk, so I was overjoyed to find that, like most Skodas, my Enyaq includes one squirrelled away. Its location varies depending on which Skoda you drive, but in my Enyaq it's hidden in the driver's door.
To my mind, the only other car brand that does the same thing is Rolls-Royce, but it’s yet another example of how my car punches well above its weight in simple, practical terms.
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