Skoda Enyaq iV revealed in production form

We’ve been seeing teasers of the Enyaq iV for a (really) long time now. Now though, the cat is out of the bag and we can see the Enyaq iV in all its glory. The body style is certainly more of a wagon than an SUV, but that makes it look even cooler in my eyes. There are a total of five variants on offer, kicking off with the base ‘50 iV’ with two-wheel drive and an output of 146bhp to the top-spec ‘RS iV’ with all-wheel-drive and 302bhp. It is based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform specifically made for electric vehicles, which also underpins the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Volkswagen I.D.3.

Exterior

Let’s address the elephant in the room first — the illuminated grille. It isn’t standard across the range, but the RS variant gets it and so does the limited Founders Edition. It doesn’t look too blingy though, since the lights are acting as the slats of the grille. In most other cars with illuminated grilles, the lights light up the chrome slats of the grille. Either way, it isn’t to everyone’s taste. Other than that, the Enyaq has sharp lines all over and a fairly aggressive look that is very Skoda-ish. The black elements do look cool, but they’re likely to be optional extras on lower spec models. The overall look isn’t sleek just to please your eyes, but it also helps the Enyaq iV cut through the air with as little trouble as possible and gets a drag coefficient of 0.27. For reference, an early example of the Tesla Model S had a drag coefficient of 0.24.

Interior

The interior of the Enyaq iV is dominated by a 13-inch central touchscreen display. It also gets a head-up display to make vital information easy to read for the driver and a fully digital instrument cluster. The Enyaq iV is also one of the few cars to offer not one but two slots to wirelessly charge your phones up front. The interior is (almost) as eco-friendly as the car itself, with sustainably sourced and recycled materials replacing traditional leather found on ‘regular’ cars. The colours depend on the variant you choose, as well as the optional theme packs, of which there are a total of 10! These themes also affect the floor mats, colour of the centre console and even the ambient lighting. Once again, the interior is typical Skoda and has a similar layout to the new Octavia, but gets a lot more tech and a more future-ready approach.

Motor and Battery

The five models — 50 iV, 60 iV, 80 iV, 80x iV and RS iV, all get varying power outputs and ranges. The base model gets an output of 146bhp and 220Nm of torque, a range of 340km and a 0 to 100kmph time of 11.4 seconds. The 60 iV gets an output of 177bhp and 310Nm of torque, a 0 to 100kmph time of 8.7 seconds and a range of 390km. The 80 iV produces 201bhp and 310Nm of torque, gets a 0 to 100kmph time of 8.5 seconds and the longest range among the lineup with 510km on the WLTP cycle. All these variants are rear-wheel drive.

The 80x iV gets all-wheel-drive, an output of 261bhp and 425Nm of torque, a 0 to 100kmph time of 6.9 seconds and a range of 460km. The top of the line RS iV variant also gets all-wheel-drive, produces 302bhp and 460Nm of torque and it can do the 0 to 100kmph sprint in 6.2 seconds and onto a top speed of 180kmph.

The Enyaq iV is Skoda’s first all-electric SUV and could become one of their most important models in the near future. International pricing has not been announced yet, but it being a Skoda, expect it to be a value for money offering. We don’t expect Skoda to bring the Enyaq iV to India anytime soon, since localisation will be an important factor to keep costs low. However, with an influx of EVs in our market from the Tata Nexon EV to the soon-to-be-launched Mercedes-Benz EQC, this might be the right time for Skoda to bring in a luxurious EV that won’t break the bank.