Why we’re running it: To see if a vRS badge can make an electric car exciting and if the Skoda Enyaq vRS is a case-in-point
Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Skoda Enyaq vRS: Month 1
Welcoming the Enyaq vRS to the fleet - 1 Feburary 2023
Sometimes you get a subliminal sense of where a car is aimed at by reading the press bumf that comes with the launch. It’s like a politician’s speech: if he or she mentions ‘change’ 25 times in 30 minutes, you know there’s a transformation coming. Well, that’s what they would like you to think, at any rate…
With the Skoda Enyaq iV vRS, it’s not quite so clear-cut. Sure, there’s a healthy dose of “sporty” and “athletic”, but more where the design is concerned rather than the chassis or suspension. The power gets a look-in, but not with any headline claims; instead, we’re treated to a short intro on it being its maker’s first all-electric car and how sustainable it is.
So what actually is it? In summary, it’s Skoda’s first EV but with the wick turned up. At 295bhp, it’s the most powerful car Skoda has yet built, offering a 0-62mph time of 6.5sec thanks to its four-wheel-drive set-up (twin permanent magnet synchronous motors) and a battery with a 77kWh usable capacity.
That battery, mounted skateboard-style as a result of the Enyaq running on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform (pub ammo: it’s the first MEB car to be built outside of Germany), is good for a claimed range of 323 miles.
We’ve done only a few hundred miles in the car so far but, unsurprising spoiler alert, it’s not getting anywhere near that so far. It joined us in freezing conditions and stubbornly refused to move above 220 miles, even with pre-conditioning in the morning. When the temperature climbed to high single figures, it still failed to creep above 224 miles on 100% charge. My commute is 120 miles each way, so it’s going to be interesting to see how I get on with that.
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As someone who hasn't done any form of commute since 1980, I'm interested in your 240 miles per day regime.
I'm amazed you have enough time or energy to work, let alone a home life. Good job we are all different, I guess.
As for the Skoda test car, well it's just another EV, and has a nasty-looking grille. I'll stick wih Tesla.