Not only is the new Skoda Enyaq Coupe good looking, but it’s smart, good for the environment and is a great ‘go anywhere’ companion. Seriously, if it was on tinder, you’d swipe right and then put a ring on it!
Alright, cards on the table, having already spent a reasonable amount of time behind the wheel of the Skoda Enyaq SUV, I have to admit that when it came to being offered the Coupe, I was half expecting more of the same. I mean it’s just a great Enyaq but with a more sporty rear end right? Hmmm not so. While it is a more sporty body shape, as it turned out, I was even more impressed with the Coupe over the SUV – and that’s saying something.
Let’s get one thing straight from the start, behind the scenes, the Coupe is essentially the same as the SUV. It has the same platform, both feature a lowered sports chassis, same suspension, they even have the same powertrain, (a single electric motor at the rear, mated to a 77kWh (net) battery producing 150kW/310Nm). But, despite the brochure figures telling a different story, to me, the Coupe did seem to drive better.
Now admittedly, I’m not the biggest of SUV fans, I have a small family and even smaller network of friends (I think/hope I’m kidding on the latter), so my need for a large, spacious vehicle is minimal, and this in turn means that my vehicle preference has a more aesthetic/performance lean, aka the Coupe. But surely that shouldn’t affect my thoughts on the drive?
In fact, according to the brochure, the Coupe is slower to 100km/h than the SUV by 0.1 of a second, it consumes energy at a greater rate (16.2 vs 16.1) and offers less range 531 km vs 534 km. It even has less luggage space 570L vs 585L, yet to me, the Coupe still felt better. Maybe I just need a lie down.
Anyway, enough of what the Enyaq Sportline Coupe doesn’t have and more of what it does. Along with its sporty roofline, the Coupe comes with a raft of black exterior accents and elements such as the front grille frame, front bumper air curtains and ‘SunSet’ tinted windows. The headlights are full LED/Matrix, it has full LED tail lights fitted with animated indicators, and its 20″ Vega anthracite alloy wheels come as standard.
Step inside and the Coupe is as Sporty as its SUV sibling with contrast stitching and figure hugging seats, however, in addition to this, the stereo system is from Canton (so ideal for those audio buffs) and the driver gets a massage seat function – see it is better.
As luck would have it, my time with the Skoda Enyaq Coupe was spent as an Auckland tour guide as a couple of overseas friends were in town (insert the need to ‘import friends’ gag here). Of course this minimised my more solo performance-led drives, but it did give me the opportunity to test the rear seat head room (which is cleverly the same as the SUV’s), and discover that the luggage space does in fact take three large suitcases.
We mooched around the town for the majority of the week but at the weekend we travelled out to Piha. I have to say that despite having five adults in the EV, heading West meant that I not only could show off some of my driving skills along the very unkempt and winding road that is scenic drive, but at the same time I could display the joys of the Enyaq’s instant torque – meaning that I was told to ‘behave’ on several occasions.
Admittedly, it was the Coupe that did most of the work, with its firm chassis and direct steering, but I did have to push down on the accelerator!
As outlined before, the two cabin additions do help to make the driving experience that much better. A quick push on the button beside the two memory-seat settings and the sports seat becomes a masseur, which is particularly good when used in conjunction with the adaptive cruise control on the highway. And whether it’s ‘belting out the bangers’ or just listening to mellow melodies, the Canton sound system has you more than covered.
Sure it may very well be just a silhouette change, but to me, the Coupe styling really transforms the Skoda Enyaq’s driving appeal. It looked great on my driveway so easy on the eye, had me engaged when travelling on the road, and with over 500km of zero-free emissions, it’s damn good on the environment too.
