First Look: 1967 Ford Electric Mustang 536HP!

 

Converting an SUV, and in turn an electric one, into a sports model is not an easy task.  However, this place is becoming more and more popular among manufacturers, especially in the Volkswagen group, and Skoda presents a new 100% electric and sporty sports utility vehicle: the Enyaq RS.  Is this prestigious designation honorable?  Answer this essay.

    Converting an SUV, and in turn an electric one, into a sports model is not an easy task.  However, this place is becoming more and more popular among manufacturers, especially in the Volkswagen group, and Skoda presents a new 100% electric and sporty sports utility vehicle: the Enyaq RS.  Is this prestigious designation honorable?  Answer this essay.

     Skoda markets its Enyaq RS iV as a sports model, and despite nice, attractive colors on the color chart like this "Mamba Green" in photos and sports car features, the Enyaq RS iV looks shy on paper.  Will the big reveal happen behind the wheel?

    Design

    Let's start at the tip of the iceberg: the appearance.  The Skoda Enyaq RS iV is 4.65 meters long, 1.88 meters wide and 1.60 meters high.  Aesthetically, it impresses, as our test version shows, especially with that exclusive RS green shade or its RS badging and the shiny 'Crystal Face' grille as standard.

    Even if the look is suggestive, it doesn't suggest anything really sporty because it's still an SUV and therefore there's nothing really sporty about an SUV, however powerful, compared to sedans or coupes.  With a Cd of 0.26 it is in the class average without reaching the level of a Tesla Model Y with a value of 0.23.

    Large 20- to 21-inch wheels emphasize this model's tendencies, while the chassis, which has been lowered by 15mm at the front and 10mm at the rear, suggests better handling compared to a more conventional Enyaq.

live out

  the Enyaq benefits from higher-quality materials and very appropriate accessories.  The ergonomics are also better and the introduction of the small 5.3-inch screen under the driver's eyes smarter than on board the ID.4.

    The half-bucket seats are of excellent quality and offer good support for dynamic driving without necessarily being too uncomfortable.  Overall, the compromise is good.

    The space is among the best in its class, in the back it offers enough space for two adults, while the luggage volume of 585 to 1710 liters is in the average of the good class.

    information

    Infotainment within the Volkswagen Group, for their new products, to be honest, is not.  In our previous Enyaq review, we noted that the whole thing was riddled with bugs, with a screen that occasionally became unusable with frozen menus.

    The Enyaq RS iV has the same 13-inch touchscreen, Skoda has integrated the new ME 3.2 software, which should probably fix many bugs by improving the regenerative braking system, introducing a navigation route made online outside the car or still access to podcast and video on demand-  to have services.

    The menus are generally well laid out and fairly complete, the graphics are of a good quality and the navigation between the menus is fluid, despite a noticeable lag at certain moments.

    Enyaq has a built-in eSIM that allows you to permanently access online services and connect navigation with real-time traffic.  Language support and a head-up display are as much a part of this as induction charging for smartphones.

Management tools

    

 As a modern SUV, the Skoda Enyaq RS iV is now equipped with almost all driving and legal aids, which in particular enabled it to receive a 5-star rating in Euro crash tests.  NCAP, thanks in particular to the new protocol that takes driver assistance systems into account.

    Adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, traffic jam assist… It's all there, and it all generally works as we've found on our test roads in Spain, although the lane centering system could use a little more fine-tuning.  Level 2 semi-autonomous driving is of course available.

    Also positive is that the machine makes it possible to locate work areas or plots of land and update the map by sending data (anonymously) to a central computer that is responsible for the regular update.

    Route Planner

    The Skoda Enyaq RS iV also has an integrated navigation route planner as standard.  You can use it to create a route with the charging points you need for your trip.  It shows with what percentage of the charge you will reach this and that point and with what percentage you will reach your goal.

    You can also change the percentage you want on arrival, the planner will then adjust the surcharges en route so that you don't end up with e.g.  B. 2% arrive at the finish with no nearby solution.

    With the MySkoda app you can remotely control your car, manage the charging process or even activate the air conditioning or heating before you get in the car.

    BEHAVIOUR

    The car is equipped with two electric motors with a total power of 220 kW or 299 hp.  Performance is nothing exceptional, 0 to 100 km/h is claimed in 6.5 seconds, while the top speed is 180 km/h, 20 km/h more than a more classic Enyaq.

    There's nothing really sporty about this beautiful baby who weighs over two tons.  It's mostly dynamic, especially since the acceleration doesn't really stick to the seats.  The advertised driving performance speaks for itself, but very few customers, even if they opt for an RS model, want something with ultra-high performance anyway.

    The compromise between comfort and dynamics is sufficient, nothing more.  Our test model featured DCC with adaptive suspension that allows different riding modes to be set.  It's certainly comfortable in "Comfort" mode, despite the big 21-inch wheels, but the problem is that not much changes even in "Sport" mode.

    Body roll is always pronounced, especially if you brake a little hard, while in a series of fast corners the front axle is quickly lost.  Steering, artificially placed, doesn't really add to the dynamics.  You will have understood that the Enyaq RS remains good in all situations in terms of comfort, but is not a panacea when it comes to sportiness.  Apologies for an RS emblem mockup.

    Regenerative braking can be activated in two ways.  Firstly via the central selector with “B” mode that allows you to benefit from greater engine braking action, but also with the paddles behind the wheel to modify the regenerative braking performance again without being able to achieve full braking.  Stop as with other electric models with pedal drive.  It's unfortunate, but unfortunately it's common across all Volkswagen Group electric cars.

AUTONOMY, BATTERY AND CHARGING

    The Skoda Enyaq RS iV has the largest battery in the range, namely the one with 82 kWh (77 kWh net), which allows it to claim 494 km of autonomy according to the WLTP cycle, 10 km less than the coupe version.  The charging power is limited to 135 kW DC.

    Technically speaking, it is difficult for the Enyaq to go further since the MEB platform on which it is based includes a 400 gate architecture instead of 800 volts.  To increase the charging power we will have to wait for the upcoming SSP platform, which should make it possible to double this value thanks to a new 800 volt architecture.  But of course, given Volkswagen's recent announcements, the next generation will likely start with a MEB Evo, still limited to 400 volts and not with SSP.

    Skoda announces a charge from 10 to 80% in 36 minutes and a recovery of 100km of autonomy in six minutes, going down to a battery level of 5%.  We wanted to try charging on a Spanish Ionity terminal with the new Plug & Charge function (the terminal recognizes the car directly and avoids scratches), but unfortunately our test was unsuccessful because the terminal would not work.

    In our test in Spain, not far from Malaga, we observed an average consumption of 19.5 kWh/100 km, which compared to 77 kWh gives a distance of just over 400 km per trip combining the main road and the secondary road.  Path.  For its part, Skoda states 16.7 kWh/100 km in the combined cycle.

    PRICE, COMPETITION AND AVAILABILITY

    If the Enyaq series starts at 44,580 euros, our test version RS is sold from 61,130 euros.  All models qualify for the eco bonus, with the exception of the RS version, which exceeds the threshold of 60,000 euros.  The first sales will start in the first months of 2023.

    Before that we find the Volkswagen ID.4 GTX, whose specifications and positioning are comparable at 60,650 euros, as well as the Tesla Model Y and 64,990 euros in the Long Autonomy version.  We can also mention Volvo XC40 Recharge, Kia