2021 Skoda Enyaq iV debuts as the brand’s first EV crossover

The Skoda Enyaq iV is here, an all-electric crossover walking late into the party. The Enyaq iV is the oft-forgotten brand’s first EV crossover and the second EV after the Citigo-e iV. Despite its late entry, Skoda has armed Enyaq iV with a pretty neat design, healthy powertrains, and even a hotter RS version.

At first glance, the Enyaq iV does not look like a spaceship from an outer world, which many modern EVs are trying to look like. The Enyaq iV is conventional and neatly styled. The only bling element in the understated design is the grill illuminated by 130 LEDs. This grill is standard on the RS variant and the limited Founders Edition. The Enyaq iV can be specced with wheels up to 21-inches in diameter while even the base model comes with 18-inch steel wheels, quite unusual for an SUV of its size.

Inside the Enyaq iV, everything is typical Skoda, with design elements from the Octavia or Scala. The Enyaq iV gets an exclusive 13-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a heads-up display with augmented reality and remote-controlled parking. The EV is also filled with nifty Skoda signature features like umbrellas in the front door, an electrically retractable tow bar, an ice-scraper inside the tailgate and more.

With three battery sizes and five power outputs, Skoda Enyaq iV customers won’t run out of choices when it comes to selecting a powertrain for their EV. Battery sizes range from 55 kWh, 62 kWh to 82 kWh. The power outputs include 146 hp, 177 hp, 201 hp, 261 hp and 302 hp. RWD and AWD drive trains are available in many variants. Even the base model of the Enyaq iV returns a range of 340 km in a single charge. If range anxiety is your biggest fear, choose the single motor, rear-drive model with the 82 kWh battery — you can drive for 510 km in a single charge, at least as per the specs sheet.

If performance is what you seek, enter the Skoda Enyaq RS iV, the most powerful vehicle Skoda has ever produced (which isn’t saying much). It churns out 302 hp from its dual motors, complemented by 460 Nm of torque. This pushes the RS iV from 0 to 100 kph in 6.2 seconds.

Once the batteries are drained out, the Enyaq iV can be charged from 5 to 80 percent in 38 minutes, thanks to fast charging capabilities up to 125 kW. From a regular AC outlet, the battery can be charged fully in six to eight hours depending on the battery size chosen.

The preorders for the Skoda Enyaq iV are open in many markets and deliveries are slated to start in 2021.

While Skoda is starting bring new models to the UAE and GCC markets, there isn’t enough of a brand presence here to justify bringing in EVs, so it is unlikely the Enyaq is coming here.