The sports utility model is the best-sorted MEB car here. Where does the style-driven version sit?

Price: $89,990 RRP.

Powertrain: Single motor, rear drive, 150kW/310Nm, single speed.

How big: 4649mm long; 1879mm wide; 1616mm tall.

We like: Almost as practical as SUV; price rejig massivelty raises appeal; excellent seats and driving position.

Not so much: A touch more real-world range would be appreciated; trip computer functionality under-utilised.

WANTING but not having to getting but not wanting - the electric vehicle market’s quick swing from too little supply to too much has created a fair bit of challenge.

That the poor sales period right now assuredly won’t last forever is little consolation for those feeling pain right now; that some distributors are already re-setting their expectations and ranges is an inevitable.

NZ just achieving the cars on Volkswagen’s well-considered MEB platform was challenge enough. Covid, the global microchip shortage, production having been swamped by demand and European markets having first dibs all hampered.

Having to wade through all that and THEN immediately fall into the fallout from Government kiboshing the Clean Car incentive for sub-$80,000 NZ-new electrics? Honestly, you understand it if every distributor was in therapy, now.

What’s remarkable about this is how Skoda has steadfastedly stuck to its plans. Sure, it has had a couple of stumbles - the biggest being announcing the product a year ago at what could kindly now be called ‘overly-wishful’ stickers - but that was reconciled before cars arrived and, of course, now everything is on special, to shift stock in a post-rebate armageddon.

The coupe at time of writing held a ‘special offer’ $80k sticker. Basically, the same money as was being asked a year ago for the base sports utility kind, which is also on a special inducement programme.

At least there still is a coupe. VW, you might remember, when put into the same quandary reacted by pulled their equivalent ID.5 out of the market. That action should become a good turn for the Skoda, as with ID.5, the only other sloped-back types on the MEB platform are the Audi Q5, which sits somewhat above the $100k line, and this Czech car, with is $20k below. Surely someone will take advantage of that? As said, when first announced, in February of 2023, this was a $103k proposition.

Another factor giving the Enyaq Coupe more breathing space is that Skoda NZ’s model plan has also altered. Original intention to sell both the squarer-roofed SUV and slinkier Coupe in top Sportline Max specification no longer applies. Now the very top specification trim is only comes with the hunkered body shape, whereas the SUV stops at Sportline.

of course, it’ll always be niche regardless. Coupes are. Even when they aren’t really coupes - strictly speaking, the descriptive is for a two-door car, which this obviously is not. Then again, whole coupe SUV genre is an odd one; the concept also suggests a low-slung vehicle whereas reality is always quite different.

It’s a bit bulky. Though not as much as the images might suggest. The Enyaq is destined to be one of those cars that doesn't photograph all that well. The camera's un-lying lens seems to emphasise the car’s weight, not least around the mid-riff.

Honestly, when you're standing in front of it, it's really rather good looking and, on top of that, has a more premium look and feel to it than the SUV.

That side speaks to the detailing, really, as the Coupe does not depart wildly from the overall design theme. there’s enough change for it to have a different persona, mostly in a positive way. You likely don’t need to buy into the Phoenix orange metallic here. As much as it photographed well, I’m not sure I’d personally have the cojones to select this metallic gold that’s the sole option (at $1000).

When Max specification spanned the SUV and Coupe, the latter’s only point of difference was that it received a glass roof.

Now it’s the only Enyaq that arrives with the highest grade (though still synthetic) leather and suede upholstery, a 360-degree camera, self parking, LED Matrix lights, a heated windscreen, head-up display, a high-end Canton sound system and the 'Crystal Face' illuminated grille, which is a an interesting light show likely to be labelled spectacularly tacky by the unimpressed. This car also had the optional $1500 21-inch wheels, which looked awesome.

Those are nice involvements, but Skoda has long had reputation for largesse in its kit considerations so while the Max is a strong suite, the next-slot-down Sportline with the SUV isn’t so bad either.

A heated steering wheel with paddles to adjust the brake energy recuperation, heated front seats and heated windscreen washers, an electrically-adjustable driver's seat, full keyless entry and ignition, dark tinted privacy glass, acoustic insulation, wireless charging pad, selectable driving modes, progressive steering, adaptive lane-keeping with emergency assistance, three-zone climate control, roller blinds for the rear side windows, extra USB sockets, a powered tailgate with a motion sensor under the bumper and blind-spot monitoring are generous base inclusions.

The whole MEB drivetrain proposal is a simple one; at the moment, only Audi has access to twin motor layouts and everyone else has the 150kW/310Nm rear-drive. A 77kWh usable capacity battery is the only choice regardless.

Impact on practicality is always tied to coupe stylings, but in this instance those fearing severe reduction in rear headroom, are in for a surprise.

By all rights, what should have happened - and been exacerbated by the panoramic roof - hasn’t transpired. Would you believe the Coupe has the same headroom in the back as the SUV? Skoda swears this to be so. It certainly has been clever enough with its packaging that, unless you're really tall, cranial consideration is by no means poor.

The sweep of the rear roofline starts farther back than you might think, and heat-absorbing tech means the glass roof can does without a sun blind, which also helps when it comes to the headroom. Three adults in the back might be cosy, but only for shoulder room. On short trips, it is truly possible.

Boot capacity is hit more obviously; it’s down a little on capacity, rated at 570 and expanding to 1610L while the same numbers for SUV are 585 and 1710L. Yet the space is okay for shape and there's some underfloor storage in the boot for stashing cables. No 'frunk' storage in the nose, though.

One personally appreciated aspect about Enyaq is that, out of all the MEB cars here, it has the most comfortable driving position. You sit straight in front of the wheel, and there's no pedal offset - and the view out is excellent. Over-the-shoulder visibility does suffer a bit, of course, but the glass roof fills the cabin with light, which at least gives the impression that you can see loads. There's a reversing camera as standard too, with a high resolution view.

The Max pack means that, regardless there’s a physical stop/start button, the car primarily uses a sensor pad in the driver’s seat base to set off the ignition, so it’s ready to go when a key holder hops on board. It’ll even unlock as you approach.

We’ve talked about MEB instrumentation a lot, but it’s worth reminding again that whereas VW prefers the minimalism of a pod screen and a wand to select Drive. Park and Reverse, Skoda goes to a more orthodox approach.

Having a small main instrument screen buried in the structure of the dash might seem boring, but it is better. likewise the placement of a diddy gear selector in a binnacle between the front seat occupants, rather than delivering a wand shifter as per the others. There’s also a head-up display which will throw some warning signs on the screen.

The main 13-inch touchscreen is a common Volkswagen Group provision, but screen software is all Skoda’s and that’s a good thing. The Czech setup is simply better than those in the Audi, Cupra and VW cars; the fonts are classier and, I think, calmer looking in green and while some responses are a bit laggy at times, on the whole the layout simpler and easier on the brain than it could be.

Could it do better? Removing the air conditioning controls from the screen might win some support. Skoda already breaks from VW design logic by offering a proper quartet of electric window switches; look at the ID and Cupra and you’ll see there’s a more involved progress to bring down the rear glass.

There’s plenty of storage in the huge centre console, along with two large cupholders. There's another, angled, storage space in front of those, home to the wireless phone charger. Two USB-C charging points in the front, and another two in the back will be welcomed.

The driving story is mainly MEB familiar. The MEB cars in general are more tailored to driving involvement than you get from some electrics, but all have distinct flavour. For Skoda, the emphasis is on comfort.

Is it a car that’s going to thrill on a twisty road? Actually, it handles rather better than you might think. The light steering doesn't offer much encouragement, but when you go looking for it, there is copious front-end grip.

It's not a car I'd call fun to drive, exactly. As with the SUV, performance is brisk rather than quick, but it's more than being a car in which you will want to relax and allow the countryside to roll silently by. The chassis is capable enough to be confidence-inspiring.

Sure, weight has affect, but that’s just part of the electric territory. It’s certainly not the heaviest EV you can buy, but it's sure no lightweight.

The ride quality takes a bit of a hit compared to the SUV. Those 21-inch hoops and Hankook Ventus rubber must surely have an effect, but I take note the Coupe has suspension that sits a little lower and stiffer anyway.

Comfort mode does a good deal to smooth everything back out but, yes, there are occasions in urban use when you might start to feel that it's perhaps a touch too stiff. Even so, out on the open road it’s quite nice, with surprisingly little tyre roar even on coarse chip, which bodes well for long distance driving, in which case the Coupe has an edge over the SUV because its superior aerodynamics lend a longer range, though don’t get cocky - it’s just an 8km advantage.

In respect to energy use, the consumption rated at 16.2kWh/100km seems challenging to achieve beyond urban driving and so, while the Coupe has a WLTP range of 531km, generally on a test that asked for a far bit of open road use it was no surprise to be searching for replenishment options once 410kms or so ticked up. That’s a cellphone job because the in-built system that Skoda uses in Europe for locating chargers and the like is not operable here.

With an 11kW on-board charger, a single-phase wall box will charge it overnight (13 hours) while a three-phase/11kW box will take seven hours 30. The max DC charge rate is 135kW so find a 300kWh hyper charger and it needs less than half an hour to replenish from zero to 80 percent.

Conceivably, what we see now is going to be improved upon, as the Enyaq overseas has already undergone a update to a 210kW motor and 85kWh battery pack good for more than 500km of driving range.

The production line has switched to that type, which drops the ‘iV’ and ’80’ badges for an ’85’ designation, and Australia is launching with it in the second half of the yea, so while NZ introduction has not been clarified, it’s obviously coming.

Skoda’s electric ambition is also set to reveal with other models over time. The Elroq and Epiq, a pair of compact electric SUVs, would likely look good here, as might the production version of the Vision 7S large three-row SUV. The Enyaq family should also enlarge with an RS type, in dual motor format. There’s also talk of a fully electric equivalent of the Octavia wagon.