[Auto] Skoda Enyaq Coupe vRS 2023 long-term test

[Blackfire]

 

• 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-poin

• Life with a Skoda Enyaq vRS: Month 4
  Coloured cables help avoid accidents - 24 May

  I’m not sure if Skoda colour-matched the charging cable provided with our EV’s ludicrously bright hue, but it both makes a change from a black cable and is quite useful. When using lamp-post chargers on the street, I always try to tuck the cable under my car for pedestrians’ safety, but a virtually glowing cable is an extra welcome warning of the potential trip hazard 

• Don’t worry: you haven’t stumbled across a well-thumbed edition of Dogs Monthly in the dentist’s waiting room. This is still Autocar.

  Only this week we’re mostly modelling dogs, specifically my two. That’s Tatty on the left and Himba on the right (a West Highland terrier and Miniature Schnauzer respectively), and part of the reason I’m parked outside a freezing-cold NEC is to visit Crufts and get the two mutts assessed by one of the esteemed judges.

  There is a car link, I promise. In one of those slightly off-the-wall brand tie-ups, Skoda has embraced the world of dogs and launched a range of products that help keep your precious cargo safe in the back of the car. There’s even a playlist for anxious dogs, I kid you not. Barkin’ Bops – ye gods!

  Wander around Crufts during the build-up to the show and you can understand why Skoda sponsors it: dogs are big business in the UK. Over the course of the event, the Crufts judges will assess 20,000 dogs, whittling that number down to 220 best of breeds and then into the final that’s across seven categories. The logistics of that process alone blows the mind. How on earth do you choose one black Lab from another?

• 

• n the back of our Skoda Enyaq iV Coupé, I’ve gone for the harness-and-hammock combo. The former is to keep things legal: not only is it incredibly dangerous to have a hound loose in the cabin with you, it will also get you in trouble with the police. They cost £62.32 each, so not cheap but still vital.

  I also used the hammock – basically a piece of non-slip canvas strung across the rear seats to keep the car clean and the dogs comfy. This is available from £117.24 but is Skoda-branded and padded, so cheaper, thinner options are out there.

•  

  Both are relatively easy to fit, even if I do manage to thread Tatty’s head and leg through the same gap on the harness at one point. The hammock also took a bit of assessing, as you need to get the straps in the right spot (these help secure it, via the headrest stays), but it has a nifty Velcro ‘door’ so it’s easier to post the dogs into the car. It also comes with slits in the base so you can poke the harness through to attach it to the seatbelt. It’s a remarkably well-thought-out set-up

  that keeps all the muck well contained.

   

   

   

   

• You can also buy dog guards for the rear if you would prefer to keep your pets in the boot, and a mat for back there with a handy flap that protects the rear bumper when they jump in and out. It makes the journey to the NEC effortless and the dogs settled in well.

  Back to top
  How did they get on with the judging? Well, as you can see, it was only a mock-up (Crufts is way too busy to let my two reprobates in on a proper day), but judge Bill Lambert thought both performed well, even going so far as to say that Himba was “well balanced”. That gave me visions of her front camber being set-up just so, but, apparently, it actually means she has good proportions.

  If only she was as easy to clean as the Enyaq.

•  

   

  [https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/skoda/enyaq-iv-vrs/long-term-reviews/SKODA-ENYAQ-COUPE-VRS-2023-LONG-TERM-TEST]