2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: SKODA ENYAQ SPORTLINE RWD

There is plenty of Tesla in the exterior design of this spacious Skoda, while one COTY judge was impressed overall, pointing out its ‘sharp’ looks, generous electric range and how spacious it feels inside, partly due to the typically clever Skoda packaging – every inch of space seems to be taken up with storage options. And partly due to the giant panoramic glass roof which sun-shy Aussies can cover, fortunately, with a clever, if slightly clunky to apply cover kept in the boot.

Most judges agreed that the Skoda’s level of performance was pleasantly usable – “sprightly rather than crazy over the top”, unlike too many of the too-scary-fast family EVs on the market.

The Enyaq Sportline we drove at COTY is powered by a single electric motor at the rear, making 210kW and 545Nm from an 82kWh battery, which delivers a claimed range of 561km on the WLTP cycle.

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There was also universal praise for the nicely surfaced steering wheel, the combination of a large central screen with a practical smaller binnacle in front of the driver, and most of the interior surfaces. There was, however, quite a bit of criticism of the Enyaq’s door-handle design, which seems to have been created by whoever came up with those stupid Chinese finger traps, or perhaps just some strange Skoda sadist.

And while there was some praise for the rear-wheel-drive handling and dynamics, and the typically VW-sourced steering, everyone commented on the amount of creaks and rattles, particularly from the doors and door seals.

Skoda Enyaq Sportline RWD Specifications