From Eastern Bloc sibling to competitor: Škoda has been in Switzerland for 30 years and the Volkswagen Group brand has repeatedly teased its big sister Volkswagen. Although they both build their models on the same technology! BUT: Skodas are always slightly larger than the corresponding VW models, are a little cheaper and look more realistic. Bonus: In 2017, the Skoda Octavia pushed the VW Golf off the top of the Swiss sales charts.
But are these the only reasons? Audi Q4 E-Tron, Skoda Enyaq iV and VW ID.4 – they all rely on the build kit of the same technology group and compete in the SUV segment. At the end of October it starts with us Coupe version of Enyaq – And as a sporty version of the RS with 299 hp from 61,650 Swiss francs. Technically, the same car as the long-range tester VW ID.4 GTX by Blick Car Editors. It’s not a coupe, but it will soon be available as an ID.5 GTX. Let’s take a closer look: what does Skoda actually do differently with the same car? And: Could you do it better?
first runs
The biggest difference between Audi, Skoda and VW is the wheelbase: from 4.59 to 4.65 to 4.58 meters – a Skoda advantage! The Czech subsidiary of Volkswagen also uses the well-known recipe for “more centimeters for less money” for Stromers.
2. Well protected
This is only available from Rolls-Royce – or from Skoda: the display has been in the driver’s door since the first Superb. Oddly enough, no one copied it – not even the other brands in the VW group.
3. Show teeth
As if the car was smiling widely: the Enyaq iV RS features LED-lit transverse and longitudinal ribs in the false front grille. An electric car doesn’t need it, but smiling teeth are of course crucial to the recognition value in the dark. But can the most sane regular Skoda customers put up with so many scams?
4. Cockpit feel good
In Volkswagen it looks like a reduced, in Audi it looks like high-tech. And in Enyaq? Surprisingly traditional! Maybe that’s a good thing. Since there are no differences in combustion cars, they are comfortable and the electronic navigation threshold is slightly lowered. It’s not as innovative as the interior design of some typical cars.
5. Proper posture
In Volkswagen, the central touchscreen, which works in almost everything, is tilted towards the driver. Practical, because she can still touch in the outer corner. In Skoda, on the other hand, it stands upright, the user interface is organized differently – and the rider can change the music more easily.
6. Please rethink
In VW on the right, in Skoda on the left and vice versa: on ID.4 the volume is controlled on the right via touch-sensitive surfaces – which you don’t always hit correctly. In the Skoda on the left, what the heck. But volume knobs are easier to use.
7. This is how you determine the speed
In many new cars, cruise control is operated using touch surfaces, steering wheel buttons, or sliders. And in Skoda? The good old lever is to the left of the steering column, as it has been for generations. You know right away how to use it.
8. Pressure instead of tact
At first glance, there’s also a button bar on the VW – but there are touch-sensitive surfaces instead of the good old mechanics. For some functions such as the climate menu or driving mode, you can still press the button on the Enyaq.
9. Forward instead of backward
The gear selector lever is a dying type – since there is hardly any manual shifting and even with automation, the direction of movement has long been determined with joysticks or pleasant buttons. Also in Enyaq – while in VW you need to get used to it before reaching for the gear switch next to the instruments.
10. Always Informed
ID.4 only shows the basics on the screen – great, you don’t need a lot of info with the electric car either. In Enyaq, the same screen is in an old Dion dashboard. As if the cockpit has grown around the screen. It still looks traditional.
11. Bringing energy
Recovery, i.e. energy recovery when braking, is an additional point of enhancing efficiency in every electric car. But there are differences in how it is activated: with ID.4 it works automatically, depending on the speed and even influenced by the distance radar, so that it stops in time. In addition, there is a driving level B with increased recovery. With the Enyaq, on the other hand, you can also pull the paddles on the steering wheel – more recuperation on the left, less recuperation on the right. as you like.
conclusion
Skoda and VW want the same thing – driving an electric car should be as easy as possible so that skeptics can be persuaded to switch. In Volkswagen ID models, cars take on as many drivers as possible – you don’t have to be an electronics geek to be able to see it.
Skoda, on the other hand, makes it easy by making the Skoda cockpit almost identical to the combustion engine model. Of course, the interior and service in the first place is a matter of taste. But it may also be that Skoda’s Enyaq is about 240 copies ahead of VW’s ID 4 in sales statistics through the end of April.
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