2024 Skoda Enyaq RS gets more grunt and range

UPDATED: 04/10/2023 3:00pm: Skoda Australia has been successful in accelerating the local launch of the 2024 Skoda Enyaq, today confirming the battery-electric mid-size SUV range will be available Down Under as of July next year.

Pricing and specification details are yet to be announced, but Aussies will be offered both the updated Enyaq 85 – formerly called the 80 – and Enyaq RS (in both wagon and ‘coupe’ forms), which was revealed overnight with an extra 30kW of power and 26km of range.

Skoda says the extra firepower and range come courtesy of “more advanced electric motors, batteries and thermal management”, mirroring the changes made to the standard Enyaq earlier this year.

For reference, the rear-drive Enyaq 85’s single-motor drivetrain is good for 210kW, a 6.7sec sprint to 100km/h and up to 576km on a single charge.

Skoda Australia marketing and product boss Kieran Merrigan said all four Enyaq variants – 85, 85 coupe, RS and RS coupe – would arrive simultaneously in mid-2024, providing customers of the Czech brand with a new flavour of simple cleverness.

“Skoda customers are also among the most discerning and progressive in the market, and the Australian love affair with RS badged product continues,” he said.

“Together this tells us that our performance and technology flagship, as an appealing SUV, will be warmly welcomed into the market from mid next year.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 04/10/2023 11:35am: The minimal power difference between the Skoda Enyaq 85 Sportline and the sexier RS flagship has been addressed before the mid-size electric SUV range arrives in Australia next year, with the latter gaining an extra 30kW to boost its output to a tasty 250kW.

That makes the updated 2024 Skoda Enyaq RS the most powerful production model the Czech brand has ever produced and shaves a full second off the dual-motor all-wheel drive EV’s claimed 0-100km/h sprint time, which now stands at 5.5 seconds – almost matching the 5.0sec claim of the Tesla Model Y Long Range.

Skoda hasn’t detailed exactly how the extra firepower was liberated but says it’s had no adverse effects on the SUV’s cruising range. In fact, the opposite is true because the Enyaq RS is now claimed to offer 540km on a single charge, while the sleeker ‘coupe’ version will cover 547km (WLTP).

Provided by the same 82kWh lithium-ion battery, these numbers mark increases of 24km and 26km respectively. And for reference, the top-selling Tesla Model Y currently offers driving ranges of 455km (RWD), 533km (Long Range) and 514km (Performance).

Whatever Skoda’s engineers have done to the powertrain (we suspect new motors and/or enhanced battery chemistry and cooling), it’s also had an effect on the charging capability of the Enyaq RS because the 2024 model can now be fast-charged at up to 175kW on DC power – up from 135kW – yielding a 10-80 per cent charge in a claimed 28 minutes.

The same upgrades are expected to be applied to its sister model, the facelifted Volkswagen ID.5 GTX, before it too arrives Down Under next year.

For the record, the all-wheel drive VW ID.5 GTX is currently powered by two electric motors outputting a combined 220kW/460Nm and fed by a 77kWh battery, which can be fast-charged from 5-80 per cent in 36 minutes at a maximum rate of 135kW (or from 0-100% in 7.5 hours using an 11kW AC wallbox).

In the Enyaq RS, the updated drive system is paired with a couple of new standard safety and convenience features, specifically travel assist and speed assist, walk away locking, rear side airbags, rear window blinds, rear USB-C charging ports and tow bar preparation.

Tweaks have also been made to the infotainment and display systems (new icons, menus, graphics and animations), including the digital instrument cluster and optional head-up display.

The updated 2024 Skoda Enyaq and Enyaq RS are available to order in Europe from this month and were previously due for Australian release in the fourth quarter of 2024, following pre-sales from the second quarter, although Skoda Australia said it was pushing to accelerate that timeline.

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