Which is better? New Tesla Model Y vs Skoda Enyaq

Tesla’s in a spot of bother. Its sales have dropped and profits have taken an even more vertiginous slump.

Adding to its woes was the recent news that it was forced to issue its eighth (yes, you read that right) recall of its cubist Cybertruck, this time to remedy its propensity for shedding stainless steel bodywork.

So what’s going on? If you look at many of the headlines, the finger points directly at the company’s controversialist CEO, Elon Musk.

His appetite for attracting attention of the wrong kind certainly hasn’t helped lure customers into showrooms – although it has created a cottage industry in ‘not in my name’ bumper stickers – but as ever the answer is, well, more complicated than that.

For starters, there’s the current tariff situation. Then there’s the fact that Tesla is actually more of a tech company than a car firm, which brings its own challenges.

Like a smartphone manufacturer, it’s all about the software, and in this respect it’s one of the best in the business, streets ahead of the legacy brands (and that also includes its understanding of battery chemistry).

Yet this means it doesn’t follow some of the tried and tested methods of the established practitioners, such as model cycles that include visually appealing mid-life refreshes designed to persuade people to part with their cash for cars that might otherwise be getting close to their sell-by date.

By contrast, Tesla’s line-up comes across visually as a bit old hat, as if the company has been peddling the same, unchanged product from day one. The recent Model 3 ‘Highland’ is a case in point. It’s a thoroughly overhauled car, but to the casual observer it could just as easily be the 2017 original.

The same can be said of the Model S and Model X, which have both benefited from top to bottom technical titivation but are indistinguishable from their decade-old progenitors.

However, the stakes are higher for the Model Y, which is the brand’s best-seller and until very recently topped the sales charts across Europe. As a result, Tesla has taken a leaf out of rivals’ books and delivered a facelift that will leave buyers in no doubt this is a box-fresh proposition.

Speaking of which, the Tesla isn’t the only family-sized all-electric EV to have gone under the knife. The Skoda Enyaq Coupé (and its more sensible SUV sibling) has always been one of our favourite protagonists in this corner of the market, and five years on from its debut the Czech machine has been treated to the industry-standard nip and tuck.

Looks are clearly subjective but, to our eyes, Tesla’s tweaks are more eye-catching. You can see the DNA of the original car between the A- and C-pillars, but at the front there’s a Cybertruck-inspired nose complete with a pencil-thin LED light bar, while the rear features a neat-looking, indirectly lit, full-width tail-light.

By contrast, Skoda has grafted its bold new ‘Tech-Deck’ nose onto the Enyaq, but the rest of the car’s appearance has been left largely untouched. It’s a similar story inside, where the Skoda looks and feels very much the same as the old car.

There’s a revised 13in infotainment screen that looks slicker and responds more swiftly but otherwise it’s business as usual. This means that, unlike in the Model Y, you do get some handy physical shortcut keys and a separate display ahead of the driver for speed and range information.

As ever, the Tesla’s dashboard is dominated by its centrally mounted infotainment screen, which literally controls all of the car’s major functions (although, unlike in the Model 3, there is an actual column stalk for the indicators. Hallelujah!). Still, the set-up is one of the best around, proving a doddle to navigate and always responding crisply to your demands.

It’s sufficiently good that you almost don’t miss the odd button or two. With its greater mix of rich materials and more complex dashboard and door mouldings, the Skoda’s cabin looks a little more upmarket than the Model Y’s, but in terms of touchy-feely perceived quality, there’s little to separate the two.

In fact, it’s the uplift in solidity that you notice most in the starkly minimalist cabin of the Tesla. There are still some areas of the car that look a little hand-finished – the cheap LED spotlight in the boot and the thin fabric covering the A-pillar-mounted tweeters – but overall the Model Y is full of appealing materials and exhibits a tight fit and finish.

The Tesla also scores strongly for space and versatility, which is surely one of the biggest considerations with cars like these.

There’s a large load area with plenty of underfloor storage compartments, plus the trademark 117-litre frunk. (The Skoda’s bonnet lifts to reveal various EV ancillaries but no space for luggage overspill from its 570-litre boot). Rear occupants in the Model Y also have plenty of head and leg room, while a powered reclining backrest and completely flat floor add to the feeling of comfort.

What’s more, the addition of a small touchscreen now allows occupants to adjust the temperature and switch on their heated seats without having to issue orders to the driver.

Up front, the sense of space is enhanced by the low scuttle and large windscreen, which helps deliver a more panoramic view of the road than in the Skoda. However, this Sportline-trim Enyaq hits back with heavily bolstered front seats that offer greater support.

Grab the tape measure and you’ll find the Enyaq pretty much matches the Model Y for accommodation. Where the Skoda edges ahead is in those thoughtful details that have become a calling card for the Czech brand, such as the umbrellas secreted in the front doors and the multitude of handy boot dividers, hooks and nets.

That said, you’re unlikely to run out of room for odds and ends in the Model Y, with its large, carpeted door bins, cupholders galore and a lidded cubby between the front seats that’s so deep you’ll need to send the a rescue dog in for help if you ever fall in.

So it’s even-stevens for practicality, but what about performance and poise? Once again, our two dual-motor contenders are separated by the width of a Tesla key card, but they go about their business in slightly different ways. If outright urge is your thing, though, the Model Y is a slam-dunk choice.

With 280kW (375hp) and a lower, 1997kg kerb weight, the Tesla is seriously rapid and feels especially so in Sport mode, when its throttle response is even sharper. The 210kW (282hp) Enyaq, with a claimed 0-100 km/h (62mph) of 6.7sec, is no slouch but it’s left gasping in its rival’s wake on a straight road.

Throw some corners into the mix and there’s less clear air between the two. With its quick, albeit lifeless, steering, the Tesla feels more agile – an impression exaggerated by a rear-biased power delivery that allows you to tighten your cornering line with a dose of throttle.

Special mention also has to go to the new brake-by-wire set-up, which offers a firm pedal and plenty of progression.

With its slower but better-weighted steering, the Skoda feels a little lazier in its reactions, its narrower-section front tyres gently squealing into safe understeer at the limit.

Yet despite its heftier kerb weight, the Enyaq feels better tied down over bumpier stretches of Tarmac, containing body movements more effectively than the Tesla, which can hop and corkscrew a little when pressing on. Traction isn’t a problem for either all-wheel-drive vehicle.

The Skoda maintains a narrow advantage when it comes to cruising comfort. Both have firm low-speed rides – although the newly softened Tesla is much better here than its predecessor – that calm down at speed, and while each delivers decent refinement, the Enyaq does a marginally better job of isolating you from road and wind noise.

As you would expect, both cars have driver aids galore – and you’ll be either fine or frustrated with that depending on your point of view. On the plus side, turning off the lane keeping assistance is a doddle in either car and the other systems are as unobtrusive as they get these days.

Mind you, because the Model Y uses plenty of cameras (the Enyaq favours radar), its various warnings become increasingly inconsistent as each lens becomes coated with road grime.

Tesla Model Y vs Skoda Enyaq: Verdict

So we have established that each of these cars is practical, delivers all the performance you’re ever likely to need and, while you’re unlikely to pick either for a dawn raid on your favourite roads, they both steer and stop with admirable accuracy and agility.

Ultimately, then, it comes down to the numbers – and again the margins are tight, although the more cost-effective contender probably isn’t the one you would expect.

When it comes to claimed range, the Model Y totes a figure of 586km (364 miles) as standard, reduced to 568km (353 miles) with the optional wheels of our test car, while the Skoda stretches to 538km (334 miles).

Thanks to Tesla’s mastery of battery chemistry, motor efficiency and (relatively) lightweight construction methods, the Model Y gets closer to its WLTP numbers in real-world use. Over the course of our test, it delivered an impressive efficiency return of 16.4kWh/100km (3.8mpkWh), whereas the Enyaq could manage only 18.3kWh/100km (3.4mpkWh).

Then there’s the thorny issue of cash. In Long Range AWD form, the Tesla’s sticker price is 60,000 euros (£52,000), a scant 2000 euros (£1300) more than the Enyaq. Yet nobody turns up to a dealer with a suitcase full of banknotes for cars like these: they plonk down a deposit and finance the rest.

Put your pen to a PCP deal and over four years you’ll shell out 580 euros (£499) a month for the Model Y and 610 euros (£527) for the Skoda. Again, not that much in it, but there’s something significant about Tesla getting one over on a brand famed for delivering value for money.

Are these cost savings enough to swing the result in favour of the Model Y? By the tightest of margins, we would say yes. Sure, Tesla has some PR issues bubbling away in the background, but as a spacious, sensible and swift family wagon that packs genuinely innovative engineering, the new Model Y makes a compelling choice.

Maybe that will give Elon something to smile about.

1st. Tesla Model Y

The revised Tesla Model Y fixes most of its predecessor’s flaws yet retains its efficiency, performance and impressive practicality.

2nd. Skoda Enyaq Coupe

It’s a close-run thing for the Skoda Enyaq, which in facelifted form remains a refined, thoughtfully designed and thoroughly likeable car.

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