2026 Skoda Enyaq 60 Select review: Australian first drive

Australia’s least expensive Tesla Model Y competitor, made somewhere that isn’t China, doesn't hail from Japan or South Korea, but Europe.

The Skoda Enyaq electric SUV range has expanded down to a new entry-level grade, the 60 Select, which trims equipment and range to lower its price to $54,990 drive-away.

That is about $4000 cheaper than a BYD Sealion 7 (before special offers), and $9000 cheaper than any Model Y or Zeekr 7X.

Is it a deal worth snapping up, or is there a hidden catch that should keep you in Tesla or Zeekr's showrooms? We’ve had a first drive on local roads to find out.

The Enyaq 60 Select is currently listed at $50,990 plus on-road costs – $9000 less than the next model up, the 85 Sportline – or $54,990 drive-away nationwide.

It is one of the cheapest cars in its class, undercutting the Sealion 7, Model Y, 7X and Kia EV5 (normally $56,770 drive-away), but costs more than the sub-$50,000 drive-away bracket occupied by the Geely EX5, Leapmotor C10 and GAC Aion V.

Standard features in the base Enyaq include 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 13-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, fabric and leather-look upholstery, heated front seats, leather steering wheel, an eight-speaker stereo, tri-zone climate control, power tailgate, and a suite of safety systems.

Optional is the $6000 Signature Package, adding matrix LED headlights, scrolling rear indicators, a power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory and massaging, an augmented-reality head-up display, Canton premium audio, and a 360-degree camera.

Larger 20-inch wheels are a $1000 option.

The Enyaq is a no-frills electric car that offers the modern technology you’d expect, without sacrificing ergonomics or removing all switchgear in favour of extreme minimalism, à la Tesla.

Tall drivers have plenty of space to stretch out behind the wheel, with lots of adjustment in the steering column, good visibility out the front and rear, and a centre armrest that tilts up to meet your elbows.

The front seats are comfortable enough for my 186cm (6ft 1in) tall frame, with heating and a mix of cloth and leather-look upholstery, but they are not the last word in support, and don’t get power adjustment unless you tick an option box.

The leather steering wheel is great to hold and interact with, while being thin-rimmed and fitting physical buttons, rather than fiddly touch-sensitive switches.

Inoffensive grey fabric is used on the dashboard, armrest, door panels, and even the sides of the centre console – nicer to touch than grey plastic – and perceived build quality was good in our test vehicle, though we have heard rattles in other Enyaqs we’ve tested.

Most of the air-conditioning functions run through the screen – fan speed, for example, is at least a tap away – but there are temperature and heated seat controls pinned to the bottom of the display, plus a physical shortcut below the screen to open the climate menu.

Skoda has also included physical switches for the safety systems, drive modes, parking sensors, and defrosters, but the passenger must use a fiddly touch-sensitive slider to adjust the volume – or ask the driver to adjust it on the steering wheel – as there’s no volume dial near the screen.

A deep centre console compartment, spacious door pockets with flock lining, space beside the gear selector for keys, and a wireless phone charging tray are on hand, but the glovebox is on the small side and the cupholders are tight.

Amenities include two 45-watt USB-C ports, tri-zone climate control, keyless entry and start – there’s a start button on the steering column, but it’s not needed to start the car – and handy touches such as an umbrella in the driver’s door, a bin in the door pocket and a ticket holder on the windscreen.

Space in the back is generous for tall adults, my 186cm (6ft 1in) tall frame fitting behind my driving position with ample head room and knee room by class standards, though toe room is limited.

Three adults can sit across the rear-seat bench in relative comfort, under-thigh support is excellent for an electric car, and the flat floor helps stretch out. There’s even a plastic tray that clips into the centre of the footwell, with room for two drinks and some small items.

As with the wider Enyaq range, the payload – the maximum mass of passengers, cargo, and accessories the car is legally rated to carry – is only 419kg, so it is only just enough for four 100kg adults or five 80kg people.

It’s not quite as restrictive as the smaller Elroq’s 397kg, but it is not as generous as many rivals.

Phone and map pockets are included on each seatback, plus deep door pockets, two USB-C ports, rear air vents, three top-tether and two ISOFIX anchors, and a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders.

The Enyaq can’t match the Elroq for boot space, but it is not a small cargo area. The power tailgate opens to a wide and deep load area with room for everything families need to carry, plus a little extra space under the floor for charging cables and the tyre repair kit, as there’s no spare.

Pockets on each side, bag hooks, a 12-volt socket, tie-downs, and a ski port for loading longer items without folding the 60:40 rear seats, help with practicality.

The Enyaq’s 13-inch touchscreen is bright and contemporary in its graphics, it’s quick to respond, and easy enough to navigate once you’ve learnt its menus, but it is not up to Tesla and Zeekr standards for snappiness and features.

Among its omissions is in-built satellite navigation, absent with it is any form of route planning feature to map out a long drive around charging stations.

There is also no companion phone app like you get with Tesla, BYD, Zeekr, and myriad competitors, nor the ability to schedule charging at home. These are features many repeat electric-car buyers swear by.

Owners can set to set a time to automatically precondition the cabin, but it must be done from the touchscreen.

There are wireless and wired versions of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – with CarPlay operating smoothly in our testing – plus FM and digital DAB radio, and voice control.

Also handy is a customisable shortcut bar along the top of the display for key functions – including a toggle for lane-keep assist – and more controls available by swiping down on the screen.

Not so impressive is the eight-speaker sound system, which peaks in volume so early that most songs we played through it couldn’t get past two-thirds volume without hitting its limit.

The 5.0-inch instrument display shows key speed, range, and cruise-control information without going overboard. A head-up display is an optional extra if you’re after more digital real estate.

The Skoda Enyaq is covered by a five-star ANCAP safety rating, based on 2021 testing in Europe under less stringent 2020–22 criteria than those in force today.

It earned category scores of 94 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 71 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 73 per cent for safety assist technology.

The tuning of the safety features in the Enyaq is a highlight, from smoothly calibrated adaptive cruise control (via a stalk) and lane-centring assist, to a driver attention alert that softly beeps if you’re looking at the screen for too long, rather than berating you for a momentary glance away from the road.

The lane-keep assist is also gentle in its tugs on the steering wheel, but it can be confused on unmarked rural roads, as well as overzealous in particularly tight lanes.

No Enyaq is fitted with speed sign recognition, however, and a 360-degree camera in lieu of the standard rear-view display – the resolution of which is poor – is an option.

The Enyaq 60 is fitted with a smaller nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery than other models, quoting a capacity of 59kWh usable or 63kWh total, for 410km of claimed driving range in European WLTP testing.

Skoda claims energy efficiency of 16.6 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres which, interestingly, is higher than the 85 Sportline (15.9kWh/100km) above it in the range, even though it sits on bigger wheels and is heavier.

That’s believed to be related to the 60’s 150kW electric motor, which is an older design that our real-world testing suggests is not quite as efficient as the 210kW unit in 85 variants.

Around town, I returned indicated consumption of 16.6kWh/100km – compared to about 15kWh/100km I’ve seen in earlier testing of an Enyaq 85 Sportline – rising to 17.7kWh/100km once some more enthusiastic country driving was thrown in.

It is not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, as our time in the 60 Select was brief – and on different roads to earlier testing of Enyaqs – but, anecdotally, it appears it’s not quite as frugal as more expensive variants, nor a Tesla Model Y or Toyota bZ4X in this category.

The figures I observed in the Enyaq 60 Select equate to an around-town range of about 350km, dropping closer to 330km in more demanding environments. We plan to get the car through the Drive garage for a longer test in the near future.

DC fast charging in the Enyaq 60 is rated at up to 165kW, for a claimed 10 to 80 per cent recharge in 24 minutes.

That’s four minutes slower than what’s quoted for 85 variants, which only list a DC charging peak of 135kW, but our testing suggests they hold that figure for longer than the 60, so the difference is mostly related to the difference in battery capacity.

AC charging is quoted at 11kW, the standard in the segment.

The Enyaq is a smooth, refined and easy-going car to drive that feels like it’s been engineered by people who didn’t start making cars yesterday.

The 150kW/310Nm electric motor in the 60 Select is not as potent as the 85’s 210kW/545Nm unit, but it has enough punch for zipping into gaps in traffic, and performance is meted out well through a smoothly calibrated accelerator pedal.

Only when you pull onto the freeway, or go for an overtake on a country road, does power feel modest.

There’s a choice of standard D and more aggressive B modes to control the regenerative braking from the electric motors, but neither can bring the car to a full stop without touching the brake pedal, like many rivals.

It forces you to interact with the soft and squishy feel of the brake pedal, which requires a considerable movement of your foot to pull the car up – even at city speeds – and lacks bite, especially on country roads.

Old-school drum brakes at the rear probably don’t help here. The point at which the regen blends with the ‘friction’ brakes isn’t quite as obvious as other Enyaqs I’ve driven, but it’s also not as smooth as some rivals.

Comfort over bumps is a step up over the 85 Sportline variant above it – without its optional adaptive suspension at least – thanks to chubbier tyres and smaller 19-inch alloys, soaking up potholes and big bumps with little issue.

On country roads, it remains settled and ‘tied down’ over undulations and crests – something its Chinese competition can struggle with – but there is a tendency for the Enyaq to bobble over rough tarmac around town, as it struggles to keep its weight under control.

Despite its length, the turning circle is an ultra-tight 9.3m – smaller than a Suzuki Swift (9.6m) – so it’s easy as pie to drive in car parks, aided by steering that is quick and intuitive at low speeds, but accurate and confidence-inspiring on country roads.

In the latter environment, the Enyaq is surprisingly enjoyable to pilot through corners, the suspension resisting much of the body roll, and the Pirelli tyres on our test vehicle – it’s a lottery whether you get these or Kumho rubber – serving up plenty of grip.

The Enyaq feels better suited to the reduced power of the 60 variant, as the 85 can struggle to maintain traction if the accelerator is pushed too hard out of a T-junction or the road is damp.

The tyre roar and wind noise you can hear at highway speeds are modest enough that they're easily drowned out by the sound system.

The Skoda Enyaq 60 Select is an appealing option for buyers after a refined and spacious electric family SUV without the mystery of many new Chinese brands on the market.

It lacks equipment compared to similarly priced Chinese competition – so it should probably undercut rivals by more than it currently does – the driving range is modest, and it is missing electric-focused technology such as route planning and a phone app.

The low payload also makes it hard to fill all five seats with adults, even if there’s space to do so.

It counters those weaknesses with a practical and well-finished interior, enough technology for the money, well-tuned safety features, quick charging, a quiet and refined driving experience, and the backing of a seven-year warranty.

If the budget gets close to a Tesla Model Y, Zeekr 7X or higher-spec Enyaq but can’t quite get there, the 60 Select is worth considering.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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