Following the footsteps of Tesla’s demo electric Model 3 police car, Skoda has announced their emergency-services version of the Enyaq iV battery-EV crossover. However, unlike the Model 3, the Skoda will be available for blue-light teams in the UK from July 2021.
The Enyaq will be the first of the iV range that receives this conversion, with both the Octavia iV and Superb iV in line for the blue-light treatment. Access to the iV range is said to help emergency service fleets achieve sustainability goals while retaining the performance and flexibility of their internal combustion-powered counterparts.
Skoda is already a favored vehicle supplier for first responders, with the Czech carmaker having several preconfigured emergency-service cars on offer. In addition, cars such as the Skoda Octavia Scout, a lifted estate not available to the UK public, is exclusively available for blue-light service.
As you’d expect, the Enyaq iV has been kitted out with 360-degree lighting. Part of the package includes integration of emergency services systems with the existing touch screen, including the aforementioned lighting, as well as the EMS communication platform.
Read: Skoda Octavia Scout Is Reserved For Emergency Services In The UK
Although not yet available with all-wheel drive, the Enyaq iV will initially be offered to fast fleets with the option of the 60 (62 kWh battery) and 80 (82 kWh battery) rear-wheel drive models. The 80 delivers 204 PS (201 bhp) and 310 Nm of torque, while the 60 offers the same torque figure with 179 PS (177 bhp). Both hit the 62 mph (100 km/h) mark in less than 9 seconds, with the 80 doing it fastest in 8.5 seconds.
Perhaps most importantly for fleets that need to be on the go at all hours is range and recharge times. The higher capacity version of the Enyaq iV will offer 333 miles (533 km) on the WLTP cycle. Rapid charging on the 80 will recharge from 3%-80% in 38 minutes.
No details were released whether depots could be outfitted with the 125 kW DC chargers recommended for fast charging or whether the standard 7 kW home AC charger would be the plug of choice. The latter, for the larger battery vehicle, offers recharges in 9.5 hours.
However, the lack of moving parts—common to all EVs—reduced servicing costs, and less potential downtime in maintenance may make up for recharge times. The Enyaq iV also gains brownie points by offering a luggage capacity of 585 liters (1,710 liters with the seats folded), ideal for bulky life-saving equipment such as oxygen tanks.
