MG5 vs Skoda Enyaq - three in the back

[greeiig]

I went for a test drive in an Enyaq iV this week - to satisfy my curiosity..

Bit of context. I have three kids 11 to 13 - approaching adult size - so when we go on holiday it's three in the back (my wife is allowed the front passenger seat..)
Previous car was a Ford S-Max - it has three evenly sized 2nd row seats. and a third row to make 7 seats.
The biggest issue we have had with MG5 is reducing the niggle factor in the back "she's leaning on me" "ouch - he elbowed me" - you get the drift.
But it's OK I think - we've managed two big trips and it's been OK. Decent boot space and we use a roof box when needed.

I'm selling the S-Max

Anyway, this Enyaq iV. It's a pretty nice car. Drives like a big comfortable SUV. Things that make me want it:

• It can take a tow bar, so I could carry a few bikes on holiday like we used to
• Rear seats are still 40-20-40, but a little roomer than the MG5
• 80 KW battery gives it a bit more mileage - 339 miles
• Boot space looks a little bigger

But I think I'll stick with the MG5

• The rear seat difference is so marginal that I think it's make bugger all difference to the bickering in the back
• I'm kind of getting attached to my lovely new car and quite like the estate look.
• I'm not made of money The MG5 at £28k ish vs an Enyaq at close to £50k

The last one is the clincher. Is it really worth paying out that much for a marginally better car? And for brand snobs - it's a Skoda after all (yeah I know it's basically a VW).

Does anyone else have a view - or seen a different EV that would be any more desirable? Please don't recommend the Porshe Taycan - that would be mean!

 

[Silver estate]

Kids will bicker even if you had a 60 seater with just the 3 of them in

 

[greeiig]

Kids will bicker even if you had a 60 seater with just the 3 of them in

I think you're right!

 

[Deleted member 6627]

Took my 3 kids on a 1500 mile journey to France and back this summer. They are a few years older. Middle seat wasn't that popular so they swapped every time we stopped.... About once an hour. All in they were fine in the back.

The MG5 has a fraction of the boot space compared to my old astra estate. On the flip side the leg space in the back is a massive improvement.

I would love to trade up to a better looking car but I got an amazing deal on the mg5. Until the market calms down a bit the family is happy with the mg5.

 

[Fluffykins]

Were I made of money it'd be a VW ID Buzz. Were i made of even more money I might consider a turbo nutter bastard version of a Tesla Model X on the 7 seat version.

 

[greeiig]

Were I made of money it'd be a VW ID Buzz. Were i made of even more money I might consider a turbo nutter bastard version of a Tesla Model X on the 7 seat version.

Yes thought the ID Buzz looked good but they're certainly not cheap. Kind of a niche appeal..

 

[HarryTheGreyhound]

I have to say, the Enyaq is a lovely car and I had three Skodas in a row before my current MG, all of which were faultless. But I know others on here have had problems, and the price difference is huge.

Had the MG5 for a year now - just the basic spec short-range one, but it's so relaxing after driving a piston car. It's done well for commuting, visiting relatives, and driving four adults to a holiday in the Loire Valley. At no point have I regretted getting the 5.

 

[greeiig]

I have to say, the Enyaq is a lovely car and I had three Skodas in a row before my current MG, all of which were faultless. But I know others on here have had problems, and the price difference is huge.

Had the MG5 for a year now - just the basic spec short-range one, but it's so relaxing after driving a piston car. It's done well for commuting, visiting relatives, and driving four adults to a holiday in the Loire Valley. At no point have I regretted getting the 5.

Agreed.
I think in general not enough is made of the fact that EV's are just so nice, quiet and relaxing to drive. I find the MG5 great on longer trips, where I've been doing pretty much all the driving - much less tiring than my old Diesel S-Max.

 

[popcorn]

I had an Enyaq. It was the most brilliant car to drive I’ve owned.

But the software was atrocious. I regularly lost my speedometer entirely, indicators would stop working, CarPlay would crash and reset every hour or so, the charge scheduling was there but didn’t work, rapid charging didn’t work half the time…

Unlike Skoda… but they wanted nothing to do with it. Partially down to the dealership but the case they raised never got a reply either.

All in all, too many issues for me to deal with. The Enyaq forums have some hardcore fans who pretend the car is flawless. “I’ve not had a single issue!!”- while somehow you will find a dozen problems in their post history that they refuse to admit is a bug/issue.

I met a few Enyaq owners out in the wild who were giving theirs up, because like me, they felt they were paying far too much for something that didn’t work. They also agreed that they felt belittled and unwelcome if they discussed issues on the online groups… I did also meet a few owners who said the car was perfect.

I got fed up with the Enyaq and sold it back to Skoda.

My MG5 has docked and now awaiting its arrival at the dealership. I bought a basic old style ZS as a stop gap several months ago while I decided what car to get next.

The MG’s software has been far less buggy- the most annoying part being that you need to switch it off before you charge.

I had a decent test drive of the MG5- it was lovely. The Enyaq is still a superior drive but the MG5 drove exactly how I want it to. Not sluggish, holds to the road with the typical electric low centre of gravity, quiet, smooth (massive improvement on my ZS), excellent range, enough room everywhere, and all the toys I want and nothing I’m not that bothered about on the Exclusive. A panoramic sunroof would be nice…

All in all: if Skoda’s current software update TRULY fixes the flaws, the Enyaq is absolutely categorically a nicer car.

But if the MG5 lives up to what I’m expecting (the comfort/drive of what I test drove with the same niggles as my current ZS) at a £30k price tag- I would STILL CHOOSE the MG5…

However… if I was made of spare cash… I would get myself an 80x when I’m sure the updates fix everything. Maybe I still will…

 

[greeiig]

Interesting feedback @popcorn . If I'd got keen and ordered an Enyaq I'd have 12 months to wait, so hopefully bugs would have been sorted by then. I totally agree with your cost/benefit analysis though!
You'll see a few niggles about the software - esp. Android Auto. Although since the last couple of upgrades it's been very reliable. I'm really happy with my MG5