The Perfect Car For A Weekend Away
One of the first rules aspiring writers learn at journalism college is to always to try and keep themselves one step removed from the stories they tell. However, there are exceptions to this protocol and the writer of this column hopes that readers will forgive this particular indulgence.
Easter weekend was spent in the Lake District with family, and by dint of being a member of the Lightcliffe crew, said writer was kindly offered the use of an Enyaq 85 Sportline for the trip. Whilst this was presented as a research exercise the excitement started to build several days before Good Friday in anticipation of picking up this top of the range award winning vehicle.
From the moment the car was collected the first notable feature was the space. The huge boot provided comfortable accommodation for everyone’s luggage which included outdoor walking gear and the seating was comfortable for all five (adult) passengers.
Aside from the luxury of the interior the second notable feature was the comfort for the driver, with the elevated driver position and super smooth ride and the “driver assistance” gadgets adding that "x factor" to the whole experience. As well as the adaptive cruise control helping to keep a safe distance while navigating the Good Friday M6 mayhem, feeling the car slow down automatically to negotiate the twists and turns of the Lakeland lanes was inspirational.
Even though hiking was the main pursuit for the weekend, the party did travel by car to one particular walk which again showed off the enormous luggage capacity and the automatic parking feature was invaluable on one evening trip to the sleepy village of Ambleside to visit a favoured pizza restaurant.
The icing on the cake however was definitely the range which, for this Enyaq 85 model was the showstopper. Even though the battery was fully charged before departure, after a whole weekend of transporting a large family around, using heating and aircon at leisure, and not paying any attention to the battery capacity, the range was still showing 50 miles to spare as the car was parked back on the driveway.
As a final note, whilst most people agree that the electric vehicles will be the future of motoring, the convenience comfort and all round technology buzz experienced on this family weekend away has convinced the writer of this column at least that the future may well be here much sooner than most of us think!