(Really) remote charging: Electric Skoda vs the Sahara

Open gallery How challenging will it be to introduce EVs everywhere? Dusty roads were no trouble for our four-wheel-drive Enyaq There’s enough power here for every EV in Morocco – but no fast charger Attwood’s laptop was next in line for a battery boost Head south and the sat-nav says the next EV charger is… 1600 miles away Camels can teach EVs a thing or two about efficiency Close News 8 mins read 27 April 2024 Follow @@Atters_J Ouarzazate is known as the gateway to the Sahara – and the driveway to that gate is Morocco’s N9 highway. The road winds from Marrakesh through the High Atlas mountains, where barren, sun-parched, rocky landscapes meet snow-covered peaks. At the dizzying Tizi n’Tichka pass, it practically folds in on itself. Just 200 miles south-west from here is the vast nothingness of the Sahara desert. And that’s where I’ve just come from – driving a Skoda Enyaq Coupé 85x. The challenge was to find out how an electric car coped in a desert climate, but also to consider a wider question: if electric cars are the future, how challenging will it be to introduce them everywhere? Related articles After all, when buyers are put off EVs because the north of England is considered a ‘charging desert’, can electric cars ever work in a real one? Here comes the sun The answer to that question is obvious, of course. Just look up, either at the sun or, if you’re near where I am today, the glowing, 250-metre-high tower of the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex. The Drâa-Tafilalet region averages nearly 3500 hours of sunshine per year, and with much of the land desolate and unoccupied, it’s an ideal place to harness solar power on a vast scale. The Noor complex covers 3000 hectares – about 3500 football pitches – and, depending on your taste in movies, looks like a Bond villain’s lair or an otherworldly alien edifice dropped into the desert. Latest Reviews Peugeot 5008 7 Peugeot 5008 Mini Countryman MG 3 Review 8 MG 3 Review Dacia Duster 9 Dacia Duster GWM Ora 03 6 GWM Ora 03 View all car reviews Back to top Noor’s four different plants have a combined rated capacity of 582MW. That’s about half the output of a nuclear power station and enough to power two million Moroccan homes each year. It’s key to helping to reduce the North African country’s dependence on imported energy. It’s also the ideal place to start this drive, not least because it feels well equipped to charge an Enyaq Coupé: Noor’s daily output of around 5GW is enough to charge more than 60,000 82kWh batteries. Except Noor doesn’t have a fast charger, so I’m reduced to a domestic plug socket in a bench in the car park. Luckily, the Enyaq was nearly full when I got here. The road to the Sahara From Noor, our next stop is the edge of the Sahara, 175 miles south of here. Range anxiety shouldn’t be an issue, given this dual-motor model’s range of 332 miles, although the prospect of running out of juice in a desert looms large. Our route from Noor takes us through the centre of Ouarzazate. Its name is taken from a Berber word meaning ‘without noise’, and what can be more apt than gliding through in a silent EV? The Enyaq’s excellent noise isolation and quiet interior make for a surreal contrast to the chaotic bustle on the packed streets. Escaping the town means a chance to enjoy the effortless performance of the Skoda. I spent time last year running the 335bhp vRS version, but this £50,250 85x feels the better option: 282bhp is still plenty, but it’s a bit softer and more relaxed. While I prefer the cheaper, 353-mile single-motor version, I suspect the four-wheel drive would be useful in the desert. This car is in entry-level Sportline Plus trim, but it’s still really well equipped. Spacious, too. Back to top This is Skoda doing what it has done so well in recent years: taking a Volkswagen Group platform (MEB in this case) and producing a model mixing acres of space, practicality and a bit of class. It certainly has a better-resolved interior than Volkswagen’s initial MEB offerings. It rides well here, too. That said, the Moroccan roads help: the N9 highway is superb and for the most part significantly smoother than anything you would find in the UK. Traffic is sparse and the Enyaq makes short work of overtaking slow-moving trucks and ageing cars. I make one stop heading south, at Kasbah Sirocco in the small town of Zagora. It’s a chance to fill up on baklava and electricity, as the hotel has a 7kW charger. That said, I barely need the electrons: having travelled 115 miles, there’s plenty left in the Enyaq Coupé’s battery. The near-30deg C heat and smooth roads are great news for efficiency: on one leg I achieve 4.5mpkWh, surpassing the Enyaq’s official economy of 3.9mpkWh. No heat pumps needed here. Bes