C ome Diwali 2017, choosing a premium SUV is going to become harder than ever. That’s because while it’s already difficult to pick between brilliant models like the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner and the Hyundai Tucson, Skoda’s spanking-new Kodiaq is about to add to the conundrum.
The Kodiaq is Skoda’s new flagship, and will be positioned slightly above the Superb sedan, on which it is based. Like all Skodas, it promises to deliver on space, comfort, tech and luxury at a very competitive price.
What modern Skodas, like the new Superb, have also delivered, is knockout exterior design, and the Kodiaq continues that trend. It’s a 4.7-m-long SUV, but the sharp angles, strong lines and tight surfacing make it look more compact than it actually is. In fact, for something so big, it manages to look almost athletic.
Skodas are known for their cabin space, and the Kodiaq carries that torch beautifully. The middle row can be slid back and forth, and if you slide it back all the way, you’ve got as much, if not more, space than a Superb. Access to the third row isn’t too bad, but, with the middle row pushed all the way back, the third row becomes slightly tight on space. What’s good is that even with the third row up, boot space is pretty reasonable. With it down, of course, you could very well move house. There is a five-seat version of the Kodiaq too, but Skoda is bringing only the seven-seater to India.
Although some of that solid, luxurious feeling from the older Skodas is missing from today’s models, they’re still very well put-together. The Kodiaq’s dashboard is nice and chunky, befitting the SUV, with tall vertical AC vents and thick slabs of textured trim. It features the same AC controls and switchgear as most modern VW Group cars, but the stand-out feature here is the eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which uses capacitive, rather than physical buttons.
Staying with the infotainment system, it gets Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SmartLink and also doubles up as a display for the 360-degree camera. Also part of the long equipment list are adaptive cruise control, park assist, a powered tailgate, a massive panoramic sunroof, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot warning, Qi wireless phone charging, three-zone climate control, an on-board WiFi hotspot and plenty more! Other cool little features include a magnetised flashlight that you can stick onto the car to help with, say, a puncture repair at night, and finally, little rubber protectors that pop out to cover the door edges from scuffing when you open the doors.
The Kodiaq will come to India with a 180hp, 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine, as well as a 150hp 2.0-litre TDI diesel. There’s also a 190hp version of the 2.0-litre diesel, which is likely to be available at a later stage. Both the petrol and the diesel engines come with either six-speed manuals or seven-speed DSG automatics, and get all-wheel-drive on top variants.
The petrol engine is smooth, refined and quite enjoyable to drive. For such a large car, it weighs a not-too-shabby 1,695kg, and as a result it can do the 0-100kph sprint in a claimed 8.0sec. The DSG gearbox too is as impressive, with smooth, quick and timely shifts.
The 150hp diesel is impressively refined as well, but that also has to do with the Kodiaq itself, which is great at shutting out outside noise. It’s peppy, and with a claimed 0-100kph time of 8.9sec, it’s impressively so for an SUV this size.
Interestingly, the 190hp diesel is not as responsive as the 150hp diesel. However, it does feel stronger at higher revs, which according to Skoda engineers, makes it ‘ideal for cruising on the Autobahn at 230kph’.
From behind the wheel, it feels like a large, high-riding Superb, but is a lot less cumbersome to drive than bulkier ladder-frame SUVs like the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. You do get a bit of body roll, but that’s nowhere as much as you’d get in a ladder-frame SUV. Even though it doesn’t feel flat over broken bits of road, overall, the Kodiaq rides quite nicely.
The Kodiaq is expected in Indian showrooms by the third quarter of 2017, and is likely to be priced at around Rs 27–32 lakh (ex-showroom). That puts it in the same range as the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour, and its most direct rival, the Hyundai Santa Fe. But what new stuff does the Kodiaq bring to the table?
It’s got seven seats, comes with a strong set of engines, and although it remains to be seen how well it is equipped, given how well Skoda specs its cars, a lot of the European Kodiaq’s goodies are likely to make it on the Indian model. The interior, though not out-and-out luxurious, is up to class standards, but the two things that really work in the Kodiaq’s favour are its sharp looks – that’s sure to go down well with image-conscious Indians – and the space it offers, all of which makes this an exciting SUV worth looking forward to.
