Revised Kodiaq bears well for Skoda’s ongoing SUV successes
Sharpening its claws for an extended assault on the full-size, seven-seater SUV sector, writes Iain Robertson, the model that placed Skoda on the go-almost-anywhere scene has finally received the new corporate snout and more.
When Skoda introduced its Kodiaq, it was immediately the costliest but certainly not the coolest vehicle on its product list. Five years ago, Skoda was still experiencing its growth spurt and overpriced electrification was but an unexplored novelty to the Czech manufacturer. To say that its brand expansion has been little short of phenomenal might stray into the realms of understatement, as the ‘new order’ at VW Group stretches all of its charges to bursting point.
Kodiaq was welcomed for its more realistic and much appreciated value for money tag. However, that was then and this is now. The latest and corporately improved iteration now starts at £27,650, which means it is still cheaper than an Audi Q7, or VW Touareg, although parity day might arrive imminently and the Seat Tarraco is already there. Yet, as a market acceptable model, most of its other rivals, of which there are many, are dotted either side of its finance line.
To be fair, the midlife model upgrade is a thorough exercise aimed at improving its levels of connectivity, updating the ADAS packages and enhancing its quite boring styling, by drawing it into line with the rest of the Skoda family. In other words, the new grille and its visually lower positioning in the frontal aspect provides the Kodiaq with a wide and knowing toothy smile that is (fortunately) more characterful and less scared of its own previous shadow. The slightly raised bonnet line and new LED headlamps (for the first time) in slimmer housings, with the costly option of full matrix type, supplement the new-found confidence.
The bumpers have been redesigned with a sharper appearance, while the central air intake has been widened. SE and SE L trims add aluminium-effect cladding on the front and rear aprons that provide the Kodiaq with an even more rugged and potentially adventurous feel. Mildly updated taillamp clusters and the revised badging also applied to the rest of the now extensive model range complete the new look.
Although slightly less obvious, the interior décor has been altered slightly, with discernible new trim detailing for the seats and door cards and a new and unusual two-spoke steering wheel as standard; a hide-wrapped three-spoker is provided on Sportline and vRS versions, as might be expected. The greatest change is with the incorporation of VW Group’s latest digital and reprogrammable main instrument cluster, which means that a choice of layouts and read-outs can be obtained according to a driver’s needs.
Available from July 2021, Kodiaq will feature five familiar trim levels; SE, SE L, SportLine, the quite luxurious L&K and more overtly sporting vRS. The base SE models can be ordered in both five and seven seat layouts, with all other models in the range featuring seven seats as standard. While the occupants of the front and middle rows are well catered for on the space front, either a couple of very small adults, or the kiddiewinks, are the preserve of the rearmost bench. It is not the roomiest spot in a cramped class. All models in the revised range enjoy a significant specification and equipment boost over previous versions.
While the updated price tag for the vRS model has not been released at this stage, you can reckon on it either equalling, or exceeding the £41,720 being requested for the L&K variant. More than 600,000 Kodiaq models have been built worldwide since its introduction in 2016, a healthy proportion of which have been adopted by the company car sector. As already stated, it was the brand’s first entry into the large SUV sector and the Kodiaq has proven to be highly popular with buyers in the UK, thanks to its first-rate practicality and initial value for money stance. It has also won more than 20 industry awards since its launch and continues to offer a benchmark of sorts in the family SUV sector.
For what it is worth, Kodiaq also provided a template for the subsequent Karoq and Kamiq models that share the same user-pleasing DNA and has established Skoda as one of the front-runners in the SUV scene. However, as with the rest of its models, the firm is losing its sometime stoically independent stance, as it bends to fit the VW Group’s less brand-specific style role. Park the Group combatants alongside each other and the differences are abundantly clear but remove them and you might be hard pushed to recall which brand was which.
Yet, such speculation, or observation, does not diminish what is a very sound dynamic package for a large estate car. Were it not for the fatter tyres that do induce some extra grumbling into the drivetrain report of the SE version, the shrink-around-the-driver impression would be more significant than it is. Move up a grade and the 19.0-inch diameter alloys, clad in slightly lower profile rubber, do help the equation a little. Bump absorption is managed excellently, along with tenacious grip levels, while turn-in to corners is well-judged, avoids sharpness but delivers great accuracy to the driver’s fingers. Naturally, the vRS provides an even more honed ride and handling compromise and does not disappoint, its more bolstered seating ensuring that occupants are held-in more securely, when indulging in the car’s broader performance range.
Overall, the 2021 upgrade can be regarded as wholly successful, an aspect that should be reflected in marginally increased dealer activities. However, with the all-electric future posted for 2030, buyers are becoming increasingly eco-aware and large SUVs, while popular, do not really fit into a new idyll. The market is starting to plateau and Skoda actually has less time to fulfil requirements, which means that it has to become familiar with a shift into smaller, partially (hybrid) and then fully-electrified models. Although slightly overdue, the changes made to the Kodiaq are welcome and make a basically good vehicle even better, albeit at a chunkier price tag that is unlikely to unsettle the corporate market.
