Skoda Kodiaq
The new Kodiaq model spares nothing in terms of equipment, but is it too much asks David Linklater.
The cool-looking SportLine comes with ‘‘everything’’.
We’ve written many words about the Skoda Kodiaq SUV over the past year or so. We even gave it our supreme Stuff Top Car award for 2017.
So you already know we think the Kodiaq is one of the best-value, most fit-for-purpose, cleverly packaged and downright appealing seven-seat SUVs you can buy.
Let’s cut to the chase with the new SportLine model then.
‘‘Sportline’’ is essentially Skoda code for ‘‘comes with everything’’, which explains the $62,990 pricetag of our TSI test vehicle (the TDI goes even higher at $67,990). That might seem like a lot of money when we’ve praised the Kodiaq for offering full-size SUV practicality and excellent quality for $43k in its entry-level form.
But not all Kodiaqs are created equal. The starting point for the SportLine is the $56,990 Style. Then you add 20-inch wheels with Pirelli Scorpion rubber, glossblack for the grille and mirror housings (which are heated/ folding), body-colour door strips and unique rear bumper design. Inside, you get a more sporting front-seat design with Alcantara trim and silver stitching, a few SportLine logos for good measure, pseudo-carbon trim inserts and a Performance Monitor display on the touch-screen, which gives you oil/coolant temperatures, acceleration, boost pressure and lap timer (yes, really).
There’s really not a lot more you can add: Trailer Assist with towbar ($1850), a sliding panoramic roof ($2500) or heated windscreen ($750). Or novelty items like the Sleep Package ($765) or Family Package ($660, controllable child locks and sunshades).
Given that the Kodiaq is proudly configured for comfort in every other incarnation, the SportLine kit has either injected a dose of cool into a mainstream model or upset the balance of a big SUV that had no interest in being sporty in the first place. Let’s find out which.
This model will no doubt sell on styling alone, because it really looks the business – especially in the bright red of our test vehicle.
The good news is that there’s no extra power under the bonnet, so our TSI gets along with the same strong-but-not-silly 132kW/ 320Nm of the Style model. Also like the Style, there’s a fair bit of chassis-tailoring available to the driver via pushbutton drive modes and Dynamic Chassis Control with adaptive suspension. You also get an excellent adaptive cruise control system with stopand-go function.
The big wheels don’t ruin the ride, although of course it’s fussier than any of the lesser Kodiaq models. The Pirelli tyres also offer an enormous amount of grip, which is good in one way (because it’s nice to be stuck to the road) but a bit odd in others because it’s combined with a chassis that’s still quite compliant , even with that DCC technology. Press on and it’s a bit like being attached to a bungy cord: you’re solidly anchored, but still swaying around quite a lot.
It’s actually not an unpleasant sensation once you get used to it, and probably preferable to having the suspension tied-down-tight. The SportLine is certainly faster around the corners than a cooking Kodiaq, but not as outwardly composed.
The dual-clutch (DSG) transmission is capable of some very quick gearchanges, but we do find the performance of the same technology in different cars varies. Our test SportLine’s transmission was a little hesitant in urban running, slow to take off on uphill stretches under middling throttle and occasionally a bit of a challenge in parking manoeuvres. Nothing drastic and based on past experience with DSG technology, possibly more to do with this individual car than anything, but worth noting.
As an SUV (rather than a sports-minded machine) the Kodiaq is as brilliant as ever. More brilliant than ever in SportLine form, because those sports seats are fantastic when combined with the big Skoda’s excellent driving position.
And of course the list of clever stuff in Kodiaq is endless and oftrepeated (not least by us): umbrellas in the doors, ice scraper on the fuel flap, bottle grips in the cupholders and automated protectors that pop out when you open the doors. The cargo area is huge, the load bay pleasingly flat when you fold the seats down.
Should you spend the extra $6000 on the SportLine over the Style? In rational terms, no. The value’s probably there, but dynamically the Style is a more cohesive package and it still has all the driver assists and equipment you could want. It’s debatable any Kodiaq really needs a lap timer.
That’s assuming cars are a rational purchase. The SportLine is a cool-looking thing and with Kodiaq’s credibility off the scale in the Kiwi market, it’ll be a hard one for many buyers to resist.