Skoda Kamiq
Refreshed small SUV gets tweaked engines and a tech injection while maintaining a common-sense theme On sale April Price from £24,030 ‘VORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK’, ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’, ‘The Power of Dreams’. These are all evocative advertising taglines, but none is as fitting as Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’. It’s more than just a slogan; it really is baked into every car that the Czech brand builds.
Take the facelifted Kamiq we’re testing here. On top of thoughtful touches you’d find in the outgoing car, such as the parking ticket holder on the windscreen, the ice scraper in the filler flap and the 12V socket in the boot, there’s now a floor-mounted storage box (for use by rear seat occupants) that snaps onto the back of the centre console, and even an air-conditioned wireless charger to help your mobile phone stay cool during top-ups.
The updated car is much nicer to sit in, too. You’ll notice pleasantly soft materials and recycled fabrics in places where you’d previously have found hard, scratchy plastics. An 8.0in digital instrument panel is now standard, with a larger and configurable 10.3in one fitted on SE L trim and above. As before, though, you don’t get the raised perch that many SUV buyers love; the driver’s seat isn’t much higher than that of a family hatchback.
The infotainment touchscreen has grown from 8.0in to 8.25in, while SE L models and above still come with a larger 9.2in screen with wireless smartphone mirroring. The system is simple and relatively easy to navigate, but it’s a shame that there are no physical shortcut buttons. However, it’s good that the updated car retains physical knobs to operate the two-zone climate control system that’s standard across the range; adjusting the interior temperature or fan speed on the go is a breeze.
The petrol-only engine line-up consists of two 1.0-litre units (TSI 95 and TSI 116) and a 1.5-litre (TSI 150). We’ve tried the middle engine, which
has been tweaked for an extra 5bhp over the pre-facelifted model (for a total of 114bhp).
Even if you compared the two engines back to back, you’d struggle to notice much of a difference. Not that this is a criticism; the 1.0 TSI 110 was our favourite engine choice for the Kamiq previously, and the 1.0 TSI 116 has simply taken its mantle.
With a respectable 0-62mph time of 9.7sec, it’s more than nippy enough for a compact SUV, plus it feels more responsive to accelerator inputs than the mild hybrid Puma 1.0 Ecoboost MHEV 125. Whereas the TSI 95 is offered only with a clunky five-speed manual gearbox, the TSI 116 can be teamed with a slick-shifting six-speed manual or a snappy seven-speed automatic.
The Kamiq delivers a wonderfully plush ride, beaten in its class only by the Volkswagen T-roc when it comes to smothering road imperfections. The Kamiq remains less agile and fun to drive than the Puma, though, and that’s still the case if you specify Sport Chassis
Control (optional on SE L trim, standard on Monte Carlo). This lets you stiffen or soften the suspension at the touch of a button.
Overall, every one of the updated Kamiq’s tweaks is welcome, as is the fact that it remains refreshingly affordable. Prices have risen by only around £1500 across the board, so it still undercuts the Puma and T-roc, fighting the Volkswagen T-cross head on.
So, if you’re in the market for a practical, comfy and competitively priced small SUV, the Kamiq remains a solid option, but the even comfier T-roc is still worth the premium.
‘The ride is superbly plush, beaten in this class only by that of the Volkswagen T-roc’