Skoda Kodiaq TSI Ambition

The facts: $41,990, 1.4-litre turbopetrol (110kW), FWD.

The Kodiaq was the first of this family to appear and certainly an SUV everybody got very excited about – not least because it was a big Skoda SUV.

Skoda is the practical brand of the VW Group, but Kodiaq also covers more bases than either Tarraco or Tiguan Allspace: petrol and diesel, no-frills to luxury, even a specialist RS sports model.

But the most impressive Kodiaq is still the cheapest one. The $42k Ambition is an enormous amount of SUV for the money, the small 1.4-litre litre engine is smooth and the cabin is still packed with clever family-friendly features.