Test drive Skoda Kodiaq

The list of useful little things in Skoda cars is endlessly growing, although each new one is given to Czech designers more and more difficult. But if the crossover is able to surprise with something, then it is precisely the attitude to details.

It seems that one major issue in automotive ergonomics has diminished. For years, automakers have been polishing the interiors of their cars, offering full-fledged cup holders, containers for storing gloves and phones, convenient rather than formal cigarette lighter sockets suitable for connecting gadgets, but the cigarette lighter itself, or its plug, always turned out to be out of work, disgustingly hanging out in the glove compartments or boxes. Now it has become possible, finally, to put an unnecessary device into a special groove near the cup holder - the one with a pimpled bottom, which easily fixes a plastic bottle and allows you to unscrew the lid with one hand.

"Doing simple things is the hardest thing!" - exclaimed the leader of the Skoda Kodiaq project Bohumil Vrhel. And then I remembered that at the seminars, the management constantly sets the task of inventing some new tricks that can be made part of the Simply Clever ideology. But really interesting ideas come across extremely rarely. But without them Skoda would not be itself.

Previous models have taught us that every new Skoda offers something infinitely practical, and the list of useful little things is constantly growing. And already in the seven-seater crossover, which a priori was supposed to become the most practical Skoda in history, we had the right to expect something stunning. But in the category of breakthrough solutions, in addition to a penny groove for a cigarette lighter, one can only include the door edge protection system in tight parking lots, which is quite unexpectedly included in the basic package. Unlike a similar system, which was offered as an option on the Ford Focus, the Czech one does not use electric drives, but works from a simple spring mechanism - reliable and inexpensive.

The Kodiaq is hardly handsome, but the corporate identity is respected. Side skirts, bumpers and wheel archs are well covered with plastic protection.

The declared seven-seater seems to be critical for the model, but it should be treated with a certain degree of skepticism. The gallery is executed with the same German pedantry, easily folds flush with the floor and is brought into a combat position. However, one does not have to seriously count on the fact that an adult can be accommodated there. A man with a height of 180 cm can somehow sit down only by moving the passenger of the second row forward a dozen centimeters, and he will hardly be able to drive in this position for more than five kilometers. Finally, it will be difficult to get out without outside help - there is no lever that allows you to fold back the middle sofa.

For children, perhaps all this is just right, but in fact, marketers do not really count on seven-seat modifications. And if we exclude the third row, it turns out that we are facing an ordinary C-class crossover of slightly more significant dimensions. And it is very convenient for the passengers of the second row, who are even more spacious in it than in the Superb. The sofa is divided into three parts, each of which can be folded independently. The seats are movable, and the backrests are adjustable in tilt angle. The air conditioning system, like that of the Superb, is three-zone, and additional options include heating the left and right side of the sofa.

The front is also quite at ease - the passenger and driver do not embarrass each other, the ceiling is high, and the style of the front panel with vertical deflectors creates the feeling of a truly spacious interior. The salon is assembled for the most part from general corporate parts and, it seems, is already a sign in advance: a three-spoke steering wheel, a media system, an air conditioner, a rotary knob for outdoor lighting and even the window regulator keys, we have already seen many times, as well as the very principle of organizing space, in which symmetry prevails and straight straight lines. In terms of dimensions, the Kodiaq really surpasses all class "C" crossovers, including the Mitsubishi Outlander and the newest Volkswagen Tiguan.

The powerful front panel with vertical ventilation deflectors and the spacious console box create a spacious interior feel. And in the details, everything is very familiar.

The media system differs from earlier versions with touch-sensitive side keys - a stylish, but not very convenient solution. The main innovation is a set of Skoda Connect with Google Earth maps, a service for remote control of the car from a smartphone and a set of applications for communication with a phone, none of which worked even after the smartphone was paired with the car via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB. cable, followed all the instructions of the car and downloaded the necessary software. Petr Kredba, in charge of Skoda Connect, later clarified that a particular Korean brand is not supported, even despite common standards. And he clarified that the set of necessary applications and their functionality are still limited, and all the available communication interfaces of the media system and smartphone are, rather, a reserve for the future.

Generally speaking, the Columbus system with 64GB flash memory and LTE module can be abandoned in favor of the Amundsen instrument with a navigator or an even simpler system. Even in basic versions, the Kodiaq gets a touchscreen color system with a 6,5-inch or 8-inch display. The cabin has two USB ports, 230-volt sockets and tablet holders. The lack of a digital dashboard and head-up display is a cost of an intra-corporate hierarchy, which did not prevent the Czechs from installing smart LED optics, a steering system and adaptive cruise control, which endows the Kodiaq with semi-autonomous functions.

Rotating the configurator, you can completely stop at the base 1,4 TSI turbo engine with a capacity of 150 hp. paired with a "wet" six-speed DSG. The engine has enough strength not to feel lagging behind, and you don't expect super-dynamic accelerations from it. At the same time, the box works surprisingly smoothly, and there is no trace of provoking Volkswagen harshness here. The range does not include the ubiquitous 1,8 TSI engine, and its place is taken by a deformed two-liter unit with a capacity of 180 horsepower. With it, the Kodiaq travels much easier, but does not turn into a completely different car. If the specification numbers are not fundamentally important for the buyer, the two-liter has no reasonable advantages over the 1,4 TSI, except, perhaps, the seven-speed DSG, which works just as smoothly, but falls a little more precisely into the desired gear.

The two-liter diesel engine, which we managed to try only in tandem with the manual gearbox, personifies European rationality, it is not bad luck, and nothing more. Diesel Kodiaq heavy, and a temperamental ride from it can not be achieved even with the excellent shifting mechanism, which you get used to from the very first start. At the same time, the brightest in the range, oddly enough, turned out to be a crossover with the same 190 horsepower diesel engine. And in this case, a funny passage from the Czech site Skoda "Silné jako medvěd" I would like to add Russian "but light". Not in the sense that the crossover blows off the road, but in the sense of ease of lifting and excellent recoil on the go.

In terms of stability, any machine on the MQB platform is expectedly good, and the Kodiaq does not fall out of this cage in the least. The dense chassis, even with these dimensions and weight, gives an excellent feeling of the car, and it was a pleasure to turn the serpentines of the mountain paths of Mallorca, where the test took place, on the steering wheel. Problems arose only in very narrow “hairpins”, where a long Kodiaq, like a tourist bus, required to hook the oncoming lane. Irregularities of this chassis works out resiliently, but it does not come to discomfort - everything is exactly the same as on other machines of this architecture, adjusted for dimensions and weight. Taking these factors into account, the Kodiaq is perceived as an almost passenger car in terms of ride quality, but a very adult car, and only mediocre sound insulation gives it a mass segment car.

A high crossover driving position is something that the Skoda brand has nothing to do with. The body will not remember a Czech car, in which one would have to climb so high, but this sensation is from the category of pleasant - you sit just above the stream with a feeling of some superiority. Although the height of the situation here is exclusively urban. 19-centimeter ground clearance is quite combat-ready on parquet off-road, and a larger family car is not required. In addition, hanging the wheel is a piece of cake, but in such a situation, the off-road mode of the adaptive chassis Driving Mode Select, with which the Kodiaq crawls on conditional off-road a little more confidently, may well help out.

From the consumer's point of view, the ideal car is a powerful open-top sports car from a premium brand. Marketers see the ideal client as a successful business owner with an active lifestyle and a set of sports equipment in the car. But real people count money well and choose a car, based, first of all, on its practicality and functionality. In this sense, the fact that Kodiaq does not ignite at all and does not incline to feats cannot be considered a disadvantage. In a world of marketing delusion, it is defiantly normal, and it is a powerful message to those looking for a comfortable and truly versatile vehicle. So convenient that even the rumble of a cigarette lighter in it will never be annoying, and bottles will be opened with one hand.

1,4 TSI		2,0 TSI 4 × 4		2,0 TDI 4 × 4
A type
Universal	Universal	Universal
Size mm
4697/1882/1655	4697/1882/1655	4697/1882/1655
Wheelbase, mm
2791	2791	2791
Ground clearance, mm
194	194	194
Cargo space, l
650-2065	650-2065	650-2065
Curb weight, kg
1625	1695	1740
engine's type
Gasoline, R4	Gasoline, R4	Diesel, R4
Working volume, cubic meters cm
1395	1984	1968
Max. power, h.p. (at rpm)
150 at 5000-6000	180 at 3900-6000	150 at 3500-4000
Max. cool. moment, nm (at rpm)
250 at 1500-3500	320 at 1400-3940	340 at 1750-3000
Drive type, transmission
front, 6-st. rob.	Full, 7-st. rob.	Full, 6-st. ITUC
Max. speed km / h
198	206	196
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s
9,4	7,8	9,6
Fuel consumption, l / 100 km at 60 km / h
7,0	7,3	5,3
Price from, $.
no data	no data	no data