Skoda has launched the successor to their third best-selling mannequin and one of many extra fashionable mainstream SUVs in Europe, the Kodiaq, which might be accessible in each 5-seater and 7-seater variants.

The Czech model’s flagship SUV is bigger and roomier in comparison with its predecessor, that includes acquainted styling and contemporary know-how. The powertrain lineup encompasses gasoline, diesel, mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) choices, with the latter producing 201 hp and offering over 100 km (62 miles) of zero-emission vary.

Exterior and inside design

Just like most of its core fashions, Skoda has adopted an evolutionary method to the design of the second-generation mannequin, which can seem acquainted to current Kodiaq house owners. Whereas the outside retains sure signature styling cues and proportions from the earlier iteration, it positive factors a sharper look, courtesy of recent components from the model’s ‘Fashionable Stable’ design language, a motif that can persist throughout all fashions all through the remainder of the last decade. These updates embody cleaner physique surfacing and modern options similar to the total LED Matrix headlights handled with a “Crystallinium” end.

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Clearly influenced by the electrical Enyaq, the inside of the brand new Kodiaq boasts a contemporary and minimalist design. The dashboard incorporates a 12.9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, complemented by a ten.25-inch Digital Cockpit and a head-up show. Happily, Skoda’s designers have struck a stability between digital and handbook controls by retaining some bodily controls on the dashboard.

The gearshift lever of the DSG moved to the steering column, liberating up extra space on the central tunnel for storage. Among the many signature Merely Intelligent options there’s a new storage compartment for the rear passengers, a cooled twin Telephone Field for charging, a show cleaner, door edge protectors, a versatile ingredient on the boot, an ice scraper, and the Rolls-Royce-style umbrella which is built-in inside the driver’s door and is now created from sustainable supplies.

The brand new Kodiaq measures 4,758 mm (187.3 inches) lengthy, 1,864 mm (inches) broad, and 1,657 mm (inches) tall with a wheelbase of two,791 mm (109.9 inches). This makes it 61 mm (2.4 inches) longer than the primary era, and 110 mm (4.3 inches) longer than the absolutely electrical Skoda Enyaq.

Extra spacious with elective three-row format

Even supposing the outgoing Kodiaq was already among the many most spacious and family-friendly SUVs in its section and value vary, Skoda additional elevated the inside house of the brand new era. Extra particularly, the boot dimension is 75 lt (2.6 cubic toes) bigger than earlier than, leading to a powerful 920 lt (32.1 cubic toes) in the usual five-seater mannequin, or between 340-845 lt within the seven-seater variant. The headroom within the elective third row has been elevated by 15 mm (0.6 inches) to 920 mm (36.2 inches), whereas the second-row seats may be moved.

Petrol, Diesel, mHEV, and PHEV However No EV

Similar to the mechanically-related Excellent, the brand new Kodiaq will journey on an improved model of the MQB structure, retaining the petrol (gasoline for American readers) and diesel powertrains whereas including delicate hybrid and plug-in hybrid choices. The spotlight of the vary is the PHEV, that includes the 1.5 TSI Evo 2 engine with a single electrical motor for a mixed output of 201 (150 kW / 204 PS). The generously sized 25.7 kWh battery presents an electrical vary of over 100 km (62 miles) and helps as much as 50 kW of DC quick charging. Energy is completely transmitted to the entrance axle by means of a 6-speed DSG automated, so those that want AWD must follow the non-electrified 2.0 TSI and a couple of.0 TDI fashions.

Skoda has arleady offered 792,000 models of the Kodiaq in 60 completely different nations together with China which is the largest marketplace for the nameplate forward of Germany, the UK, and the Czech Republic. The automaker hopes that the second era will proceed in the same method, because the final one with ICE powertrains. Skoda will unveil an excellent bigger seven-seater SUV with a completely electrical powertrain in 2026, which might be offered alongside the Kodiaq.

Within the UK, gross sales of the brand new Kodiaq will begin in February 2024, though preliminary deliveries usually are not anticipated till June of the identical yr. Pricing particulars might be disclosed at a later date.

Extra reporting John Halas