First ride in a camouflaged prototype: Skoda’s new Kodiaq is huge: a bear-like car

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Felicia, Fabia, Octavia. Skoda used to call their models cute and peaceful with a soft A at the end. As the first SUV, the Yeti was already an outlier in 2009. As of 2016, the Czech VW subsidiary then hardened. Since then, newly launched model lines have always ended with a Q: Kodiaq, Kamiq, Karoq, Enyaq and Kushaq in India. Self-confidence has already spread over us. Especially reminiscent of the Kodiak bear, Kodiaq – after all, it is the largest land predator in the world.

In fact, the first Kodiaq has been a real hit over the past seven years. Switzerland seemed to expect this too. Otherwise, a model’s sales curve drops after peaking in the second year after launch, but the Kodiaq is still in the top 15 of Swiss auto charts in 2023. To date, 792,000 customers worldwide have chosen the XL model, where Skoda’s SUV trend also peaks for the brand. Every second that Skoda sells is now a crossover. Now the second generation of Kodiaq is in the starting blocks and Sonntagsblick has already managed to get a spin on the camouflaged prototype.

Cooling for smartphone

What customers always see as an improvement is sheer size. Thus, the new Kodiaq generation surpasses the current generation, which is not small with a length of 4.76 meters x six centimeters. This is particularly beneficial for passengers in the third row of the seven-seater who must be satisfied with 15 millimeters more headroom. Luggage volume also increases: from 340 to 845 liters for seven, up to 910 liters without a third row. A millimeter more wheelbase doesn’t matter much – the Kodiaq had and has enough room behind it.

The interior is now mainly about sustainability and intuitive use. When it comes to fabric, Skoda uses recycled PET bottles as raw material. Traditional appliances, such as the ice scraper on the fuel filler flap or the umbrella on the driver’s door, are also made from sustainable materials. The automatic arm has been moved to the steering column, which creates more space in the center console for four cup holders and two inductive 15-watt chargers, including active cooling for the smartphone.

Parking is autonomous

At first glance, the infotainment system with a 10.25-inch digital cockpit display, a head-up display and a central 12.9-inch touchscreen looks like many of its competitors. But making is not everything anymore, Skoda is also returning to classic controls. Four functions are freely programmable in the middle of the three rotary knobs below the screen, such as expanding the navigation map, volume, driving modes and seat climate control. Kodiaq now also parks autonomously via smartphone.

We went on the first test lap with a turbodiesel with 193 hp (142 kW) and all-wheel drive – before propulsion electrification, it would certainly have been the best-selling vehicle in Switzerland. “We have significantly improved the sound insulation,” says Johannes Neft, Member of the Skoda Development Board. Acoustic glass isolates ambient noise, wind and tire rolling are hardly noticeable below 100 km/h. At take-off, the two-liter four-cylinder engine shows noticeable weakness when started – there is still optimization potential until mid-2024 launch. The chassis, on the other hand, already fits. Adaptive dampers are individually controlled for rebound and compression; The Kodiaq chassis adapts better to the road surface than it does. We’ll just see how it looks outside of the comfort mode – we haven’t been able to test the other driving modes yet.

Unfortunately, neither is the plug-in hybrid, with 204 hp (150 kW) of system power and a 25.7 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery. The SUV should be able to travel approximately 100 kilometers on all-electric. The four-cylinder petrol engine with cylinder deactivation and a displacement of 1.5 liters for economical part-time operation is mildly hybridized and delivers 150 hp (110 kW). Concrete consumption figures should only be available at the world premiere towards the end of the year. But Skoda is definitely saving one thing: the manual transmission. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is available on all versions.

Source: Blick