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Safenwil AG, last Monday at 19:45. The premiere of the “Swiss Car of the Year 2024” selection continues at full speed. The first important moment of the night approaches, presenter Jann Billeter (51) says the famous words: “And the winner in the category of Switzerland’s favorite car of 2024 is… Skoda Kodiaq!” Greetings from approximately 170 guests. Even Skoda’s rather reserved Swiss brand boss, Markus Kohler (58), cannot hide his emotions as he takes the stage to join Billeter: “This is crazy! “I never thought we would win the title for the fourth time in a row!”
More than 31,000 readers of “Schweizer Illustrierte”, Blick and SonntagsBlick as well as “L’illustré” and “La Domenica” magazines chose as the winner the second generation of Skoda’s large family SUV, which will not be launched until spring 2024. Following the Octavia 2021, Enyaq 2022 and Enyaq Coupé RS 2023, Kodiaq becomes the fourth Skoda in a row to lead in front of the Swiss audience, while its rivals Peugeot e-308 and VW ID.7 are in second place. referring to. Host Billeter jokes about the exterior color of the winning car: “Instead of bronze gold, you could have painted the car all gold.”
Kodiaq is getting taller
But bronze gold is just one of the many innovations that differentiate the new Kodiaq from the current Kodiaq. While the designers only carefully improved the appearance of the mid-range SUV, placing particular emphasis on the lowest possible air resistance (Cd value: 0.28), the length of the Skoda flagship increased by six centimeters to a new 4.76 metres. Passengers in the (optional) seven-seater’s third row should particularly benefit from this. However, boot volume is also increasing and is now between 340 and 910 liters without folding the second row of seats.
Greener and more modern inside
The Kodiaq features plenty of sustainable materials in the interior as well as space: seat covers, carpets and headliner are made from recycled polyester. Depending on its characteristics, up to 40 percent pure wool is added. Even the famous ice scraper on the fuel tank cap and the umbrella on the driver’s door are now made from environmentally friendly materials. More space was created in the center console by moving the automatic lever to the steering column.
In addition to the inductive, actively cooling smartphone charging surface and four cup holders, features called “Smart Calls” are now available. These three buttons can be equipped with four separate functions, such as expansion of the navigation view, volume or driving modes. The central touchscreen is 13 inches in size and the 10.25-inch digital display behind the steering wheel is optionally supplemented by a head-up display.
The range of support systems in the new Kodiaq also continues to grow. The standout feature is the new parking assistant, which not only guides itself into parking spaces while the driver is sitting in the car. With trained parking, trips to five different parking spaces can be recorded; If the vehicle recognizes one of these locations, it parks autonomously according to these records. The driving maneuver can also be activated from outside via the app.
For the first time with plug-in hybrid
But future owners will be behind the wheel of the Kodiaq on most routes. Powertrains include two gasoline engines with 150 HP (110 kW) or 204 HP (150 kW), two diesel engines with 150 HP (110 kW) or 193 HP (142 kW) and, for the first time, a plug-in hybrid. The system is available with 204 hp (150 kW). Skoda has again managed to get the latter from the new VW Tiguan: the plug-in Kodiaq is expected to cover up to 100 kilometers on a fully electric basis; In this way, the 25.7 kWh battery can be charged up to 50 kW with DC fast chargers.
Already in the summer months Blick managed to drive the then camouflaged Kodiaq with the more powerful of the two turbodiesels and all-wheel drive. First impression: Sound insulation has been significantly improved and the adaptive chassis has become even more comfortable. The only thing we noticed as a negative was the noticeable slowdown of the diesel engine – optimization is still needed before the spring launch.
However, it is not yet clear at what prices the new Skoda Kodiaq will start. We estimate starting prices to be around 50,000 francs based on the current model. Skoda’s new SUV flagship can be ordered in the next few days.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
