New Skoda Kodiaq: more spacious and more electric than ever

Highlights Skoda Kodiaq

• Larger and considerably more spacious
• For the first time with mild-hybrid technology…
• …and for the first time as a plug-in
• Again as a five- and as a seven-seater

The Skoda Kodiaq was the first of a whole series of SUVs that Skoda came up with in 2016 and not surprisingly, it is now also the first SUV of the brand to be given a completely new generation. The new Kodiaq builds on the MQB platform of its predecessor, but that does not mean that little changes. In fact, although the concept of the Kodiaq remains largely intact, a lot changes. We previously drove a camouflaged copy, but now the car has been revealed in its entirety. The new Skoda Kodiaq will be launched in the Netherlands in mid-May next year. Prices will follow in the run-up to that market introduction.

Dimensions

There is a lot to report about the Skoda Kodiaq on a technical level, but we start with the way in which new technology for the SUV is packaged. As is usual with a generational change, the new Kodiaq is also growing compared to its predecessor. The wagon length increases by more than 6 centimeters to 4.76 meters. The new Kodiaq is therefore longer, but not higher than the outgoing model. With its height of 1.66 meters, it is 2 centimeters lower than the Kodiaq that it will replace next year. However, the wheelbase does not change. Once again the Kodiaq has 2.79 meters between the front and rear axles.

The new Skoda Kodiaq will also be launched as a five-seater and a seven-seater. In both configurations, the Skoda Kodiaq benefits from its increased exterior dimensions. Headroom has increased and the luggage space of the five-seater Kodiaq has increased by 75 liters to 910 liters. If you fold the rear seat flat, you can carry up to 2,105 liters in that version. That is 40 liters more than before. Behind the third row of seats of the seven-seater you can store 340 liters of stuff. That is a generous 80 liters more than before. The seats in the third row are foldable. If you fold the second and third rows flat, the seven-seat Kodiaq increases to 2,035 liters (+30 liters).

Skoda Kodiaq: with horizontal LED elements in the grille.

Design

For the new Kodiaq, Skoda has retained the lighting at the front spread over two floors that it uses on all its tall models – with the exception of the Enyaq. Once again, the upper light units connect to the grille frame and the lower ones are further away from it. While the outgoing Kodiaq had a wide elevation in the middle along the length of the hood, we see a deeper part in the new Kodiaq. The snout of the new Skoda Kodiaq is its most recognizable part, at the side and rear the differences with the outgoing model are greater. Every Kodiaq now has LED matrix lighting and if you dig deeper, you can get 14 small LED elements between the slats of the grille that should give the suggestion of a continuous LED strip.

Skoda Kodiaq

Skoda is abandoning the deep fold that runs from the headlights across the side of the car to the rear and connects to the rear lights. The sheet metal looks a lot calmer on the side. The slightly wavy shoulder line of the Kodiaq as you have known it for about seven years now makes way for a shoulder line that – just like the Passat – rises slightly at the front and more strongly at the rear. The D-pillar is a lot flatter thanks to a decorative element in a contrasting color.

The optical novelties are greatest at the back. The relatively small rear lights of the ‘old Kodiaq’ for the size of the car make way for more prominent and significantly wider ones. The C-shaped light signature in the rear lights of the outgoing model returns in an enhanced form. The rear lights themselves now consist of wide C-shaped ones that are connected to each other at the bottom. Dynamic turn signals are reserved for higher-positioned versions. Once again, the brand name Skoda is written out in large letters between the rear lights and we find the license plate not far below. The reflectors move downwards and are housed in the rear bumper with silver-colored details on the new Kodiaq.

Skoda Kodiaq

Especially viewed from the front, the new Kodiaq is quite recognizable as a Kodiaq. More changes are happening at the rear. Once again, there is a strong fold above the license plate across the width of the tailgate, but from now on it is straight and is no longer interrupted by the shape of the taillights. The new rear lights are C-shaped and are therefore a continuation of the C-shaped light signature that you already found in the rear lights of the outgoing model. You will no longer find a Skoda badge between the rear lights. From now on, the brand name will be written out.

Mild hybrid

The outgoing Skoda Kodiaq is currently only available in the Netherlands with 150 hp 1.5 TSIs that you can get with a manual gearbox or DSG7 automatic transmission. The SUV never received electrified machines, but the new Kodiaq is fully participating in the electrification dance. The SUV will be available for the first time with mild-hybrid hardware. The Skoda Kodiaq is available with a 150 hp 48v mild-hybrid 1.5 TSI that is always connected to a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. Both the five- and seven-seater versions of the Kodiaq are available with this powertrain. You can write a manual version on your stomach.

Plug-in hybrid with more than 100 kilometers of electric range

Unlike Skodas such as the Octavia and the Superb, which are also based on the MQB platform, the Skoda Kodiaq has never received a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. That changes with the arrival of this new one. The plug-in hybrid Skoda Kodiaq 1.5 TSI iV has a 204 hp drivetrain, a six-speed DSG automatic transmission and a 25.7 kWh battery. This composition should enable an electric range of more than 100 kilometers. Fast charging is possible with up to 50 kW. Unfortunately, this powertrain is reserved for the Kodiaq with five seats, so the Kodiaq with seven seats will not be available as a plug-in hybrid. The luggage compartment of the five-seater Kodiaq with plug-in hybrid drivetrain is 165 liters smaller and measures 745 liters due to the placement of the battery pack.

Possibly or not to the Netherlands

An RS version is also in the pipeline, but it remains to be seen whether it will come to the Netherlands. What we may be missing: a Skoda Kodiaq RS with a 265 hp powerful 2.0 TSI petrol engine. The Kodiaq will also be available outside the Netherlands with 150 hp and 193 hp diesels, the latter of which has four-wheel drive. There is also a four-wheel drive Kodiaq with a 204 hp 2.0 TSI coming to Europe, but it is also not coming to our country.

Skoda Kodiaq

Interior

The wind of innovation is also blowing in the Kodiaq. Anyone who is familiar with the inside of the current Skoda Kodiaq will see something of this in the new one. The dashboard of the Kodiaq is also quite upright and you will find optically higher parts on the left and right sides. The infotainment screen is now not integrated into the ‘pinched part’ in the center of the dashboard, but is located higher in the new Kodiaq and is visually separated from the rest of the cockpit. The smallest screen will now be 10 inches instead of 8 inches. The larger screen has a diagonal of 13 inches.

A digital clock store that consists of a 10.25 inch screen is standard. A head-up display is available, but is not standard. If you look closely, you will not see a selector lever to operate the automatic transmission. From now on, you operate the transmission via a selector lever attached to the steering column. The space freed up in the center tunnel is used for storage compartments and an induction charger. The climate control can – as before – be controlled via physical knobs that now also provide haptic feedback. This prevents searching and swiping in the infotainment system. A function can be assigned to the middle rotary knob. It can function as a volume knob, but can also be set as a button to control the seat heating, for example.

No new model without an almost obligatory passage about sustainable materials and so Skoda also throws that at us. Various fabrics are made from recycled polyester. Skoda’s Simply Clever content also remains in the new Kodiaq. ice scrapers, an umbrella and door protectors are back in stock. New in the Simply Clever line-up: screen cleaners to get the ‘greasy fingers’ off your display.

Skoda Kodiaq: with a function-assignable rotary knob.

Gadgets and performances

The list of safety systems has been supplemented with Turn Assist, Collision Avoidance Assist, Crossroad Assist and Exit Warning. Park Assist has become a lot more skilled and the Kodiaq can park itself automatically. The Kodiaq not only steers, but also regulates the speed at which it drives itself into the desired section. Side Assist has been improved and the Kodiaq is now also available with Travel Assist.

The Skoda Kodiaq will be available in four so-called Design Selections. According to the Czechs, each of these gives the Kodiaq its own appearance. The Sportline is again the sportiest-looking version.

Skoda Kodiaq

Skoda Kodiaq and the Netherlands

About 16,400 units of the current Skoda Kodiaq, which will disappear next year, have already been delivered since its Dutch market introduction in 2017. For the first nine months of this year, the registration counter stands at 2,633 copies. Nearly 842,000 Kodiaqs have already been sold worldwide. This will undoubtedly also include the coupe brother of the Kodiaq, which was never delivered in Europe: this Kodiaq GT.

More Skoda news coming soon. The brand will also soon launch a new Superb, the Czech brother of the new Volkswagen Passat.