Skoda Kodiaq

• Report 1: Meet our new long-term Skoda Kodiaq
• Report 2: 2000 miles across France in our Kodiaq

Report 1: Meet our new long-term Skoda Kodiaq

We've get our hands on Skoda's new seven-seat family SUV and we'll be running it for the next six months.

Date: 2 August 2024 | Current mileage: 2231 miles | Claimed economy: 44.4mpg | Actual economy: 43.9mpg

The first-generation Kodiaq hit the mark with a lot of buyers (and us here at HonestJohn.co.uk), and its easy to see why. A hugely practical SUV, with ample space for passengers and luggage, the Kodiaq's huge boot meant that it could be configured with a third row of seats that could be easily folded away to swallow up all the gear you could possibly need to shift. With a decent interior and good choice of engines, it represented great value for money as well, making it one of the best seven-seat SUVs you could buy.

Earlier this year saw the launch of the second-generation Kodiaq, and while Skoda hasn't been tempted to dabble with a winning formula too much, the latest iteration is a noticeable step forward. It makes sense then to spend the next six months with one to find out whether the Kodiaq should still be our top recommendation for those looking for a large family car. 

Our car is in mid-spec SE L trim with the optional third row of seats, finished in Black Magic Pearl Effect metallic paint and sitting on 19-inch 'Rapeto' alloy wheels. The black paint is broken up by silver rear pillars, while a new grille, lights and a longer roofline help distinguish it from the previous car. The styling looks a little conservative for me, but the upcoming Sportline trim option does give the Kodiaq a bit more presence and the trim I'd probably favour if I was spec'ing it myself. Especially in Velvet Metallic Red.

Anyway, back to our Kodiaq. While there's a choice of two diesels and a PHEV with up to 75 miles of range, our Kodiaq has the 1.5-litre petrol engine with 150PS and mild-hybrid tech. This promises to eek out a little more efficiency from the petrol engine, with a claimed combined average fuel economy of 44.4mpg (and a little more if you opt for the five-seat Kodiaq). Is it a bit underpowered for such a large and heavy car? That's one of the things we're going to be finding out, but with a 0-62mph time of 9.9 seconds, it's not what you'd call brisk. There's no manual option now either, with all new Kodiaqs coming with a DSG gearbox.

Inside and the new Kodiaq has a distinctly more modern looking design compared to the older car. But while there's a large 13-inch touchscreen that dominates the central console, Skoda's avoided the temptation to rid the Kodiaq of physical controls, and instead bestowed three multi-purpose 'smart dials' to quickly adjust things link cabin temperature and volume.

SE L Kodiaqs come with leather seats, while our car comes with the optional Winter Pack that includes heated front and rear seats. Our car as also been decked out with Skoda's Driving Assistance Package, which includes adaptive cruise control, a lane keeping system, traffic jam assist and semi-automatic vehicle control, while we've also got a Head Up Display to complement the digital instrument display. One option our Kodiaq doesn't have though is the Performance Package unfortunately, meaning no Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) or drive mode selection to enjoy. 

With all the extras our Kodiaq comes in at £42,545, which will get you a nicely-spec'd VW Tiguan for similar money, but you won't have quite the same levels of space. Is it worth it? That's exactly what we're going to be finding out over the next few months, from driving it on the school run to loading it up for long trips abroad. 

Report 2: 2000 miles across France in our Kodiaq

How did our Kodaiq cope with its first proper test, a fully loaded family holiday to France.

Date: 23 August 2024 | Current mileage: 4375 miles | Claimed economy: 44.4mpg | Actual economy: 42.5mpg

Less than the week after arriving and our long-term Skoda Kodiaq has already been properly put to the test with an epic drive down to the South of France for our family holiday.

Our trip would see us travel from our home in Surrey, head to the Eurotunnel and then on down past Paris to our rented house just west of Carcassonne where we'd spend two weeks bumbling round before heading home. The journey itself was going to be about 750 miles and perhaps rather foolishly we decided to do it in a single blast with a five and a seven year old in tow. 

Before setting off and we needed to pack. I had wanted to take my bike with me but with the Kodiaq not coming with a built-in towbar (it can be specified with one if you wish), it meant I couldn't pop my Thule rack on the back. I didn't fancy sticking the bike on the roof for such a long journey (and I'm glad I didn't, for which I'll explain in a sec), so before the Kodiaq rocked up, I'd pretty much discounted taking it. 

The boot though on the Kodiaq is huge - 875 litres with the third row of seats collapsed and even with the second row of seats slid back to give my girls the most amount of space on a long trip, it was still cavernous. Big enough in fact that I could happily fit my bike in (with the wheels removed) and there was still more than enough space to pack luggage for two weeks away. 

Creeping off the drive at 2.30am, and the journey south began. An hour later we were at the Eurotunnel and the crossing gave us the chance to change the Kodiaq's measurements from miles per hour to kilometres (and it was easy to find in the Kodiaq's menu system), while the Kodiaq's wireless connectivity for Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay) meant we had the route dialled into Google Maps when we hit the A16 towards Paris just before 6am. 

It was when we hit Paris that I was glad I'd decided against taking my bike on the roof as I hadn't factored in the A86 Duplex - a 6 mile tunnel west of Paris with a 2m height limit that appears without any real notice until you're at the Peage...

Anyway, back to the trip. Our Kodiaq has adaptive cruise control with traffic sign recognition system, lane keeping assist and traffic jam assist. With over ten hours of driving on predominantly autoroutes, the adaptive cruise control was a much welcome addition. Most of the time. It did have a tendency every now and again to read the exit speed limit and think we should be doing 90km instead of 130km and applying the brakes without warning. This isn't much fun when you've committed to a lane change and you've got intolerant locals not giving an inch.

The lane keeping assist soon become pretty annoying - the vibration when you move across lanes without indicating was too much, but luckily can be easily disabled with a couple of presses on the steering wheel. 

Fully loaded and I have to say that the 1.5-litre engine felt pretty strained when accelerating. That's when the more powerful 193PS 2.0-litre diesel engine would definitely be more appealing, but we only had to fill it up once on the trip and a quick look at the trip computer at the end read a very respectable 42.5mpg. 

It was certainly a long slog down, but thanks to the space and comfort the Kodiaq provided, we could do it with minimal stops, only really stopping to swap over driving and fill up with petrol. It's testament to the Kodiaq that despite the early start that we still felt relatively refreshed once we'd arrived.

Over our two weeks in France and various trips out saw us cover another 500 miles or so, before heading home without any issues at all.