Skoda Kodiaq Review 2024

The first-generation Skoda Kodiaq proved a huge hit in the UK, so all those in favour will be pleased to learn that this new version is very much an evolution. That same basic format remains: five or seven seats, petrol or diesel power and two- or four-wheel drive. Find out whether, despite a rise in prices, the company has tweaked, tinkered and fettled sufficiently to maintain its status as one of our favourite family SUVs in our full Skoda Kodiaq review.

It will need to have done so, because this is an incredibly competitive market. The shoal of five-seat rivals is worth the attention of a respectably sized trawler and there are plenty of seven-seat alternatives to consider. Think Hyundai Santa Fe, the ageing but still popular Land Rover Discovery Sport, and the Peugeot 5008 to highlight but a few. 

As usual, the budget corner has been bagged by the Dacia Jogger, while there are also van-based alternatives such as the Citroen Berlingo plus the Volkswagen Caddy Life and its Ford Tourneo Connect facsimile.

So, what's changed? The interior is the most important aspect for most SUV buyers, while it’s also the area you’ll notice the biggest differences over the old Skoda Kodiaq.

It ticks all the boxes, with a high seating position, a big boot and plenty of space for passengers. As before, you can the Skoda Kodiaq with five or seven seats, although the third row are basically pop-up seats in the boot that will feel pretty cramped for anyone other than children and especially bendy adults.

There are initially just two trim levels to choose from: the Skoda Kodiaq SE or Skoda Kodiaq SE L. Both are well equipped, with interior highlights including a 13.0-inch navigation system, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and Skoda’s clever new Smart Dials.

These are multifunctional rotary controls on the dashboard that can act as shortcut buttons to your favourite features, such as turning on the heated seats, changing the climate control temperature or even zooming in and out of the sat-nav.

While the car world might be going electric, the Skoda Kodiaq sticks with traditional petrol and diesel engines — for now, anyway. The petrol engine is a 1.5-litre unit with mild-hybrid electrical assistance. It’s not a full hybrid, but there’s enough electrification for a small improvement in fuel economy.

High-mileage drivers should stick with the 150PS and 193PS 2.0-litre diesels, the punchier one having all-wheel drive as standard, ideal for those SUV buyers looking to tow a caravan. A plug-in hybrid model is also available, capable of travelling more than 70 miles under electric power alone.

Just like supermarket groceries and utility bills, the new Skoda Kodiaq has been subjected to inflationary pressures. That’s why even the cheapest model is now more than £15,000 pricier than its predecessor was when it went on sale in 2016.

At 4758mm the Skoda Kodiaq is just 61mm longer than its predecessor but its 2791mm wheelbase remains the same. This means acres of legroom for second row seat occupants, which splits and folds in a 40/20/40 pattern for additional convenience.

The seatbacks recline for greater comfort plus it has a 180mm sliding range, allowing it to be hoicked forwards to give third row passengers in seven-seater models somewhere to put their knees. 

Despite this - and a headroom increase of 15mm - it still feels best suited to children in the third row, not least because they have the flexibility to fold themselves in there in the first place. Adult occupation is best reserved for those being driven home after a good night out, when they’re less likely to feel the squeeze.

Loadspace has increased to boot, up 80 litres with all seven seats in place, meaning there’s a hatchback-parity 340 litres available. This rises to 845 litres with the third row dropped flat and a cavernous 2035 litres with both tiers folded over. 

All of the rear seats may be lowered with one-touch levers built into the loadspace wall, while the middle 20% portion of the second row can be lowered independently to make light work of transporting skis or a stuffed crocodile.

There’s a whiff of lip about the boot opening, but a moveable boot floor lifts to make all flush if you need to slide stuff in and out.

Up front, in a simply styled and well screwed together dashboard, driver’s instruments are housed in a 10.25-inch digital cockpit, complemented by a 13-inch infotainment touchscreen on top of the centre console. 

There are plenty of proper buttons and scrollers on the steering wheel, with Skoda further pandering to believers in physical controls with a three rotary Smart Dials system. These flip to operate various frequently used functions such as air-conditioning, audio volume, seat heating and ventilation plus, where fitted, driving modes, without the need to go near a touchscreen menu.

The repositioning of the gear lever to the steering column has freed-up even more space for diverse storage – a big selling point in the previous Skoda Kodiaq. These include a wireless ventilated charging tray for two mobiles, a little cubby hole above that, a deep storage box under the centre armrest and large door pockets complete with removable litter bins.

There’s also a veritable raft of Skoda’s standard-fit, Simply Clever features including an umbrella in the driver’s door, a touchscreen cleaning thingy (so much more than just a cloth), a removable rear centre console bin, an ice scraper inside the fuel filler flap and a built-in, anti-spill funnel atop the screen-wash reservoir.

Though soft-touch plastics, fabric trim and stylish dark chrome play nicely with each other on dashboard and door panels, the interior, though beautifully put together, isn’t the liveliest visual environment. 

In addition to the SE and SE L trim levels, Skoda offers a range of Design Selections, which — in an idea taken from the electric Skoda Enyaq — feature 'coordinated colours and materials'. Unfortunately, the hues in question are largely those of an unwashed coal scuttle: Loft uses grey recycled seat upholstery, Lounge employs grey microfibre fabric, Sportline’s uses grey material has a white stripe down the middle of the seat, while Suite Black uses, perforated artificial leather in, um black. That leaves Suite Cognac to enliven proceedings with a rich brown finish.

While an interior of this quality really does cry out for a slightly more vivacious approach to colour schemes, Skoda cannot be faulted for its environmental efforts. Many of the fabrics on offer are made from recycled plastic bottles, while the leather tanning process has replaced the usual array of toxic chemicals with coffee bean waste. Nope, we haven’t a clue either…

Not only is the presence of physical switchgear a treat, it’s also entirely pleasing to use. Both the scrollers and buttons on the steering wheel have a crisp, wobble free action and the same may be said for the three multifunction rotary dials and their attendant buttons beneath the central air vents.

Best of all, the use of just one steering wheel-mounted button and its scroller neighbour allows you to quickly disable the two greatest irritations of driving today — the lane keeping assistant and the speed limit warning noises. Hurrah.

The dash top offers a perch for a visually crisp and reasonably responsive 13-inch infotainment touchscreen. All the usual suspects lurk within, including DAB radio, satellite navigation plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. 

The Skoda Kodiaq’s permanent internet connectivity allows for over-the-air updates, online-based route planning and mobile online services from Skoda Connect. In addition, the range of functions for the voice assistant, called Laura, has been extended with the integration of ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot. This allows Laura to answer general knowledge questions alongside controlling car features such as infotainment, navigation and air-conditioning.

The driver’s 10.25-inch instrument display is tidy, and endlessly configurable to provide the information you want in the style you choose. The twin smartphone, 15-Watt wireless charging pad has a welcome cooling function to prevent your phone throwing an overheating wobbly. There are also four USB ports fitted as standard, two per first two seating tiers.

All three of the Skoda Kodiaq engines we have driven so far were kitted-out in the posher SE L trim level. The 1.5-litre petrol priced at £40,205, the 150PS 2.0-litre diesel at £42,505 and the 193PS 2.0-litre diesel with all-wheel drive £46,225 - the most expensive version in the initial range.

In each case, however, optional extras pushed the price up somewhat — by £2000 for the petrol variant, and by a more significant £5560 and £5305 for the lower- and higher-powered diesels, respectively.

For those not wishing to smash every piggy bank in the house, the cheapest seven-seat 1.5-litre petrol version in SE trim costs £37,505. Likewise, the least expensive lower-powered diesel engine, SE trim car costs £39,805.

The 193PS diesel is only available with all-wheel drive in SE L trim, so there’s no escaping its £46,225 price tag.

To put all of that into context, amongst the sizeable range of seven-seat rivals out there, the Hyundai Santa Fe starts from a pricey £45,325, the Kia Sorento from a still high £40,535, the Nissan X-Trail from £35,175 and the Peugeot 5008 from £36,990.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport costs from £43,445, in the context of which, at only £37,250, the least expensive Mercedes GLB seems like quite a bargain.

Value for money honours go, unsurprisingly, to the £18,295 Dacia Jogger, although admittedly, this is more of a tall estate than a conventional SUV.

Despite being larger than the outgoing Skoda Kodiaq, the newcomer benefits from a more slippery shape and improved engine frugality meaning it is more efficient than its predecessor, although right now it's too early for data to have trickled through to our Real MPG results.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine has cylinder deactivation technology that will switch off two cylinders when little power is required in order to save petrol. In seven-seat SE L trim guise it returns a WLTP combined fuel consumption figure of 42.8-44.5mpg and generates CO2 emissions of 145-150g/km.

The 150PS diesel is, unsurprisingly, even more frugal, returning a quoted 48.0-49.8mpg, with CO2 emissions at 149-154g/km.

The more powerful 193PS diesel unit more or less matches the fuel consumption figures of the petrol engine, with a claimed 42.8-44.2mpg, while CO2 emissions are 168-174g/km.

The forthcoming plug-in hybrid’s fuel efficiency is quoted as an hilarious 548.3-691.5mpg in SE guise, so it will inevitably be the company car driver’s dream, as long as the battery is topped up. With a 40kW charging rate, you can replenish the 25.7kWh battery from 10-80% in about 26 minutes.

You’ll pay £270 in car tax for the 1.5-litre petrol and lesser diesel models, but it’s worth remembering that seven-seat cars in SE L trim cost over £40,000, so will incur an extra £410 fee each year for five years after the second time the vehicle is taxed. The 193PS diesel will cost £680 per annum to tax.

2024/2025 BIK figures for seven-seat variants range from 32% to 37%. For the plug-in hybrid that figure will be just 5%. We don’t yet know how the new Skoda Kodiaq will fare in terms of depreciation, but the old model retained 52% of its value on average over three years and 36,000 miles, so we expect to see similar figures for the new car.

Skoda offers a warranty of three years and/or 60,000 miles on the Kodiaq, which is somewhat less than the five-year/100,000-mile policy of the Hyundai Santa Fe or the seven-year/100,000-mile policy of the Kia Sorento.

All three variants we drove major on ride comfort over outright agility and handling prowess, but the 150PS front-wheel drive diesel in particular seemed to not only offer the comfiest ride, but also to be most willing to be hustled through the twisty bits with the greatest aplomb. 

There is more than a hint of roll when cornering quickly, but body control is largely excellent and levels of grip surprisingly high, even when you press on with sufficient vim to induce passenger queasiness. The steering is light, accurate and offers just enough feel and feedback to keep you interested, while the brakes give absolutely no cause for complaint. Nice to know that, if you are in a hurry, the car will cope.

You can also specify Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) with adaptive suspension on SE L trim level cars as part of a Performance Pack, which also gives you a choice of five drive modes. No Performance Pack, no drive modes. We never missed them during our drives.

The Skoda Kodiaq may be shod in 18-, 19- or 20-inch rubber, but we struggled to tell the difference in ride quality between these sizes, the soft springing adeptly walking that fine line between waft and wallow.

It’s quiet, too — both wind noise and tyre roar are notably muted, even at higher speeds. At motorway pace the diesels take it all in their stride, but the smaller petrol engine can become somewhat raucous if you ask it to hurry things along a little.

The Skoda Kodiaq arrives armed with a choice of three engines: a 150PS, 1.5-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged mild hybrid petrol engine, as well as 150PS and 193PS variants of a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel unit, the latter additionally fitted with four-wheel drive. All three engines are mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox — manuals are no more. 

Depending on seat count, the 1.5-litre petrol has quoted 0-62mph times of 9.7-9.9 seconds, with a top speed of 127-128mph. Despite the same power output, the 150PS diesel is torquier — 360Nm versus 250Nm — meaning it’s a smidgen quicker. Top speed is 126-127mph, with the 0-62mph dash requiring 9.6-9.8 seconds.

Only available with SE L trim and seven seats, the 193PS diesel has 400Nm of torque, channelled via all four wheels, resulting in a swifter 8.0-second 0-62mph time, maxing-out at 134mph.

Those considering the 204PS plug-in hybrid Skoda Kodiaq iV will be keen to know it’s the second-quickest of the earlier models in the range. Only available as a five-seater, top speed is recorded at 130mph, while the 0-62mph benchmark takes 8.4 seconds.

Figures for the forthcoming 204PS, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol with all-wheel drive are yet to be confirmed.

The new Skoda Kodiaq hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP yet, but we anticipate it should do well, considering the old version received a full five-star rating in 2017, and this latest model comes loaded with safety technology.

The second-generation Skoda Kodiaq comes with a comprehensive suite of new driver assistance systems, enhancing both active and passive safety. New nano radar sensors positioned on the front and rear bumpers provide greater precision for the assistance systems. These sensors contribute to improved performance in features such as the upgraded Front Assist and Side Assist. 

New driver assistance systems include Turn Assist, which warns and automatically brakes if a vehicle approaches when turning across oncoming traffic. There is also Crossroad Assist, which uses radar and a front camera to warn of crossing traffic, cyclists, or pedestrians when pulling out of junctions (it can also apply the brakes automatically if necessary).

The upgraded Park Assist can not only steers the Kodiaq into parallel and end-on parking spaces but also controls gear changes and stops automatically if an obstacle is detected. Additional functionalities will be added in the future.

The new Skoda Kodiaq also introduces additional new parking aids. Trained Parking allows drivers to save and then initiate a previously performed parking manoeuvre remotely via the MySkoda app. Remote Parking enables parking the car into or out of parallel and perpendicular parking spaces using the MySkoda app within a four-metre range of the vehicle. 

Advanced upgrades to existing systems include Side Assist where the detection range for vehicles approaching from behind is increased to 90 metres for improved motorway safety and Travel Assist, which offers enhanced visualisation of surrounding vehicles in the Virtual Cockpit. 

Standard equipment includes driver and passenger airbags, side airbags for the front seats, head airbags, and a central airbag between the driver and front passenger. Optional side airbags are available for the second row of seats.

The Skoda Kodiaq has proven itself as a popular tow car, and the new model ought to retain that reputation.

For maximum towing capacity, you’ll need the Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI 193PS 4x4 model — this has a braked towing capacity of up to 2400kg.

Two-wheel-drive diesel models can tow up to 2000kg, while the 1.5 TSI petrol has a 1800kg towing capacity.

Skoda Kodiaq customers will be able to choose between five- and seven-seater models, with two trim grades, SE and SE L available from launch. A new SportLine variant will join the line-up later in the year. 

Skoda Kodiaq SE standard equipment includes 18-inch Mazeno alloy wheels, LED front and rear lights, heated front seats and KESSY keyless start system. The Loft Design Selection is standard, along with a 13-inch multimedia touchscreen display, 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit and tri-zone climate control.

Additionally, SE models also come with a range of safety systems as standard, including Front Assist with braking reaction to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, Blind Spot Detection with door exit warning and Front Cross Traffic Assist. SE models can be specified with five- or seven-seat layouts with the latter adding a variable loadspace floor to the standard specification. 

Skoda Kodiaq SE L models build on the generous specification of the SE and add 19-inch Rapeto alloy wheels, LED Matrix headlights with AFS (adaptive front light system) and all-weather lights with cornering function. SE L models also feature the ecoSuite Black design selection with perforated, black artificial and real leather, electrically adjustable driver’s seat with memory function, electrically operated tailgate and keyless entry and start/stop system.

Note that all SE L versions of the Skoda Kodiaq are seven-seaters, except the plug-in hybrid version which is only available in five-seat guise.