Skoda Kamiq long-term test: report 4

The car Skoda Kamiq 1.0 TSI 115 SE L Run by Claire Evans, consumer editor

Why it’s here The Kamiq is our favourite small SUV for less than £20,000, but how will it cope as a long-distance commuter car and weekend family wheels? We have four months to find out 

Needs to Prove that you don’t have to have deep pockets to be able to buy a good small SUV

Mileage 8017 List price £21,980 Target Price £19,384 Price as tested £27,780 Test economy 43.5mpg Official economy 47.1mpg

20 April 2020 – Time to deliver - and to reflect

In spite of working from home and staying in as much as possible during the coronavirus lockdown, I have had a good reason to get out on the road a bit. The Skoda Kamiq and I have done our first stint of delivering meals to local people who can’t get out to buy food because they’ve been told to ‘shield’ themselves and self-isolate in their own home. 

Getting ready to go out now takes a bit longer than it used to because I have new things to take on any outing. Top of my list are plastic gloves and alcohol or disinfectant spray. To stay safe and not risk bringing the virus home during my delivery round, I stored the food parcels in a plastic crate in the boot that I could take out a wash when I got home, and after every food drop, before getting back into my car, I soaked my gloves thoroughly. 

As well as feeling happy to do my bit for my local community, it was great to get back behind the wheel of the Skoda on some very empty roads. 

Cleaning time

Being stuck at home at the weekends with spare time on my hands, I decided to wash the Kamiq, and that has highlighted the high quality of its metal flake Red Velvet paintwork. It really does glisten in the sunshine once it’s been shampooed and leathered off, and even though the car has now done just over 8000 miles, most of it on motorways, there isn’t a single stone chip on the bonnet. 

I’ve also had time to read up a bit about Skoda paintwork and been impressed with the high-tech approach taken at Skoda's main plant in Mladá Boleslav, in the Czech Republic, where the Kamiq is produced. 

Completed bodyshells are degreased and then bathed in 60-deg C water, being turned onto their roofs to ensure water gets into every nook and cranny. Then each one gets a coat of anti-corrosive paint via a series of robotised arms and is baked at 180-deg C for 56 minutes. After more protective coating and another roasting the car is primed, and then ostrich-feather covered rollers brush off every spec of dust before the top-coat is applied; cars with metallic paint get two coats of paint. 

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