Skoda Kodiaq long-term test: report 7
Skoda's biggest combustion-engined SUV seats seven and looks like good value, but what's it like to live with? We're finding out...
The car Skoda Kodiaq 1.5 TSI 150 e-Tec DSG SE L Run by John Bradshaw, chief photographer
Why it’s here To see if Skoda's seven-seater can provide a winning blend of comfort, practicality and economy
Needs to Tackle long trips with ease, carry bulky loads and be frugal at the pumps
Mileage 7854 List price £42,205 Target Price £37,839 Price as tested £43,005 Official fuel economy 44.5mpg Test fuel economy 40.3mpg
30 May 2025 – Seeing is believing
Back when the big bang was much more recent history, when TikTok was something clocks did and you’d only turn to an Amazon delivery if you wanted river water and piranhas, the headlights of my first car lit the road with all the effectiveness of a single candle in cavern. Not so my Skoda Kodiaq, whose headlights have the power of the big bang itself.
As standard, my mid-range SE L spec car has LED matrix headlights. Basically, rather than chucking out a set beam of light like conventional headlights, they use dozens of closely packed LEDs (that’s the matrix bit of the name) that can individually turn on and off. That means the headlights can shape the light they throw out, cutting out the bits that might dazzle oncoming traffic while still brightly illuminating my surroundings.
This is clever stuff, and before fairly recently the preserve of much posher cars – more often than not as an expensive optional extra. And providing me with my own pocket of broad daylight at night isn’t the only thing the Kodiaq does to help me see where I’m going… and where I’ve been.
The door mirrors are enormous. In some cars I find myself craning my neck in the mirror to find the right rearward view, but the Kodiaq always puts something of a panorama at my disposal. Sure, physics dictate that there’s still a blindspot, but the Kodiaq knows that and warns me when there are vehicles lurking in angles that the mirrors can’t cover.
The Kodiaq also helps me to keep my windscreen clean, and I’m not talking about the washers themselves. I mean, they’re at least the equal of those in any other car I’ve driven (I don’t remember any being particularly hopeless. What the Kodiaq does particularly well, though, is to help make sure they actually work when I need them to.
In many cars, filling the screenwash reservoir is literally a hit and miss affair; I typically splash more of the blue juice around the engine bay than I successfully get into the tank. But the Kodiaq provides a handy built-in funnel. I could administer the fluid while bouncing on a trampoline and not spill a drop.
All this helps to make the Kodiaq incredibly easy to live with – as you can clearly see.
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