Skoda Kodiaq vRS long-term test: report 1
The car Skoda Kodiaq vRS Run by Steve Huntingford, editor
Why it’s here To see if Skoda’s first attempt at a sports SUV is special enough to justify its big price tag
Needs to Offer a sporty drive and a premium feel without sacrificing the comfort and practicality that Skoda is more commonly associated with
Price £42,895 Price as tested £44,860 Miles 2124 Official economy 35.3mpg Test economy 37.6mpg Options fitted Panoramic sunroof (£1175), Canton sound system (£405) and rear-view camera including full LED rear lights (£385)
5 April – First impressions
“Bus”, my daughter exclaimed, pointing at my Skoda Kodiaq vRS – a reaction Skoda’s designers almost certainly weren’t going for when they were styling the brand’s first ever sports SUV. But to be fair, my daughter is two and seemed very excited, so she was probably just thinking of the biggest, coolest red thing she could.
It’s not just toddlers who are impressed by the way the vRS looks, either. In the short time since it arrived, I’ve had a couple of other drivers gesture for me to lower my window while waiting for the lights to go green so they could find out more about it. And the work experience girl who recently spent a week with What Car? mistook it for an Audi.
Then again, any similarity in this respect is probably just as well, because at £42,895, the vRS is very much Audi money and almost £13,000 more than the 148bhp 2.0 TDI SE model that’s our current pick of the Kodiaq range. So, what do you get for that extra outlay?
Well, the engine is still a 2.0-litre diesel, but it’s a twin-turbocharged unit that hikes power to 237bhp and cuts the 0-62mph time from 10.1sec to 7.0sec. Meanwhile, backing up that extra muscle is standard four-wheel drive and a stronger seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Visual changes include striking 20in alloy wheels, red brake callipers, a blacked-out front grille and more aggressive body styling. And the suspension features adaptive dampers, which are designed to let you firm things up and tighten the handling.
Oddly, though, I’m more impressed by the effect they have on ride comfort. You see, this is a tall SUV that weighs the best part of two tonnes, so it’s never going to dart into corners with the agility of a sports car. But where lesser Kodiaqs can feel a bit brittle over patched-up urban streets, the vRS is surprisingly supple.
Similarly, you can adjust the steering so that it has a ‘sportier’ feel, but all this really does is make it heavier, rather than adding extra feedback, so I think I actually prefer it in its standard mode.
Given the high price, you might expect lots of luxuries to be included, and you’re unlikely to be disappointed, because the list includes everything from metallic paint and keyless entry and start to configurable digital instruments and a heated, electrically adjustable driver’s seat.
Indeed, this seat has quickly become one of my favourite features, because it’s heavily bolstered to hold you in place through corners yet broad enough to be comfortable the rest of the time. Plus, it’s trimmed in Alcantara, so it looks great.
What’s better still, though, is the noise the vRS makes, thanks to something called Dynamic Sound Boost. This augments the natural exhaust note with a low grumble that’s reminiscent of an old-school American V8, and it gets progressively more aggressive as you go through the car’s Comfort, Normal and Sport modes. Yes, I know it’s fake, but it doesn’t sound it, so I couldn’t care less.
Where the vRS doesn’t differ from other Kodiaqs is in how practical it is, with it featuring seven usable seats and a huge boot when the rear two are folded away. And while its interior isn’t especially exciting to look at, it feels at least as solid as that of the similarly priced Alfa Romeo Stelvio I ran previously.
Over the next few months, I’ll be using the vRS for a mix of family duties, commuting and longer drives to see if it feels special enough to justify the high asking price when you live with it every day. But one thing already seems certain: this will remain a comparatively rare car, so I’m not going to have to worry about another three coming along at once.
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