I’ve been testing cars now for 36 years and for much of that time Mrs Berthon takes the wheel of most of my test models – she made the comment after driving the new Skoda Kodiaq SUV that she finds Skoda’s generally are very pleasant cars to drive. The Czechoslovakian brand has been owned by the German VW Group for some time and benefits greatly from that company’s technical underpinnings. Having said that Skoda’s have a less sporty feel to their Volkswagen equivalents and I guess this is what my wife relates to. The seven-seat mid-sized Skoda Kodiaq only comes in one 2.0-litre turbo petrol seven-speed automatic and all-wheel- drive. Under light throttle pressure it’s a front wheel driver, under heavier load an all-wheel- drive, and with 132kW power and 320Nm of torque it’s a very pleasant performer. At $42,990 not the most affordable mid-sized SUV but Skoda has spec’d it up like a luxury model. Worst feature – access to the third row seats – most definitely kids only. The equipment list on the Skoda Kodiaq is impressive – nine airbags, front and rear parking sensors, a rear view camera, Sat Nav, dual zone air, a power tailgate,
tyre pressure monitoring and excellent headlights and fog lights with cornering function – some great active safety elements too like fatigue detection, city emergency brake and multi collision braking. And one of the best laid out dashboards and easy to read instrumentation in the business – clear, concise and so easy to reference. I’m David Berthon

2017 ŠKODA KODIAQ.

2017 ŠKODA KODIAQ.

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