Skoda Kodiaq iV SE L - long-term review

The Kodiaq’s time with Top Gear is up, but to reach a conclusion on the past six months we need to separate out the verdict into both a general judgement and one based on my own irregular requirements.

The latter first, and here size matters because I sit/stand/sprawl above the 99th percentile. The Skoda has a big boot and a big wheelbase and so I like it. Just moving the kids’ car seats out and across to the newly arrived Porsche was a sobering experience. Back-seat legroom in the Kodiaq is about double that of the Macan, while up front I have space to splay rather than being snug.

For Jack or Jethro, or Ollie Marriage for that matter, or Paul, or any of Top Gear’s short kings, the Macan would be more than adequate and the Skoda’s extra space OTT – but for our family, it’s a difference matter. During the Kodiaq’s time with us, we borrowed the UK’s best-selling SUV, the Kia Sportage, for a little compare and contrast, and it was just too cramped.

I’ll also mark the Kodiaq highly because it goes big on battery size. 25.7kWh in fact, which is only a smidge smaller than the 26.8kWh available in the all-electric Dacia Spring. The Skoda’s usable capacity is 19.7kWh, which translates to over 60 miles between charges. That means, at least for our daily lives, charging every two to three days.

Overall, across just under 6,000 miles, we averaged 115mpg. I put petrol in it just ten times, some of which were only to calculate the month-end fuel figures for these reports. I topped it off just before I wrote this, and dribbled in less than two gallons and calculated we’ve done 375mpg since I last filed copy 600-odd miles ago. Without those requirements, it was only a big four-figure-mileage trip at Christmas that ever really necessitated a forecourt visit. Would we actually have been better off with a pure EV? Life with the Porsche Macan is about to tell us.

Leaving our specific lifestyle requirements aside though, the Skoda doesn’t score quite so perfectly. Taken objectively rather than subjectively, it felt like it needed another five per cent of finessing. The electric motor was a little vocal under braking, the blending between mechanical and regenerative occasionally a little clumsy, and with any steering lock applied, a swift electric-only exit from a junction tended to spin up the inside wheel.

Our car also threw a wobbly early in its life and lost all the assistance systems. A dealer reset cured that, but from then on, the auto handbrake worked when it wanted, and from time to time the car would claim a charger was connected (when it wasn’t) and key wasn’t in the vehicle (when it was).

However, I didn’t and don’t care. The hooliganism was amusing and the other foibles inconsequential. What mattered was the tall touchscreen gave a better view of the Android Auto connection (something neither the visiting Kia nor new Porsche do with their widescreens), having actual physical air-con and seat heating dials kept my eyes on the road, and being able to get myself and our children in and out without squeezing.

Six months ago, I started the first report with the story I’d convinced my best man to buy a Mk1 Skoda Kodiaq, because ‘Skoda’ was usually the answer to what car anyone should buy. I stand by that. It’s a been a brilliant big workhorse and I’ve not coveted anything else since it first arrived on our drive. It’s not 10/10 but I highly recommend. Practicality for the win!