Skoda Kodiaq vRS - long-term review

In 2018 I ran a Skoda Kodiaq for a few months and came away a tad disappointed: as a family car it essentially had a lack of... practicality. Sub-optimal.

Fast-forward eight years and it's now a considerably different car, for the better. And after spending two weeks in it for a family holiday I can firmly say this is now a bloody brilliant family car. The fact it’s a VRS helps, but there’s more to it than that.

It has good feedback on the steering, it's stable, smooth and efficient (34mpg) on the motorway, and that 2.0-litre engine even sounds decent.

The new shape has allowed for more space, both in the rear seats and the boot, so we didn’t struggle for five people. But it’s all the little tricks that make the difference for a family: the bins, the coin holder, the centre console screen wipe, the rear mobile phone holders, the rubber boot mat... the list is endless.

It’s like Skoda has spent eight years perfecting what families need while not ignoring that it needs to drive nicely too. Bravo Skoda.