2022 Skoda Kodiaq Review — The Kodiaq Is Back & Is Now Better Than Ever Before

The erstwhile Skoda Yeti was one of the most capable and underrated SUVs and still remains the same even until now. Then came the Skoda Kodiaq. It had its global debut in 2016 and was launched in India back in 2018. Skoda then refreshed the SUV in 2020 just before it was discontinued due to the implementation of the BS6 emissions norms.

The Skoda Kodiaq, even in its older form was an SUV that left a lasting impression. So, when Skoda announced the arrival of the BS6 Kodiaq after a hiatus of almost two years, it was obvious that this SUV would be better in every possible way. Is it actually better? Does it still leave a lasting impression on you? We drove the 2022 Skoda Kodiaq to find out.

Design & Style

In terms of design, the new Skoda Kodiaq features several changes. The front-end is where the SUV looks almost brand new. The crystalline headlamp is sleek and gives the front fascia a chic style. Underneath the headlamps are the LED fog lamps.

The 2022 Skoda Kodiaq features the brand's signature Butterfly grille design. The grille is large and imposing. The thick Chrome grille surrounds add a premium touch to the front-end. The vertical slats on the grille also get Chrome elements placed in them.

The new Skoda Kodiaq also features a redesigned front bumper with a honeycomb design element placed in front of the intercooler. The lower lip features more angular lines, cuts, and creases. The raised bonnet further adds muscular styling to the new Skoda Kodiaq and rounds off the changes to the front-end.

When viewed from the side profile, one would notice that the silhouette of the SUV remains identical to the older Skoda Kodiaq. The sloping roofline, tall stance, and lengthy body remain the same. It gets blacked-out B and C Pillars and the spoiler is blacked out as well. The addition of the matte silver roof rails further adds to the good looks of the SUV.

The biggest change on the side profile comes in the form of the new alloy wheels. The 2022 Skoda Kodiaq is available in three variants and all three variants get differently-styled alloy wheels. We drove the top-spec Laurin & Klement variant and this one rides on 18-inch Trinity Anthracite dual-tone alloy wheels.

The L&K variant also meant that the Skoda Kodiaq comes with the 'Laurin & Klement' badging on the front fenders. At the rear is a refreshed bumper along with the 'SKODA' lettering on the tailgate. The SUV features a new tail lamp design with an angular styling. As aforementioned, the Kodiaq also comes with a spoiler and a sharkfin antenna.

Cockpit & Interior

Skoda's vehicles are known for their luxurious interior and the Kodiaq is no different. There is a certain premium air about the entire cabin and interior of the Skoda Kodiaq. The first thing one would notice is just how spacious the cabin really is. The choice of colours for the interior further adds to the spaciousness.

The Skoda Kodiaq features a dual-tone Beige and Black interior. This colour theme is found throughout the SUV. The 2022 Kodiaq features a dashboard layout that is identical to the older version of the SUV. The top of the dashboard is decked with Black leather while the bottom half is made of soft-touch plastic finished in Beige.

Separating the Black leather and Beige soft-touch plastics is a strip of piano black that makes up the central part of the dashboard. Taking centre-stage on the dashboard is an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which is a huge improvement when compared to the wired versions in the previous generation.

Pairing your smartphone with the system is a pretty straightforward process and is done in a jiffy. Once it is paired, most of your smartphone's features are accessible through the infotainment system. Be it playing music via your favourite apps or navigating through Google Maps, the Skoda Kodiaq does it with relative ease and we didn't find any lags in the system.

An 8-inch screen does seem a little too small for a vehicle in this segment. However, the amount of technology and features that Skoda has packed into this screen more than makes up for the small size. And then there's the sound reproduction!

The infotainment puts out sound via a 12-speaker Canton music system. This is also an improvement over the older Skoda Kodiaq which had 10 speakers. The total RMS output is now rated at 625 Watts and it even comes with a sub-woofer. Listening to music on these speakers is certainly delightful. The sound output is concentrated more on the passengers in front.

Several vehicle functions can be controlled via the touchscreen, including climate control, driver and passenger seat heating/cooling, ambient lighting, drive modes, navigation, sound-staging, suspension and steering sensitivity, etc.

The Skoda Kodiaq also comes with the MySkoda Connect feature where multiple facets of the car can be tracked and controlled via the smartphone app. It comes with features like track your car, real-time speed tracking, roadside assistance, geofence breach notification, SOS, driving behaviour reports, tow alert, etc.

Beneath the infotainment are the controls for the HVAC, and below that are some buttons for the park assist feature. Beneath these buttons is the centre console and there's quite bit of tech in here.

There is a little cubbyhole that encloses within it, the two Type-C charging ports and a wireless mobile phone charger as well. Behind it is the gear lever for the 7-speed DSG and behind the lever are the various buttons to control the vehicle dynamics and driving modes. Any changes made via these buttons will result in a change being displayed on the infotainment and instrumentation as well.

In front of the driver is a new two-spoke steering wheel. All recent Skoda cars feature a two-spoke steering wheel and the Kodiaq follows suit. Behind the steering wheel is a large 10.25-inch virtual cockpit and the layout of the display is customisable. It looks brilliant and the background changes according to the ambient lighting colour chosen.

Comfort, Practicality & Boot Space

The door panels follow the same dual-tone interior theme as the rest of the SUV. While most cars make do with a hard-plastic finish for the bottle holder and cubbyhole area, the Skoda Kodiaq gets a felt lining in that area and this certainly adds to the premium touch and feel.

The SUV also gets umbrella holder pockets built into the front door panels. It even comes with drain holes at the bottom to allow water from the umbrella to drain out. Clever! The seats on the Skoda Kodiaq deserve special mention. The L&K variant features heated and cooled perforated leather seats decked in Beige.

Apart from looking premium, the seats really feel premium and keep the driver and passenger comfortable even over longer distances. They are electrically adjustable and also get a memory function. Finding the right position is easy thanks to 12-way adjustability. However, the electric motors for the adjustment could have been a little faster.

The spaciousness and premium feel are carried over into the second row as well. The seats are wide and there is absolutely no dearth of headroom, knee room, and legroom. Even thigh support is good and the seats feel very comfortable indeed. The Skoda Kodiaq features three-zone climate control and the temperature and fan speed for the second row can be controlled separately.

Apart from this, there's not much technology for second-row passengers to fiddle with. The second row of seats makes up for its lack of technology with a unique feature. The Skoda Kodiaq can be equipped with something Skoda calls the 'Power Nap' package. This basically consists of headrests with fold-out/variable headrests for the outer seats.

These arms fold out from the headrest and act as comfortable supports for a passenger taking a nap. This package also comes with a blanket folded neatly into a pouch mounted on the back of the seat. We caught a 20-minute power nap in the Skoda Kodiaq while shooting the review and it was absolutely delightful. The second row can be folded down in the 60:40 ratio.

Now, it's time to talk about the third row of seats. Skoda markets the Kodiaq as a 7-seater SUV and in all fairness, it does come with seven seats. However, the usability of all seven seats is questionable. Yes, we are referring to the two seats in the last row.

While the seats themselves look comfortable, we found ourselves in a position where we couldn't really test how the cushioning of the seat was, as all we wanted to do was get out of there. It is very cramped in there and even kids might find it difficult to get in and out of, leave along spending time in the rear seat.

It is best left folded down as this will allow you to use the boot space in the rear. The Skoda Kodiaq features an electric tailgate, but does not get gesture controls. Click on the request sensor and the tailgate rises to reveal the boot space.

With all seats in use, the boot space on the Skoda Kodiaq stands at just 270 litres. This is just about enough to accommodate two cabin bags and a backpack. With the third row folded down, the space increases to 630 litres. With both rows of seats folded down, the Skoda Kodiaq gets a humungous 2,005 litres of space. It almost turns into a flatbed and there are mounting points to help you tie down the luggage too.

There are other cubbyholes and storage spaces too. This includes two gloveboxes in the dashboard of which one is cooled, and there is another small storage pocket for the driver. Under the boot floor is some space for the spare wheel, tools, safety kit, etc.

Dimensions	2022 Skoda Kodiaq
Length	4,699mm
Width	1,882mm
Height	1,685mm
Wheelbase	2,791mm
Boot Space	270-litres

Engine Performance & Driving Impressions

The Skoda Kodiaq has always been a stellar performer when it comes to driving dynamics and performance. The previous generation of the Skoda Kodiaq was available with a diesel engine and that engine was much-loved. However, with the BS6 emissions norms coming in, Skoda discontinued the 2.0-litre diesel motor.

This has resulted in the new Skoda Kodiaq being powered by the brilliant 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that we find in the new Skoda Octavia and Superb. It is a 1,984cc, inline-four-cylinder, TSI unit that puts out 187.5bhp (190PS) between 4,200 and 6,000rpm. It boasts a peak torque output of 320Nm between 1,500 and 4,100rpm.

Transmission duties are handled by a 7-Speed DSG unit that comes with a sport mode, manual mode, and even paddle shifters placed behind the steering wheel. This as you may realise is a potent combination and the performance of the Skoda Kodiaq proved just how good it is.

0-100km/h comes up in about 7.5 seconds and the SUV will go on to clock over 200km/h. However, we didn't really push the SUV to its top speed due to the lack of adequate roads.That being said, we can confirm that the new Skoda Kodiaq is properly fast for a premium SUV in this price range.

The 2022 Skoda Kodiaq features six drive modes - Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, Individual & Snow. Each of these modes have their own character and change the personality of the SUV. We tested all of them except the Snow mode and each mode makes a significant difference in the handling and performance of the Skoda Kodiaq.

The effectiveness of the different drive modes are made more authentic by the Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC). It is basically an active suspension system that changes the damping and the rate of damping on the shock absorbers depending on the speed of the vehicle and the terrain benign driven on.

Each drive mode changes the way the suspension reacts to bumps and potholes and makes the ride super comfortable in Comfort and Eco modes while it becomes stiffer to allow for more handling in the Sport mode. The Individual mode can be set up according to the driver's requirements.

The engine and gearbox response too, changes with the selection of different drive modes. In addition to all this brilliance, Skoda has also equipped the Kodiaq with a 4x4 drivetrain. It primarily drives the front wheels but is capable of sending power to the rear wheels as and when required in order to keep optimum traction levels. There is also a dedicated Off-Road mode meant to be used in off-road situations.

Safety & Key Features

Safety has always been one of the strong points of all Skoda vehicles. Skoda's vehicles are built well and in recent times feature both active and passive safety systems. The 2022 Skoda Kodiaq is no different.

2022 Skoda Kodiaq Safety Features:

- 9 Airbags As Standard Feature Across All Variants
- 360-degree Camera
- Park Assist
- Multi-Collision Brake
- Traction Control System/Anti-Slip Regulation
- Anti-Lock Braking System
- Roll Over Protection
- Motor Slip Regulation
- Electronic Differential Locking System

2022 Skoda Kodiaq Key Features:

- Crystalline LED Headlamps
- Powered Tailgate
- Electrically Adjustable Front Seats
- 8.0-inch Touchscreen Infotainment
- 12.25-inch TFT Instrumentation
- Canton 12-Speaker, 625W Sound System
- Wet Umbrella Case In Front Doors
- Off-Road Mode
- Dynamic Chassis Control
- Power Nap Package
- MySkoda Connect
- Steering-Mounted Controls

And the list goes on..

2022 Skoda Kodiaq Variants & Pricing

The 2022 Skoda Kodiaq is available in three variants:

- Style - Rs 34.99 Lakh
- Sportline - Rs 35.99 Lakh
- Laurin & Klement - Rs 37.49 Lakh

All prices are ex-showroom.

Verdict

The Skoda Kodiaq is an SUV that is packed with features and despite having an on-road price of more than Rs 40 lakh, is one of the most value-for-money SUVs in the Indian market. Despite the large number of SUVs in our market, the Kodiaq is one of those that leaves a lasting impression.

It is an SUV that tends to make you remember it even a long time after driving it. Now, with the facelift, it is one of those SUVs that commands your attention when it drives past you, and it also makes you want to own one, get your family in it and head out for some adventurous family activities. Safe to say, it is one of the best Skoda cars on sale today.