Skoda Kodiaq RS Challenge Unveiled: Brand’s ‘Limited Edition’ SUV Featuring Its Most Powerful Engine

Updated: Monday, April 27, 2020, 20:44 [IST]

Skoda Auto has unveiled the latest and most powerful iteration of the brand's seven-seater Kodiaq SUV in the form of the 'RS Challenge'. The new 'Limited Edition' Skoda Kodiaq RS Challenge is based on the already powerful 'RS' model.

The special edition seven-seater Kodiaq RS Challenge SUV features the brand's most powerful diesel engine. This comes in the form of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo unit producing 240bhp and 500Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission unit, sending power to all four wheels via an AWD system.

The new Skoda Kodiaq RS Challenge claims a 0 - 100km/h timing of just 6.9 seconds while top-speed is limited to 221km/h. Even with these high performance figures, the company claims that the Kodiaq RS Challenge returns a fuel-efficiency of over 16km/l.

The Kodiaq RS Challenge SUV carries forward all the equipment from the RS model, along with the addition of many more as well. The RS Challenge get's the brand's latest Assisted Ride 2.0 package as standard, which includes features such as lane-keep assist, lane-shift assist, parking assist, traffic signal recognition; among others.

Other additional features also include nine airbags, heated steering wheel and seats,a large 9.2-inch Columbus touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, electronically-adjustable front seats, three-zone climate control system and a fully-digital instrument cluster with ‘RS' graphics.

The new Skoda Kodiaq RS Challenge is said to be limited to just 300 units of production. This means the chances of its coming to the Indian market are very slim. The Kodiaq RS Challenge in Czech is priced at CZK 1,399,900 (equivalent to around Rs 42 lakh, exclusive of taxes).

Thoughts On The Skoda Kodiaq RS Challenge

The ‘RS' badging on a Skoda signifies the performance-oriented variant of the particular model. Currently, India only gets the RS version of the Skoda Octavia.

There were rumours that Skoda might bring in the Kodiaq RS to the Indian market, however, with the current situation it looks to be highly unlikely. Although if Skoda do introduce the Kodiaq RS in India, it will be priced at a premium of around Rs 40 lakh, ex-showroom.