Skoda Kamiq long-term test: report 6

The car Skoda Kamiq 1.0 TSI 115 SE L Run by Claire Evans, consumer editor

Why it’s here The Kamiq is our favourite small SUV for less than £20,000, but how will it cope as a long-distance commuter car and weekend family wheels? We have four months to find out 

Needs to Prove that you don’t have to have deep pockets to be able to buy a good small SUV

Mileage 8542 List price £21,980 Target Price £19,384 Price as tested £27,780 Test economy 44.7mpg Official economy 47.1mpg

7 June 2020 – Clever little extras

It appears that both Skoda and I have been thinking ahead recently. With lockdown restrictions easing, I’ll need to be able to get to a range of locations for work, including central London occasionally. Driving isn’t necessarily the best option for a number of reasons: a zero-emission vehicle would be best for the environment, traffic could be heavy and parking will be expensive.

However, I’m not comfortable about using public transport either. So I was impressed when I saw that Skoda has just introduced a fold-up scooter so its car owners can travel that ‘last mile’ of their journey swiftly while maintaining a safe distance from other people. 

Like its other Simply Clever accessories, the Skoda Scooter has been specially designed to fit neatly into the car. It folds in two places and measures just 49×42×11cm when fully collapsed so it can be stowed in a specially designed box that sits inside the spare wheel well of my Skoda Kamiq (and the Skoda Scala) leaving the entire boot empty for luggage. 

I ordered a scooter and in anticipation of getting out more carried out a test ride in a local town. Like Skoda’s cars, the scooter is sturdy and well built, and it’s easy to reassemble and extend the handlebars via the sprung joints. In less than a minute I was whizzing up and down the pavement. And it only weighs 5kg, so it won’t be too heavy for me to carry once I’m inside a building.

While researching the scooter, I discovered that Skoda has a long association with two-wheeled transport. The Czech car company began as a bicycle repair shop in Mladá Boleslav, near Prague, in 1895, and its founders, Václav Laurin and Václav Klement, built their first cycle, the Slavia, at the end of that year. 

Although they moved on to produce motorcycles and cars, they kept their association with two wheels. Skoda has been the sponsor for the Tour de France cycle race for more than 15 years and its sold bicycles and related accessories alongside cars for many years. 

And, although I’m not getting into cycling yet, it’s got me using two wheels, too. With the scooter tucked away under the Kamiq’s boot floor, my car and I are now ready for our first post-lockdown trips into towns and cities.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Read more from our long-term Skoda Kamiq >>

See more long-term test cars >>