Skoda Kodiaq long-term test
Skoda's biggest combustion-engined SUV seats seven and looks like good value, but what's it like to live with? We're finding out...
The car Skoda Kodiaq 1.5 TSI 150 e-Tec DSG SE L Run by John Bradshaw, chief photographer
Why it’s here To see if Skoda's seven-seater can provide a winning blend of comfort, practicality and economy
Needs to Tackle long trips with ease, carry bulky loads and be frugal at the pumps
Mileage 1563 List price £42,205 Target Price £37,839 Price as tested £43,005 Official fuel economy 44.5mpg Test fuel economy 43.0mpg
13 February 2025 – Cold comfort
There’s an ice scraper in my garage. I know this, because I saw it in the spring and said “I must remember to put that in the car before winter arrives”. Fortunately, us Skoda Kodiaq drivers needn’t worry about such considerations, because the Czech car maker conceals a handy ice scraper, albeit quite a small one, inside the fuel filler cap.
It’s a feature I came to appreciate in my previous Skoda Kamiq. Without it, unexpected cold snaps when I’m away from home would cause me to root around in the car in the hunt for anything that could be persuaded to chisel ice off the windscreen. Once upon a time, that might have been a Blockbuster Video card; more recently, a credit card. But the march of time has killed video rental and made contactless payment the norm, leading to circumstances when, in cars from other brands, I’ve been marooned without means to rapidly clear my windscreen.
It’s one of the “simply clever” features that Skoda is deservedly smug about in its cars. These also include an umbrella built into the driver’s door and a handy ticket-holder next to the windscreen. All of these make life that little bit easier for the Skoda driver.
Of course, if I’m not in a dreadful rush, I can switch on the heated windscreen (a £340 option). With electronic elements embedded in the glass, this clears the screen much more quickly than my manual efforts can achieve. It has the ice melting and sliding off in less than a minute.
But it’s not only me that my Kodiaq looks after when things turn chilly. Passengers in the second row of seats get their own set of proper, physical heating controls. That means they can opt for a different temperature to those dialed up by either of the front-seat occupants. On a frosty day, the driver can be gently warmed while their neighbour boils and those in the rear seat sizzle, should those be the settings selected.
What’s more, having specified the optional Winter Pack for £325, bottoms are treated to just as much cosiness as bodies, with heated seats in the front and second rows. Only the middle-seat occupant and those in the third row go without hotplates for their posteriors. It’s not only me, then, who’s warming to the Kodiaq.
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