[nerd1200]

Spent a day with the "fun" Kodiaq!

TL;DR: Skoda gave me a Kodiaq to drive for a day.



Prelude:

Ever since I sold the Yeti, it has been making its absence felt. The sensible size with a potent 2.0 TDI oil burner mated to a slick 6 speed manual and power transmitted to all four wheels is the DREAM. Therefore, when a social media campaign was directed my way to see if I were interested to take the new Kodiaq out for a spin – that too for a day, I quickly signed up without giving it much thought. Couple weeks later, at a point where I had completely forgotten about it, I get a call from TAFE Access, Bangalore, confirming the schedule of this drive. Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I enquired if 23rd (Thanksgiving Day) was feasible to which they replied in affirmative. I heard - “It’s a Date!”

Busy few weeks pass again without any banter about it, almost making me presume that it must’ve been a hoax or something. Too good to be true. The good folks at TAFE might’ve realized it and called me on the 21st to remind me of our “date”.

Okay, not a hoax.

[nerd1200]

The Drive:

Being a holiday in the States, I had an open-ish calendar, and it seemed fair to utilize the opportunity to be thankful for something. Although there was no limitation on the distance driven, I had to ensure I’m handing the car back to it’s rightful owners by sundown. I still had some commitments until noon, therefore leaving me with limited options to venture out to.

My wife and I have been meaning to drive towards Anantapur, AP for a while to have some authentic Korean food at a highly rated joint near the KIA plant. I happened to hear about a good driving road in the vicinity and thought of heading that way. Afterall, what’s Thanksgiving without some delectable food?!

Mr. Manjunath from TAFE coordinated the schedule with me in the morning and their driver, Mr. Gopal, was at my residence on time.

I got into the car, a familiar steering wheel, albeit a missing spoke. Everything where it’s supposed to be and falling into place. Simply clever touches like the retractable door guards, split headrests for the rear passengers, clever stowage slots and a few more features were appreciated. We started off towards the newly opened section of STRR connecting Hoskote to Devanahalli and that’s where I got the first opportunity to stretch her legs and boy was I impressed. Coming from the last generation of VW turbo petrols (the 1.8 EA888-2) this drivetrain felt different. Very linear and may I say, docile, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, the power is there, in oodles. It’s just that the way the horses sprint would not scare your family.

More than the power, I was eager to test out the DCC or Dynamic Chassis Control, which brings electronically adaptive dampers onboard and let me TLDR-it to say that it did not disappoint. The difference is not just evident but is quite glaring – especially if you’re switching from Sport to Comfort or vice-versa. Sport mode is where you’d want to be on twisties or when generally driving fast. You feel the car stick to the road like it’s on rails, every apprehensible contour and imperfection of the tarmac is perceived inside the cabin, again not in a bad way. But effectively making your mind trick you into thinking that you’re driving a lowered sedan. To complement this experience, the gearbox is transferred to “S”, throttle response is sharper, and steering is made heavier. From there you switch to Comfort and suddenly you’re in a different car, so to speak. The stiffness has given way to a surprisingly flat and buttery smooth ride as if the road surface has suddenly become as smooth as a runway. The larger bumps and undulations are still felt, but even those are rounded off well and has no clunkiness to it. In Comfort however, the throttle response and gear shifts are dulled down, and you’re expected to drive in a leisurely manner. I could not appreciate it for more than a few minutes and slotted the transmission into Sports mode which helped quite a bit. The next time we stopped, I quickly started fiddling with the DCC settings and personalized the Individual setting. DCC in Comfort, Steering in Normal and Drive in Sports. That ought to do it! I drove in that setting for the most part, however I think DCC was switching to Normal whenever the car was restarted. Coming to that, Normal strikes a nice balance between the two modes and would be used and appreciated by most owners.


Clean lines, typical of a German car but with some Czech flair.



The front end is not intimidating by a long shot, but is sleek and smart.









Hyderabad highway was a boon to drive on except for higher than usual traffic and a few morons racing towards you in the wrong direction.

[nerd1200]

We left the highway after a while and navigated through some narrow and crowded lanes to find our way, even reversed the car in a bustling marketplace at some point, all without breaking a sweat, thanks to the 360 degrees of surveillance coverage – both visual and audio based, a welcome addition indeed.





Some helpful locals provided me the right directions, and I found just the place I was looking for – Twisties!! A lovely set of them. At that point switching to Sports was muscle memory. The next 10 minutes up the hill was, to summarize, exhilarating and blissful at the same time. The first negative point about the car came to light, it desperately needs better tyres. Once at the top, we scouted for some spots to photograph the Kodiaq at and spent some time behind the lens.













A lot of chrome indeed.




Is the boot accommodative enough?









Poetry in motion!










Notice how aggressive the camber is. A negative camber clearly shows sporty intent.




View of the town

[nerd1200]

Soon enough the midday sun got to us, and we were practically fleeing to the car at some point. Once inside, we realized that the air conditioning was more suited to cater to European cities than to Indian ones. I’m glad that they at least specced some variants up to include ventilated seats which was a god send.

Made our way down the hill and headed off to the second attraction of the day – A Korean luncheon!!





The drive back to Bangalore was an uneventful one apart from a few morons on road who ensured I cannot use cruise control. At some point my wife said that she wanted to drive, and I obliged. She took the wheel and I slipped into the back seat to experience those split headrests. They’re sublime.

What’s not? A continuous vibration from the center armrest. Couldn’t trace the source.

Since I couldn’t nap, I just poked and prodded at stuff in the back seat. Felt-lined stowage bins, a third temperature zone for the rear passengers, massive sunroof to stargaze out of, cozy looking under-seat mood lights and of course good leg room – all things considered premium.

Thinking of leg room, I turned back to look at the third row. Sheesh! That’s uninhabitable by an adult human, or even a teenager. Best to just fold them down and carry stuff. Maybe small children would fit in there but surely, they’ll feel hemmed in. My thoughts were interrupted by a phone call.

On the other side was friend and BHPian Altocumulus. He wanted to take the car for a quick spin. I did not hesitate as I wanted (needed) the Skoda to win over him so that he ditches his Compass for a Kodiaq. Nothing against the Compass, but Kodiaq is just so much better. With this sinister plan in motion, I headed over to his place navigating through peak hour traffic.


Parting shot!

By now it was dark, and the headlights lit up automatically. Although white, they’re bright and have perfect cutoff. Lights up the road without blinding anyone. Speaking of, I was in love with my Yeti’s AFS-2 equipped headlight unit wherein the projector unit moved in the direction of your turn to light up the street even before you’ve completed the maneuver. I don’t know if they’re present in the new Kodiaq. If yes, they were probably turned off. I reached Altocumulus’ place before I could find out definitively.

Anyway, while I waited and instructed the car to park itself. As an interim user of a 5-million-rupee car, I cannot be bothered with such menial tasks now, can I?

Altocumulus took the wheel and waited for my 30-second guide to be over before opening the throttle up. Every possible gap was closed, and we were catapulted through every open section of the road there existed. Needless to say, he was as impressed as I was. Once we reached my place, I sheepishly asked him if he would let go of the Compass and get a Kodiaq to which he nodded his head in dismissal. Before I could ask why, he pointed at the crisp all digital instrument cluster ahead of him. It read 7.9km/L.

That’s the Achilles heel, isn’t it? For someone like me, who does upwards of 20-30k KMs a year, it simply does not make sense, however brilliant the car is. And it is brilliant without a doubt. The driver from TAFE had to effectively snatch the key away from my hand. However, for someone who doesn’t do multiple cross country drives every year or does not mind shelling out copious amount of money for ever so frequent refuels of XP95, its as perfect as a crossover can get.

Only request to prospective buyers, get the L&K please. DCC is worth paying extra for.

With that said, Thanks a lot to Skoda India and TAFE Access for providing this experience. It will be etched in my memory for a long time to come.


Disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with Skoda India or TAFE Access apart from being a former customer.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[bhp_maniac]

Very well written, thanks for sharing. I'd dare say the read was as poetic as the Kodiaq is. I felt a breeze grazing by me as I read it. I have been contemplating Kodiaq ever since its introduction in the Indian market and I had almost bit the bullet when they decided to pull out the diesel motor It ticks all the boxes for me, a loud yet elegant stance, premiumness exuding from every bit of it, and a minimal yet functional set of feature list. However, I was not so impressed with the single digit FE I will have to endure with the TSi. Being said that Kodiaq is one of the most practical cars in the segment. Skoda's gesture is well noted. The Korean delicacies look yummy! Calls for a trip to Anantpur

[steadfast]

This was a wonderfully documented experience and good gesture from Skoda.
7.9 kpl would be due to spirited city drive by your friend . What was the highway consumption during your drive?
My hypothesis is after returning from trip you would have got the fuel top up and then given to your Compass friend hence the low number .

[Starwar19]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Once we reached my place, I sheepishly asked him if he would let go of the Compass and get a Kodiaq to which he nodded his head in dismissal. Before I could ask why, he pointed at the crisp all digital instrument cluster ahead of him. It read 7.9km/L.

A beautiful love-story comes to an end!
It was such a sweet, short, cute lovey dovey ride until this sentence struck. How badly I want to trade in my Jeep Meridian for a Kodiaq. My running is upwards of 40K, past 6 months my car has covered 24k already.
Just the fuel efficiency holds me back.
Just a curious point, you didn't mention about the Canton Audio system which is melody to ears!
Amazingly written travelogue and experience drive.
Thank you.

[AKB]

Originally Posted by Starwar19

A beautiful love-story comes to an end!

Just the fuel efficiency holds me back.

Thank you.

Have driven my Kodiaq about 12K km and 7.9kmpl is when car is driven in sports mode, touching 4/5K RPM after every red light and also facing bumper-to-bumper traffic. Normal city driving of 20-30 km would easily give 9kmpl+.

Also, difference between 12kmpl (at XP95 of Rs104/L it is ~INR13/L) and 8kmpl (which comes to ~INR8.7/L) is ~INR4.4L for 100K kms. Compared to cost of car, this is small. Just another way of looking at it.

Attaching a snapshot of my ride on Friday evening which included peak Delhi-NCR traffic. The average speed is just 41km/h and I got 14kmpl

[SilverSmoke]

Normally in an amalgamation of city & highway drives, you easily get 12 KMPL.

Sedated highway cruising can gift you with 17 KMPL.

[Starwar19]

Originally Posted by AKB

Also, difference between 12kmpl (at XP95 of Rs104/L it is ~INR13/L) and 8kmpl (which comes to ~INR8.7/L) is ~INR4.4L for 100K kms. Compared to cost of car, this is small. Just another way of looking at it.

True that, just an another way to look at it. It seems marginal now, but when this heavy running is constant every year, it makes a huge difference in the cost of ownership.
My cost of running is as below,
My car gives a mileage of 13Kmpl overall.
ODO stands at 24000.
Total fuel consumed:-1,846.
This being Diesel:- 92*1846=1,69,846.
Also the servicing costs are kept below 15k/Visit

Same case with the scenario of Kodiaq would be:- 2,54,400. I have taken overall FE at 10kmpl. With petrol prices around 106rs.
I’m a little high spirited but safe driver.

I’m also finding some or the other (Lame) reasons to convince my Home Minister for Kodiaq.

[dsr001]

To the fuel costs, consider the convenience of no DPF issues..

[vjbox]

Very nice write up nerd1200, really enjoyed reading your post. You certainly have a flair for writing and captured the attributes of the Kodiaq aptly.

After driving it for a bit, you realise what a well put together package it is. Yes, it has its downsides like a cramped third row (strictly children only), thirsty engine but its upsides are plenty, that stonker of an engine, the fast shifting DSG, DCC, practical & spacious cabin, usable boot space even with the third row up, cracker of an audio system, the ergonomics and such. Its arguably the best package you can opt for this side of INR 50lacs. Fuel efficiency isn't that bad at all when you get to use it on a regular basis. Based on my run so far, I will tell you where the Kodiaq doest quite make sense. Its not a vehicle you should be taking for less than 10KM runs / or in dense traffic. When you do, you are not going to see anything above 6-7 KMPL FE figures. Highways is where this SUV shines and it can take cross country runs with ease and still return a respectable 12-13 KMPL when you cruise with occasional spirited driving. I am sure a few members have reported higher figures like 16-17 KMPL as well, so it boils down to ones driving style. We all know what to expect when we push turbo petrols hard and the TSI is no exception. So the delta is not more 20-25% between a diesel counterpart and the TSI. But we also know an engine like the 2.0 TSI is irresistible and its very easy to get carried away. I have adapted my driving style and dont quite drive it way I do the V40 whose diesel motor still gives a very easy 12-14 on the highway even when pushed hard.

In short, Kodiaq works like a charm for someone whose running is mostly highways and/ or in sparse city traffic. It also works well if you have secondary diesel car which you can balance out.

[nerd1200]

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

However, I was not so impressed with the single digit FE I will have to endure with the TSi.

Thanks bhp_maniac for your kind words.

If driven with a obedient right foot, I'm sure extracting double digit economy numbers wouldn't be a tough ask. These TSI motors are a gem, they are very efficient under right conditions but can get thirsty if continuously kept on boil.

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

The Korean delicacies look yummy! Calls for a trip to Anantpur

Nice and cozy place, Good food. Definitely worth a visit. Time Korean Restaurant.

Originally Posted by steadfast

7.9 kpl would be due to spirited city drive by your friend . What was the highway consumption during your drive?

Thanks Steadfast!
As AKB, SilverSmoke and other owners have documented in the Kodiaq thread, it is feasible to get good efficiency numbers out of this wonderfully engineered motor. The FE I got was definitely not an ideal scenario as there was quite a bit of spirited driving, B2B traffic and even idling.

When cruising at my usual triple digit highway speeds, the Instantaneous FE counter was roughly between 12 to 14. I would expect the avg economy within that range unless your right foot fails to follow your mind.

Originally Posted by Starwar19

How badly I want to trade in my Jeep Meridian for a Kodiaq. My running is upwards of 40K, past 6 months my car has covered 24k already.
Just the fuel efficiency holds me back.

Originally Posted by Starwar19

Just a curious point, you didn't mention about the Canton Audio system which is melody to ears!

Thank you, Starwar19! So glad you liked it.

I hear you. As others have pointed out, it's not too bad in real life if one is sensible with throttle inputs. Do give your local Skoda dealer a call and drive it. Maybe you'll change your mind?

Regarding the Canton system, it was an intentional omission from the writeup as I could not experience it enough to have a thorough feedback on it. We did listen to a few songs initially and they sounded good, the system seemed to have a good balance (not too bass-heavy) and overall SQ was at par with some premium ICE systems. But I would personally spend some time tweaking the EQ and other parameters to get the perfect sound stage.

Originally Posted by vjbox

In short, Kodiaq works like a charm for someone whose running is mostly highways and/ or in sparse city traffic. It also works well if you have secondary diesel car which you can balance out.

Thank you vjbox! You're too kind.

Your perspective would certainly be very helpful to prospective buyers, especially those on the fence. I echo that it's an extremely enticing product and value proposition if someone is looking for a premium and well engineered Germán and doesn't mind the badge, it would be hard to ignore. Infact, I could see myself biting the bullet and getting one after my current sojourn with BOF SUVs.

[abaliga]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Before I could ask why, he pointed at the crisp all digital instrument cluster ahead of him. It read 7.9km/L.

That’s the Achilles heel, isn’t it? For someone like me, who does upwards of 20-30k KMs a year, it simply does not make sense, however brilliant the car is. And it is brilliant without a doubt. The driver from TAFE had to effectively snatch the key away from my hand. However, for someone who doesn’t do multiple cross country drives every year or does not mind shelling out copious amount of money for ever so frequent refuels of XP95, its as perfect as a crossover can get.

Couldn't agree more, 2.0 TSI is not for someone with high running, just came back from a 2200 kms road trip on our Octavia, we got an average of 10.5, we couldn't maintain a consistent pace because of road work on NH4 from Belgaum to Satara, if one is able to consistently maintain speeds of 80-90, it's easy to extract 15 kmpl, but this scenario is a rarity in India, coming from a Diesel Ecosport, it's quite a stark increase in fuel expenses for us, only silver lining is that we don't run it more than 8-10k annually, on the positive side, this motor is such a perfect companion for enthusiasts, sounds sweet when revved above 4k rpm and is pretty much the most powerful motor this side of a 30i from BMW!