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Got lucky & picked up the last black Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TSI

11th September 2024, 14:52 by Kanad Kalasur

This is the last of Kaban’s good work in the VW group before his ill-fated transfer to BMW and subsequent return to VW.

BHPian thefourthdriver recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi Guys,

I finally took delivery of the car on the 1st of September 2024. I was really lucky to get this one last black piece as there were no more with the Guwahati/Calcutta dealers and no availability at the Aurangabad plant as well.

This was actually booked by someone else under the July offers (2.5L + 2Y SMP + 5th Year EW) but he did not take delivery and stopped receiving the dealer’s calls and later even his phone was switched off. So lucky me

The dealer gave me a Rs. 1.63L discount, out of which, Rs. 80,000 was from Skoda’s August offer. However on the 4th (four days into the purchase) Skoda India gave me the 2Y SMP + 5th Year EW Package for free. That was really nice of them since this was not offered to me initially. The Calcutta dealer was offering a Rs. 2.5L total cash discount, but no black car.

I drove the car down from Guwahati to Dibrugarh (~450 km) and boy oh boy have I fallen in love with this vehicle! It’s an absolutely brilliant product at this price point. There is no comparison to the body on frame SUVs, this is a much superior vehicle to drive on the road.

The ride quality in comfortable is without equal in this segment's SUVs especially with the higher profile Michelins absorbing the small gravel patches a lot better than the test drive car. The bigger bumps and undulations are handled without much fuss from the suspension. My dad and I were surprised that even the high-speed ride quality was so much better than our 2013 Jetta TDI. The only thing I would say is that the suspension is relatively not as silent as the one in the Audi Q5. Again, this is relative as I’m comparing it to a car from a few segments above. In general, it’s a very silent suspension in its segment with excellent all round noise insulation inside the cabin.

All in all, I agree with GTO that this is a much superior product to the X1/GLA/Q3. There is no comparison. I also like the design better than the Q5 and it has more interior space as well with ventilated seats. I’m happy I’ve saved 23 odd lakhs by buying it as it does not feel like a lesser car. Excellent VFM. Another example for that would be - in the Emirates, the Sportline 177 PS costs 167,000 Dirhams. Assuming the L&K with 190 PS & DCC would have been priced at 180,000 Dirhams, that’s Rs. 41.06 lakhs. My ex-showroom price was less than that. My friend’s LR Defender HSE 2.0 300 PS was Rs. 100.90 lakhs ex showroom in India. The same car in the Emirates is 283,000 Dirhams or about Rs. 64.56 lakhs in our currency. The Kodiaq, in my opinion, is a steal.

I got the BCM reprogrammed and enabled the vRS Virtual cockpit (which looks so good) along with other features like convenient entry/exit for front seat occupants and rear DRLs (the feature is called Scandinavian DRLs). I’ve attached a pic of the instrument cluster. I also had those ridiculous speed chimes removed before the car even rolled out of the showroom.

All in all, love that I got my hands on the outgoing car as I hate the big screens in newer models and also that the cockpit instrument cluster recess is being removed along with the gear lever. Also, the design of the newer car is not to my liking. This is the last of Kaban’s good work in the VW group before his ill-fated transfer to BMW and subsequent return to VW.

Today, I’m again driving down to Guwahati and looking forward to the trip in the Kodiaq.