Sunday Drive: Skoda Kodiaq Sportline

Monday, 24 December 2018

See 10 really clever features in Skoda's new SUV. Like, really clever.

SKODA KODIAQ TSI SPORTLINE

Base price: $67,990.

Powertrain and performance: 2.0-litre turbodiesel four, 140kW/400Nm, 7-speed automated dual-clutch transmission, AWD, Combined economy 5.7 litres per 100km, 0-100kmh 8.6sec.

The Sportline keeps the practicality the Kodiaq is loved for but adds flash.

Vital statistics: 4699mm long, 1685mm high, 2791mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 630 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Looks good, the LED headlamps are great, extra panache with no detriment to solid practicality.

The petrol Kodiaq Sportline is less powerful, but fractionally faster than the diesel.

We don't like: That the best colour, velvet red, carries a $1500 premium.

By now everyone recognises Skoda's key talent is to produce better kinds of value-biased Volkswagens.

The interior is functional, comfortable and has some very clever features. Dull colours though.

Don't imagine for a moment this causes discord within VW headquarters. In-house competition was always going to be an inevitability of sharing platforms, powertrains and other technology across a family of brands, particularly in the mainstream sector, where Skoda (and SEAT) strive to prove themselves as same-yet-different alternates to pukka Wolfsburg fare.

The proof is in the profits. That ever-strengthening income stream from the subordinate brands might well have become all the more appreciated with the owner having… ahem… latterly found itself having to fork out significant cash on fines.

The Kodiaq is a very versatile vehicle, with lots of clever useful features and plenty of places to store things.

Sportline gets unique bumpers and eye-catching 20-inch alloy wheels shod with fancy Pirelli Scorpion tyres.

* The big winner: Skoda Kodiaq is our Top Car of 2017

* Think of the Skoda Karoq as a baby bear**

That Skoda sales are rising fast here suggests we're finally understanding it's no laughing matter. One the models that has wiped the smiles off rivals' faces is the Kodiaq. Within months of release in 2017 the brand's largest sports utility had nabbed New Zealand Car of the Year, as well as our own Top Car nod.

One year on, Kodiaq continues to present as one of the best-value, most fit-for-purpose, cleverly packaged and downright appealing seven-seat SUVs you can buy.

Now comes the Sportline, the equivalent of the Tiguan R-Line that sidesteps delivering more pep than is already provided – that's the role of next year's harder-edged vRS – to purely elevate image with a sportier styling.

Aside from the expected badging on the exterior, it features unique bumpers at either end, black door mirrors, roof rails and especially eye-catching 20-inch Vega Anthracite alloy wheels shod with fancy Pirelli Scorpion tyres.

The interior revision starts with sports-style front seats that, in addition to having heavier bolsters, also deliver Alcantara trim and silver stitching. Pseudo-carbon fibre trim inserts, the usual smattering of logos and an LED light pack that illuminates the interior at night also remind you're in something a bit more special.

The one additional enhancement that has to be more for giggles than driving gain is a Performance Monitor display on the touch-screen, which gives oil/coolant temperatures, acceleration, boost pressure and lap timer. I mean, I can see this car towing something to track days, but taking part? As if that's going to happen.

On top of this, Skoda provisions some accessories. The Trailer Assist with towbar ($1850) would be worth considering, moreso than the sliding panoramic roof ($2500), $750 heated windscreen (unless you live in Central), Sleep Package ($765, for sunset glass, sunshades and extra cushions in the back on which slumbering occupants can rest their heads) or Family Package ($660, controllable child locks and, again, sunshades).

Smarter looks don't diminish the car's functionality. Even though, as with many seven-seat SUVs currently on sale, it is more of a five-plus-two SUV, with those rearmost two seats best serving young 'uns, it is nonetheless a very versatile vehicle, with lots of clever useful features and plenty of places to store things. One of the positive: Even with all seven seats in place, there is still a reasonable amount of boot space.

The front row chairs look and feel the part. The texture is warm and grippy and the shape provides decent lateral support without feeling too tight.

The cabin layout in general is unchanged from any other Kodiaq, which is great. Brollies in front doors, an ice scraper on the fuel flap, bottle grips in the cupholders and automated protectors that pop out when you open the doors are great, too.

You have to put up with a variety of plastics, many unfortunately in too-sombre hues, but that's how it goes for far pricier VWs, too. One point of slight annoyance is the location of the wireless charging pad, just ahead of the gear selector. You learn to remove your phone before shutting down because the lever in Park is awkward to reach around.

There's no absolute need to buy this package in diesel, but you should think about it. The alternate petrol is $5000 cheaper and 0.6 seconds quicker to 100kmh, but also thirstier – drinking an additional 2.7 litres per 100km – and in the rare position of providing less power (down 8kW) and well as torque (giving away 80Nm).

What also elevates the diesel's status is its refinement and the enhanced muscularity you expect from a diesel.

Even though torque uncoils from just 1500 through to 4000rpm, this is actually quite an energetic engine, with enough fire to make toggling into the Dynamic Chassis Control's Sport setting worthwhile.

The adaptive suspension is quite firm in this mode, but put up with the slightly jittery ride and it's a fun drive. The throttle pedal sharpens up and the automatic transmission alters its response, holding onto lower gears a little longer. In some diesels that'd be incitement to dig into lots more roar and little more in the way of raw energy, however here you do access additional energy and it rarely sounds truly coarse.

Those performance tyres will get a workout, too, because even though it is a larger, heavy and tail model, the tightened suspension tune, the accurate steering response and the added benefit of all-wheel drive mean you can have a bit of enjoyment, providing the passengers don't mind a bit of lean and pitch.

Kodiaq's sales pace to date has pinned primarily on it being a sensible value product, so you might wonder if there's any need for a showboat model. Huge local success with the Octavia vRS suggests brand loyalists don't mind flashy, so long as it doesn't impinge on functionality: Which is exactly how the Sportline turns out.