Skoda Kodiaq unveiled; coming to India by September 2017

Skoda has officially unveiled its Kodiaq SUV to the world in Berlin. Designed by Jozef Kaban, Head of design at Skoda Auto, it boasts of a masculine structure, with svelte lines giving it a very appealing character. Up-front, the massive front grille adds to the butch stance along with Czech cystal-inspired LED headlamps and tail lamps, further rounding of its modern flair. It also looks particularly long at first, but that’s because it’s a 7-seater – and Skoda’s first one ever.


The dashboard on the interiors is perhaps one of the best you will have seen on a Skoda yet. Those vertically designed AC vents get a chrome outline with a huge touchscreen infotainment unit placed in the middle, while the steering remains familiar to the ones found on recent Skodas. The all-black leather theme and gloss-finished dashboard make it appear very elegant and typically Skoda.

Features will include 360-degree cameras, a boot release that would not need you to operate it, Wi-Fi, Google Earth, Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto among a host of other options available on the Skoda Connect touchscreen system. Electric front seats, a middle row that splits 60:40 that’s also reclinable and slidable, allows you to find as much room as possible.

A 1.4-litre TSI motor will serve overseas markets, but not for India. A 150/190hp 2.0-litre diesel engine producing 340/400Nm of torque is the one that will do duty in the Indian-spec Kodiaq. A DSG dual-clutch automatic or – for that matter – a 6-speed manual will come married to the motor. Maybe a slightly more powerful turbocharged petrol unit could make it to our shores at a later stage. The top-end model will get Volkswagen’s traverse engine AWD system by Haldex/BorgWarner.


Skoda will also have the Kodiaq displayed at the Paris Motor Show in October. However, looking forward to an Indian launch anywhere soon could be an utter disappointment. An late 2017 launch is what we expect, along with a steep price tag of around 30 lakh rupees, which is in keeping with the brand’s ‘value luxury’ philosophy.