About the Skoda Kodiaq
Ted O’Brien purchased this Skoda Kodiaq new with additional options for $58,000 (including all on-road costs). Ted O’Brien would buy this car again because: “Our ownership experience has been perfect. we are so happy with how this car performs on a daily basis, when we go on longer trips, or when we come across certain things we weren’t expecting. This was our first Skoda, but we have since added a 2013 Octavia RS TDI to the garage as well. “
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
Coming from a few other Volkswagen Group products, we were expecting to get a reliable car that would most likely encounter a few small problems here and there, but our experience with Skoda has been faultless.
Our odometer is just about to tick over 50,000km and our Kodiaq hasn’t been back to the dealership since the day we picked it up. We service our car with a private Volkswagen specialist in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
One thing I will mention is there’s every now and then a small glitch with the 360 camera but the problem always fixes itself the next time it’s needed.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
Our car has become part of the family. We originally bought it from a Skoda dealer in Tasmania with 50km on the odometer, it was the only demonstrator Kodiaq Sportline we could find in Australia with the Luxury and Tech packs (definitely didn’t want a sunroof after a previous experience in our Bora V5).
Otherwise we had to wait nearly 8 months, that wasn’t an option as our previous car had been written off.
After a month, we left for our road trip which would take us up near Rockhampton. Five weeks and 10,000km exploring the East Coast, we agreed that we couldn’t have picked a better car to do it in. The Kodiaq juggles family life like a treat. It still puts a smile on our face every time we jump in it.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
The purchase was a simple procedure, as we were interested in the Kodiaq we went to our local Skoda dealership and test drove a Sportline in Steel Grey, and fell in love.
Then we found the demo one in Tassie so we bought it sight unseen over the phone. The dealership was terrific to deal with and we ended up saving a bit as well. They put us up for a night in a local hotel, so all we had to pay for was the flights and then the Spirit of Tasmania trip home.
And as I mentioned earlier, we haven’t had to go back to a Skoda dealership since we bought the car over three years ago!
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
When you option the Kodiaq with the Tech and Luxury Packs there’s not much more you could want, it’s just a shame some of the driver aids don’t come standard (not that I need them).
I personally think the Sportline is worth there upgrade, you gain by far the best-looking (more so the front) and feeling seats in a family SUV under $60k, they alone are worth the upgrade. The Alcantara is also dead easy to keep clean.
I’m not much of a person for “sticker packs/ cosmetic upgrades” but the Sportline looks a heap better than the Style trim, especially the 20″ Vega Wheels.
Luxury Pack adds:
- 360 camera
- Heated front and rear seats
- Blind-spot monitor
- Lane-keep assist
- AEB in reverse
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Tri-zone climate
Tech Pack adds:
- Auto park
- Canton sound system
- Virtual pedal for electric tailgate (which actually works)
- Off-road mode
There’s one compromise of picking a Sportline model and that is you miss out on the ventilated front seats which you would get if you optioned the Luxury Pack in the standard ‘Style’ trim.
Pricing is generally pretty good and you get a lot of equipment, but Skoda needs to add more standard safety aids. I also think the Luxury and Tech packs are worth the extra dough.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
132kW doesn’t seem like much but it gets the job done. I do sometimes want a bit more power but a tune could always fix that. Economy is a mixed bag, I’ve seen it come as low as 5.6L/100km but I’ve also had the average as high as 16.8L/100km, thats when the 5km limits been in place.
Our long-term average on city driving is around 10-11L/100km and out on the open road between 7-8L/100km so generally not too bad as it gets the same average fuel economy as our Holden Cruze 1.4L turbo.
I definitely think it’s more of a driver’s SUV (not that that’s really a thing) and when the light goes green, you feel like you’ve got enough power to beat the other SUVs waiting at the light next to you. If I was to buy one now Id definitely go the RS model, but never thought I would pay that much for a Skoda…
What do you think of the technology in your car?
Technology is good with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the standard sat-nav is also pretty good but don’t use it as I’m always using Apple CarPlay (when it works). Sometimes I can’t connect my phone but have been told that’s an Apple problem as everyone else’s phone works fine.
I do wish there were more USB ports as one really isn’t enough. DAB and standard radio also work effortlessly.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The ride with the electric dampers means you can customise it to your liking.
I leave mine in individual with everything in Sport except for the ride in Comfort, which really soaks up all the bumps. The DSG works a treat too, and it’s surprisingly smooth at lower speeds. I’m sold on the DSG now. It handles quite well for a medium-large SUV and I can definitely drive it into a corner with confidence.