Czech this out: the angry new Skoda Kodiaq will cost from £36,645

Seismic automotive industry moments don’t come along very often, but Skoda has only gone and revealed UK prices for its bluff new Kodiaq ahead of orders opening this week. The second-generation large SUV will start from £36,645. 

There are just the two trims available from launch – SE and SE L – with a new SportLine spec arriving later in 2024. The £36k SE entry model with five seats (seven will cost you an extra £900 or so on this version) will come with 18in alloys, LED lights front and rear, heated front seats, a 13in infotainment screen with sat nav, 10.25in digital instrument panel and tri-zone climate control. What a time to be alive. 

The SE L model and its seven seats as standard will set you back £40,205 but for that you get 19in alloys, matrix LED headlights, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat and a powered tailgate.

The Kodiaq will launch in the UK with two petrol and two diesel engines available – the former in 148bhp 1.5-litre and 201bhp 2.0-litre AWD guise, the latter both 2.0 litres producing 148bhp and 190bhp with AWD. A top of the line diesel in SE L trim will top the range for now at a perky £46,225.

A plug-in hybrid petrol powertrain arriving later on will pair the 1.5-litre petrol with an e-motor for 201bhp and 62 miles of electric range from a 25.7kWh battery. It’ll come with 11kW Type 2 charging and 50kW CCS capability.

Perhaps most excitingly, the latest Kodiaq (along with the new Superb) sees the return of actual dials for the air con controls, along with a smattering of buttons. Sure, they’ve still tried to make them with little configurable touch control functions in the middle, but baby steps. 

You’ll be able to seethe at the touchscreen infotainment in a range of carefully curated interior design options familiar from the Enyaq, with a variety of recycled fabrics, Suedia and artificial leather to choose from. 

Other important details from Skoda include confirmation that the umbrella and ice scraper will be on the car, and the inclusion of a QR code in the boot that will link you to a video that explains “how to make full use of the storage compartments”. 

We’re still not sure whether the Kodiaq’s new look is a carefully managed iteration of the familiar Skoda design language evolving a familiar look into an exciting new direction, or whether it looks bad. Has the Kodiaq gone, dare we whisper it, a bit BMW?