The second-gen Skoda Kodiaq vRS will start from £52,595

Got a big family and a penchant for taking them to places reasonably quickly? You might be interested in the new Skoda Kodiaq vRS, which lands later this month starting from £52,595.

In return, you’ll get a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-pot which sends 261bhp to all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox. You can even say you own the most torque-y Skoda on sale right now (295lb ft), which is of course an ideal stat for pub conversation.

The other important numbers are 0-62mph in 6.4s and a top speed of 144… in a big, pretending-to-be-sensible family transporter. Plus as many as 15 settings for the adaptive damping, which includes a dedicated mode for off-roading. And maybe one for traversing a mountain of Lego too. Maybe.

Inside, the hot Kodiaq comes with sports memory foam seats upholstered in microsuede leather and sporty red contrast stitching. Tech includes a 10in driver display, 13in freestanding infotainment screen and a Canton sound system. The latter is especially important in pumping out what Skoda calls ‘Dynamic Sound Boost’, more commonly known as… synthesized sound.

On to the exterior design, where the vRS packs gloss black trim finishes, a redesigned front bumper with a horizontal light strip on the grille, polished stainless steel exhausts and 20in Elias alloy wheels. The family should approve.

Orders can be placed from 16 January, before deliveries commence soon after.