New Skoda Kodiaq vRS: exclusive image of the 2024 hot SUV
The next Kodiaq could be Skoda's last combustion-powered vRS, and our exclusive image shows how it could look
A brand-new Skoda Kodiaq vRS will launch in the second half of 2024, delivering what’s likely to be one of the final combustion-engined cars to be created by the Czech brand’s performance sub-division. Our exclusive image shows how Skoda could build on the existing SportLine model, with larger wheels, revised bumpers and subtle vRS badging.
The newly launched second-generation Kodiaq is longer and heavier than the model it replaces. But bosses believe that even with toughening targets on CO2 emissions, and Skoda’s push towards an all-electric future in Europe, there’s enough demand from customers for sporty derivatives to justify a Mk2 Kodiaq vRS. By the second half of the decade, it could sit alongside faster versions of not only the facelifted Enyaq, but also the zero-emissions Elroq and Skoda’s forthcoming seven-seat EV.
The company’s board member for technical development, Joannes Neft, confirmed to Auto Express at the Kodiaq’s global reveal that a faster version of the car is in the works. “We are playing with something already,” Neft said. “We had a vRS before, and it was very successful, so we will get a new vRS too.”
Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer said that while the latest Kodiaq is more focused than ever on efficiency and sustainability – helped by the model’s first plug-in hybrid version – the brand will be led by customer demand for a vRS. “vRS is a sub-brand of ours, and we need to build our future on that sub-brand too,” he told us. “From my point of view, it’s consumers who will decide; what we do is based on their preferences. We want to provide a choice; this is our task. Our reason for being is not to convince people to drive this or that; it’s to give them what they want. So if there’s a market for a Kodiaq vRS and it’s within the legislation then yes, we’ll build it. ”
The engine that will be used for the forthcoming Kodiaq vRS has yet to be detailed, but Neft revealed that his team have “already decided not to do it with a plug-in hybrid”. That rules out a more powerful version of the new Kodiaq iV’s 201bhp powertrain, and makes it all but certain that the Kodiaq vRS will use a version of the VW Group’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol motor, producing around 270bhp.
Skoda sources have also confirmed to Auto Express that the Kodiaq vRS will have a dual-clutch automatic transmission, like the rest of the range. And Martin Jahn, the company’s sales and marketing boss, told us, “The Kodiaq vRS, by definition, is a 4x4.”
Skoda is likely to push the extremes of the existing Sportline edition to create the more dynamic-looking Kodiaq vRS, with larger alloy wheels, revised front and rear bumpers and carbon fibre-effect trim.
The new generation of Kodiaq vRS is expected to make its public debut in the final quarter of 2024, with first deliveries to UK customers early in the new year. The model should match the newly revealed Kodiaq iV plug-in hybrid on pricing, with a figure approaching £50,000.
Elsewhere, Skoda sources have ruled out the idea of a more rugged ‘Scout’ version of the four-wheel-drive Kodiaq. Jahn told us, “The car is already used by people towing, by people driving in wet, cold and snowy conditions, up mountains and so forth. It’s enough of a 4x4 as it is; we see demand for a more sporty version, like vRS, and also a more opulent edition, such as Laurin & Klement, that would look at home arriving at the opera house.”
Who said practical cars can't also be fun? These are the fastest SUVs in the world...
