Skoda Kodiaq - Practicality, comfort and boot space

Skoda has made a name for itself when it comes to practicality thanks to the Superb, Octavia and previous-generation Kodiaq all offering class-leading boot space figures and a tremendous amount of room in the cabin. 

A traditional, upright SUV driving position means you have great visibility all around. The dash is low enough to easily see over, and while it’s obviously a big car, you shouldn’t have trouble placing the Skoda Kodiaq on the road thanks to its boxy proportions, standard front and rear parking sensors, plus a reversing camera.

The various storage spaces inside the previous Kodiaq were a big selling point, and the latest version continues this tradition. There’s a little cubby hole above the wireless smartphone charging pad, a deep storage box under the centre console, large door bins (complete with removable bin bags) that’ll hold a two-litre bottle, and the removable rear storage cubby is another useful feature, too.

The upright stance of the Kodiaq means there’s headroom aplenty, and there’s loads of legroom both up front and in the rear. Tall adults will have no complaints in the back of the Kodiaq, with even the middle row centre seat being perfectly usable by large adults. The Kodiaq is also a great environment for passengers on a long journey, with very little road or wind noise entering the cabin. 

Dimensions and size

This Kodiaq is 61mm longer than the old model at 4,758mm, which is 27mm shorter than a Hyundai Santa Fe. The Kodiaq should be a little easier to thread through narrow streets because it’s 36mm narrower than the Santa Fe at 1,864mm, although the Kodiaq isn’t as tall as the Santa Fe at 1,659mm, meaning you won’t have quite as commanding a view.

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Seats, leg room, head room & passenger space

Room upfront for the driver and front passenger is fine, while buyers will be pleased to know that the Jogger doesn’t compromise on space as you move into the middle and rearmost seats. Accommodating three adult occupants across the second row should be pretty painless, while only the tallest of passengers will find that kneeroom is a bit limited in the rear seats. We also found during our testing there's ample headroom for six-footers in the Jogger's third row, as well as some room for your feet under the seats in front.

Parents with young children can put two child seats in the second row using the pair of ISOFIX mounting points. Another mounting point is provided on the front passenger seat for greater flexibility.

Boot space

The boot is bigger than ever, with up to 910 litres with the seats up in the five-seat models (75 litres more than before) and a family hatchback-like 340 litres in the seven-seaters (70 litres more than in the old Kodiaq). You can easily drop the rear seats too, thanks to easily-reachable latches in the back of the boot to increase capacity up to 2,015 litres. There’s a bit of a lip to the boot opening, but there’s a moveable boot floor to make a flush surface with the boot lip if you need to slide things in.

Towing

The Kodiaq loses out to the old model in terms of towing ability. The mild-hybrid petrol is rated at 1,800kg and the diesel 2,000kg, while the old one could tow up to 2,300kg.