I think my views on SUVs are pretty well-known by now, but just to recap for latecomers – if you live up one end of an inaccessible goat track, and truly need four-wheel drive and lots of extra ride height, then by all means buy an SUV with the appropriate ability and agility to get you home on a cold, wet night.
It doesn’t have to be a huge one – although the temptations of a Land Rover Defender or Toyota Land Cruiser are obvious – as the likes of a Dacia Duster with the 4x4 options box ticked is more than capable enough for most.
For the rest of us? We need to stop. Not only does the International Council on Clean Climate (ICCC) reckon that the extra weight and bulk of SUVs outmatches the gains in efficiency we’ve made with improved petrol engines and electric power, but more recently Imperial College London has released a study that shows you’re 44 per cent more likely to die if you’re struck by an SUV as opposed to a more conventional saloon, hatchback or estate. For children, chillingly, that figure rises to 130 per cent. I’ve been known to soften my SUV stance in the face of examples that are charming, or stylish, or notably comfortable, practical or good to drive, but those figures are enough to make any potential SUV purchaser blanch at the prospect. Or, at least, they ought to.
While it’s true that most of us looking for the practicality of seven seats will probably be pushed down the SUV route (there are precious few MPVs left on sale now), the fact is that this is a small corner of the market. In fact, seven-seat SUVs account for only about a quarter of the SUV market, depending upon whose figures you listen to.
It’s also true that in the search for improved efficiency, many seven-seat SUVs are forced to sacrifice their extra seats to make way for the batteries of their plug-in hybrid systems. That’s certainly the case with this, the new Skoda Kodiaq PHEV. The Kodiaq is far from the most egregiously large SUV on our roads, but it usually does come with extra seats in the boot, turning it into a seven-seater. That said, you’ll only really be able to fit smaller people into those seats, as legroom in row three is not great.
In this PHEV version, though, those seats have been excised as the large 19.7kWh battery takes up the space under the floor into which those seats would otherwise fold, and into which occupants’ feet would normally fit.
So you’re left with a big SUV that seats five in comfort but has a diminished boot. The Kodiaq PHEV’s 745-litre boot volume (up to the luggage cover) is still impressively spacious in most people’s terms, but it’s still much less than the 845 litres you would find in the seats-folded standard model.
Is it worth it? Well, in some ways. This PHEV system, developing 202hp total from its 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine and its 40kW electric motor, is quite efficient. Fully charge up the battery (which you can do, handily, from a DC rapid charger if you need to) and Skoda quotes an electric-only range of up to 115km, of which about 80km-90km is a realistic day-to-day target. That means this big Kodiaq really can be an electric car for much of its working life, if its owners take the time to charge up regularly.
It’s not even too thirsty on motorway runs, normally the bugbear of plug-in hybrids, especially big ones. In fact, with a depleted main battery, the Kodiaq averaged 6.6 litres per 100km in our hands on such journeys, which is about what you would expect to get from the diesel-engine version in such circumstances.
The cabin is roomy and exceptionally comfortable, not least thanks to the high-backed bucket front seats of our Sportline-spec test car. Rear seat legroom is copious, and there’s even enough space in the middle rear seat for a full-sized adult to get comfy, so this really is a proper five-seater.
The cabin design is nice, too, not least because the Kodiaq’s largesse of largeness means that the infotainment touchscreen seems smaller and less intrusive than it does in smaller cars. The handy multifunction rotary controllers are also helpful in circumventing the need to stab at imaginary buttons on the screen.
However, there are issues. Some of the cabin plastics do feel notably cheap, which is a big step back from the bank-vault-like quality of the previous Kodiaq. It’s also not much fun to drive. The extra weight of the hybrid system means the Kodiaq PHEV needs slightly stiffer suspension, which, while it doesn’t exactly ruin the ride quality, does add a touch of extra patter and movement. There’s little here for a keen driver, though, and performance is only adequate, with acceleration at higher speeds notably blunted.
And then there are those frightening statistics from Imperial College. With those very unpleasantly in mind, there’s a far better option, and you won’t even have to change dealership. Just walk across the floor and grab yourself a Superb Combi estate.
For only slightly more than the €58,400 Skoda asks for our Kodiaq PHEV Sportline test car, you could have the range-topping Laurin & Klement trim for the Superb, named for the founders of the Skoda company (and equivalent Sportline is €3,000 cheaper than the Kodiaq).
While the Superb does suffer from some of the low-rent plastic issue of the Kodiaq, L&K trim does help to paper over those cracks, with “Cognac” brown leather trim and gorgeous fillets of matt-finished wood panels. It’s even more comfortable than the Kodiaq in here, seats the same number of people, and not only is it safer for those outside the car, strolling on pavements or cycling bikes, I also – against the grain, I’ll admit – feel safer sitting down low in a car like this, rather than perched up in the air in an SUV.
The Superb isn’t a dazzling car for a driver, but it’s neat enough to drive, and the L&K comes as standard with Skoda’s DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) suspension. Dip into the on-screen menus for this system and you can soften off the dampers to the point where the Superb floats along like a 1970s Citroën. Comfort is total, although there is a touch too much tyre noise at higher speeds.
It also has a huge boot, even if the hybrid system robs space, reducing the volume from 690 litres for a petrol or diesel Superb estate to a useful, but hardly gargantuan, 510 litres here. It’s a compromise I’d be willing to make, given that the Superb PHEV (which isn’t yet available in saloon form) averages 5.5 litres per 100km on long, flat-battery, drives.
I know, I’ve been banging the estate car drum for close to two decades now, and for the most part, you’ve all ignored me and gone out and bought SUVs instead. Well, far be it from me to say “I told you so”, but it’s not just my personal motoring peccadillos; I’m backed up now by official figures. Certainly, when it comes to the choice between these two particular Skodas, you’d be genuinely mad to buy the SUV.
Lowdown: Skoda Kodiaq PHEV Sportline
Power 1.5-litre turbo four cylinder petrol engine + 40kW electric motor plug-in hybrid developing 202hp and 250Nm of torque, powering the front wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission.
CO² emissions (annual motor tax) 11g/km (€140).
Fuel consumption 0.5-l/100km (WLTP) – 6.6-l/100km (observed).
Electric range 115km (WLTP)
0-100km/h 8.4 sec.
Price €58,400 as tested, Kodiaq starts from €53,640.
Our rating 2/5.
Verdict The Kodiaq’s plug-in hybrid system is impressive, and it’s massively roomy inside. Not much fun to drive, though, and safety concerns would have us running, not walking, towards the Superb estate instead.
