New 2021 Skoda Kodiaq facelift brings tougher looks and new vRS

Skoda has exposed a mid-existence facelift for its most significant SUV, the Kodiaq. It arrives four several years into the model’s lifespan, and it marks a milestone in the brand’s present SUV offensive – this was the car that kickstarted the brand’s drive into various SUV markets, with more compact offerings this sort of as the Karoq and Kamiq, and the new all-electric Enyaq, too. 

According to Skoda style head Oliver Stefani, style alterations for the facelift are intended to give the Kodiaq a “crisper” glance, with the biggest alterations coming at the front close of the car. 

The nose has been raised with a new, taller and far more upright grille and a flatter bonnet. The headlights are slimmer than prior to and driven by LED technological innovation as common, with matrix LED headlights now offered on the Kodiaq for the really initially time, reserved for higher-spec products. There’s also a new front bumper. 

Close to the back again, new LED taillights contribute to a far more intricate glance. On SE trim variants and previously mentioned, dynamic indicators are provided. New wheels seventeen to twenty inches in style are offered too. 

On the inside, the Kodiaq is a recipient of a new steering wheel offered in two and a few-spoke types dependent on the trim stage. New ornamental trim strips and contrasting stitching are offered, whilst the interior ambient lighting process is far more expansive than prior to. 

The Kodiaq is now offered with both equally heated and ventilated front seats with a therapeutic massage function – these are common on the variety-topping L&K trim variation. The optional surround seem process from specialist Canton is now a 10 speaker setup, as opposed with the eight speaker setup of aged. 

The infotainment hardware stays as prior to, which means central touchscreens eight and nine.two-inches in dimensions are offered, together with a 10.25-inch completely electronic instrument panel. Skoda’s ‘Laura’ voice assistant application is offered together with smartphone connectivity and navigation. 

Driver aid and basic safety technological innovation is crafted on with the inclusion of Crew Guard Support. This features added radars at the rear of the car that can read and respond to automobiles approaching from at the rear of that could pose a possibility of a rear close collision. 

The typical petrol and diesel engine line-up carries in excess of unchanged. It kicks off with a turbocharged one.five-litre four-cylinder TSI petrol engine creating 148bhp and sending drive to the front wheels via a 6-speed guide gearbox or a 7-speed automatic. A 187bhp two.-litre petrol engine with four-wheel-drive is also provided. 

Both equally diesel selections are based on a two.-litre TDI engine with either 148bhp or 197bhp – both equally with a 7-speed DSG transmission and the latter equipped by default with four-wheel-drive. 

The facelift marks the return of the vRS design to the Kodiaq line-up. Like the facelift applied somewhere else in the variety it will get a visible update together the similar traces with a far more imposing front close, new headlights and taillights, and a new front bumper, whilst the sporty interior comprehensive with large athletics seats is upholstered in black microfibre. The 10.25-inch digital cockpit is common devices. 

The biggest adjust reserved for the new vRS, even so, is the fitment of a petrol engine. Though the preceding variation utilised a bi-turbocharged two.-litre diesel unit, the new incredibly hot Kodiaq borrows its motor from the most up-to-date Volkswagen Golf GTI. It’s a turbocharged two.-litre four-cylinder petrol engine creating 242bhp. No effectiveness requirements have been declared, but Skoda says it’s 60kg lighter than the diesel unit in the aged design. 

The new Kodiaq goes on sale in July and will be offered in S, SE, SE L and SportLine trim variants, additionally the luxurious oriented L&K design and the effectiveness tilted vRS. If the United kingdom line-up is to continue being regular with the pre-facelift design, the variety will open in Britain with the SE car, with prices probable close to the £27,000 mark.

Click on in this article to read our in-depth evaluation of the pre-facelifted Skoda Kodiaq…