Winston_Wolf

I actually find the umbrellas quite useful as I often forget to take one with me. I presume you still have two umbrella holders. If so, just buy one of these M&S ones for £9.50. https://www.marksandspencer.com/briefcase-umbrella-with-stormwear-and-windtech/p/clp22215122 I noticed these in M&S the other day (when I was carrying my Skoda brolly) and they looked pretty much identical.

I would think the shifting point to 2nd on a 1.4 TSI would be later due to its lower torque output. Another factor in play is the gradient you're on when pulling away. The car clearly has some sort of built in gradient sensor as I've noticed it's far keener to short-shift into 2nd when pulling away if you're on the level or on a slight downhill than if you're on an upward slope. It's not a major issue though in my car. Like SuperbTWM in the previous post, overall I find my TDI 150 DSG to be pretty much flawless in this area - the short-shifting to 2nd is just something I've observed that can happen on occasion. I've had my Kodiaq for four months (3000 miles) now and the six "I'm interested in buying one too" friends/family members that have driven my car in that time have pretty much all commented that the engine/DSG combination is amazing.

I think it's down to the smaller turbo unit on the TDI 150 spooling up much quicker with the same throttle input. Most of the people complaining about this problem are TDI 190 owners which says a lot especially when you consider there are far more TDI 150 owners out there.

Of course what's being made doesn't reflect demand if there isn't a choice which is the OP's issue. That said, those numbers are probably about right. Looking at number of 1.4 TSI engined Kodiaqs for sale on Autotrader (an engine in which all buyers had a free choice between DSG and manual), 81% of them are DSG models.

They could make one if they wanted to. For some reason Skoda don’t seem to want to produce many model variants. IMO its versioning of the Kodiaq range leaves a lot to be desired. For example, in the UK only the 1.5 TSI and TDI 150 engines are available in FWD when in reality very few people need 4x4. This adds weight/friction so slows the car and hits fuel economy by 4-5mpg. And only the (now entry level) SE spec is available with 5 seats. Having to have 7 seats gives you a smaller boot and adds 43kg and £1,000 to the cost. Considering the seats are only suitable for small children this versioning really is a bit daft as it must alienate a sizeable market. My perfect model would have been a 5-seat 2.0 TSI Sportline DSG FWD as I actually do need the extra boot space of the 5 seater but such a model version doesn’t exist. Instead I went for the TDI 150 SE DSG FWD as it was the most powerful 5 seat version available to me. I imagine it’s down to the fact that fewer variants must simplify the production line.

..and if you can get that black front badge and some black rims then you should look like this and be good to go!

I've de-badged a few of my cars in the past to give a cleaner look. My technique was to warm the area for 2-3 minutes with a hairdryer and then saw through the adhesive with some dental floss while pulling towards you slightly. Any stubborn residue on the bodywork just drops off easily with some WD-40. I would certainly be losing the black lettering on the back - black lettering on black paint doesn't do it for me.

The above advice is spot on - there is no catch! I did it last year to get a £3k deposit contribution in the summer SUV event against my new Kodiaq. Taking the PCP even got me the £159 deal for the first two services. I phoned Skoda Finance the day after collecting the car and got the settlement figure which included about £3.40 of interest. I was given 30 days to pay the settlement figure.

That looks similar to mine which was a 2015 Sharan 2.0 TDI 140 SCR DSG SE. Mine also ran on 16" rims which gave it a really nice ride quality. Back in 2015, VW were getting rid of the last of the Euro V spec 2.0 TDI engines while they could before the September deadline so I managed to get a 25% discount from the dealer on the RRP via Orangewheels. I paid circa. £24k OTR and managed to get £13.5k back by selling it privately 4.5 years later in Nov 2019 which I was very pleased about. My only gripe with that car really was the top gear ratio on its 6-speed DSG which was quite low (70MPH @ 2250RPM) so it revved a bit high on the motorway which hurt economy and engine noise levels at higher cruising speeds. In fact the ratio was almost identical to 6th gear on the 7-speed DSG in my current 2.0 TDI 150 Kodiaq. The Kodiaq is geared very high in top (70MPH @ 1700RPM) and feels comparatively very relaxed at higher speeds.

That's true. Carrying 6 isn't too bad though because you do have a lot of height to put tall cases or pile bags to the roof but it's not very pleasant for the one person in the third row sat next to them. With my old 2015 Sharan, I just solved the problem with a 460L Thule roofbox up top.

If I needed a car to mainly travel long distances with 6 adults I would be looking at an MPV like a VW Sharan (my previous car) or a SEAT Alhambra as their third row seats can comfortably take full sized people. You would still probably need a roof box though if you need to pack luggage for six.

For those experiencing this problem, have you noticed what gear the car's in while this is happening? Presumably due to the 1st gear ratio being incredibly low (about 5MPH/1000RPM) I've noticed that on a light throttle the car just loves to grab 2nd gear at the very earliest opportunity when moving off - literally, almost as soon as the car starts moving. What can happen at roundabouts is that when you see your gap coming you take your foot off the brake and feather the throttle getting ready to go and the car starts moving very slowly. Unfortunately, behind the scenes it's already shifted into 2nd while this is happening so that when your gap arrives and you jab the throttle there's no shove because the turbo's off boost due to very low RPM plus you're now in 2nd gear. It then either then tries to correct the situation by dropping back into 1st and you surge forward after a shift delay (especially as the DSG has already pre-selected 3rd on the second clutch at this point) or it stays in 2nd and there's no meaningful shove until the revs climb and the turbo does its thing. 2nd gear ratio on the TDI DSGs is about 8.5MPH/1000RPM. Even on my smaller turbo'd (and therefore quicker spooling) TDI 150, meaningful torque doesn't arrive until at least 1250RPM which in 2nd gear equates to about 11MPH so if you're below that speed and in 2nd then you're almost certainly off-boost. With its larger (and therefore slower spooling) turbo, on a TDI 190 the minimum speed you need to be at in 2nd is probably even higher. To guarantee a responsive take-off, I've learnt to not start the pulling away process (i.e. no throttle feathering) until I know I'm going and then commit to the take off in one fluid movement with the first press on the throttle pedal being a quick, solid one. I find it does this much more reliably in sport mode (on the transmission) plus it hangs onto 1st for longer. It seems that sport mode always tries to keep the revs above 1750RPM when accelerating, the level at which max. torque is available. Anyway, that's my theory about what can happen with my own car which may of course be independent of a throttle response problem on another vehicle.

I love Carplay and use it for Google Maps on most journeys so I'm delighted such a gadget exists but for £124 I think I'll be plugging in a cable for a while yet. How reliable is the connection and does it support all the Apps/features you get with a wired connection? I presume your iPhone connects to this dongle via WiFi and not Bluetooth due to bandwidth required.

Personally I find the 7 speed DSG (DQ381) in my Kodiaq TDI 150 to be very responsive on take-off. In this regard it's appreciably better than the 6-speed DSG in my last car (a VW Sharan TDI 140) and is therefore an area in which the car has exceeded my expectations. That said, in situations where a brisk take-off from a standstill is essential (e.g. busy roundabouts/junctions) I usually toggle the DSG lever into sports mode where the take-off is a bit more urgent. I suspect the higher maximum power output derived from the larger turbo unit in the TDI 190 comes at the cost of more turbo lag than you get in the TDI 150.

Thanks, that’s good to know because I really wouldn’t want to give any insurance company an excuse to pull cover in the event of a claim, especially a major one which naturally would be the only type in which a beady eyed inspector ever be deployed to check over your car.

They look good and presumably the extra 10mm tyre width over the stock 235/40s gives an extra 5mm of kerb protection when parallel parking. I’m sure that they’re safe but I would have thought that the fitment of a non-standard (i.e. not recommended by the manufacturer) sized tyre is something that could potentially invalidate an insurance policy. Did you tell your insurer and if so what was their position on it? I may be wrong but I had always presumed that tyres had to conform to one of the specs on the tyre pressure info plate that comes on every car.

The Kodiaq vRS has the DQ500 DSG transmission. This is confirmed in the interview section in this vRS feature which contains links to various other technical specs. https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/press-kits/skoda-kodiaq-rs-press-kit/engine-kodiaq-rs-features-the-most-powerful-diesel-engine-in-skoda-history/ Bumping up a 7” kerb in the manner described would obviously place a burden on the clutch and wear it accordingly, a bit like an extremely steep hill start. Personally I wouldn’t want to be doing it very often.

Thanks for the link - I just bought a full set. They worked out at only £35.39 inc. delivery. Bargain!

I also have the Bolero system in my Kodiaq and have been unable to find its power specs. What I can tell you though is that, while it goes loud enough for me, its output is not very high compared to some of the better OEM systems I’ve had in the past. The good thing is that the sound is very clean but, like all systems without a subwoofer, it is really lacking in the bass department. Assuming I can find one that fits, I plan to upgrade mine with an under-seat subwoofer as I want to retain all the boot space.

OK, thanks - bad choice of words. For the avoidance of doubt, I was referring to the dipped low beam bulbs which are a pain to change. The high beam ones are however very easy to access.

Hi Panos, l assume “mid beam” is referring to the main (i.e. dipped) beam headlights. I replaced the halogen H7 bulbs in these last month without having to remove the headlight units. Refitting the bulb holders is not an easy task though as the access is very restricted, especially if you have large hands. You have to use just the tips of your fingers to twist the holder back into its locking position. I replaced my H7 bulbs with “Bosch Plus 90” ones (£12 a pair on Amazon) and the performance improvement is staggering. They give a much brighter and whiter light. That said, I think that with the original bulbs my Kodiaq probably had the worst performing headlights that I’ve had on a car in the last 25 years, very dim and extremely yellow in colour. I really couldn’t believe just how bad they were when I first drove the car at night on an unlit road.

https://cdn.skoda-storyboard.com/2016/08/TD-KODIAQ-en-2.pdf See the specs at the bottom of page 1. It confirms that the 1.5 TSI DSG has a wet clutch 7 speed. This must be the DQ381. This document is dated 14.1.19. There’s a similar older document that covers the 1.4 TSI that shows that it has a dry clutch DSG.

This may be of interest to potential new Kodiaq buyers. I've just spied a new trim level called the "SE Drive" being offered on Drive the Deal and some other sites that price-wise sits squarely in between SE and SEL models. There may be a bit more to it but from what I can see, it looks like an SE model spec plus the following: - Front Parking Sensors - Rear view camera with full LED rear lights (high functionality) - Amundsen touchscreen satellite navigation system including 8" screen, DAB, SmartLink, USB, SD card reader, WLAN - Colour multifunction trip computer - 19" Ariona anthracite alloy wheels - Mythos black decorative inserts - Door sill panels with KODIAQ logo - LED ambient lighting - Manual lumbar support for driver and front passenger it's only available as a 7 seater in FWD with either 1.5 TSI (manual or DSG) or 2.0 TDI 150 (DSG only). Retail prices are £1,575 more than the SE models and £1,595 less than SEL models with the same engines. Apparently, it's been available to order from 10th Jan. If they'd have included the LED headlights and made it available as a 5 seater I may have bought one instead of my SE last year as it avoids most of the SEL extras that either I didn't value or didn't want.

I agree totally and think that less careful (i.e. average) drivers would probably achieve better MPG with a DSG, especially in conditions that require many gear changes. On a light throttle, my TDI 150 works the gearbox very hard with short shifts to keep the revs low at all times. Driving like that with a manual would be pretty tiresome.

I bought my Kodiaq through DTD back in the summer (dealer was near Crawley, 110 miles from me) and took delivery about a month ago. Before ordering I got quotes through Carwow and from three other local Skoda dealers. DTD beat the best price I could get from them by just under £1,000. The dealer would have delivered the car for free but I wanted to pick it up and drive it home so travelled there by train. Doing this saved them a few quid so they paid for the train fare/taxi and even through in a set of Kodiaq embossed carpet mats. The dealership were great and very easy to deal with remotely and I would have no issue in using DTD again. I don't know why a car would have to be returned to the supplying dealer. Crikey, 20 years ago I bought an Alfa 156 from a German dealer through an import agent and that just went down the road to my local dealer for warranty issues as it had a pan-European warranty.