2 months in - the good, the bad and the ugly

[Alien8d]

Ordered a Kodiaq back in April and had it delivered mid-June. Model was the Edition 2.0 TDI 150PS 4x4 with ACC, tri-zone CC, front/rear parking sensors, rear camera, heated front/rear seats/windscreen and space saver wheel. This is my 3rd Skoda (Superb Mk I, Superb Mk II), so a fan of the brand and well aware of how good/bad Skoda can be in terms of support (and knowledge !). Am now 2 months (and 2,100 miles) into ownership and thought I'd share my experience on the vehicle to date.

 

The good

Excellent spec for the price (as it should, it's a Skoda )

Good visibility, and comfortable ride

Decent boot space, even with the 2 extra seats.
Toys/Gadgets mainly work very well (exception, see below). The ability to connect multiple phones to the system concurrently is a nice touch, especially for someone who uses the vehicle to commute.

 

The bad

Poor turning circle, which I was surprised at given it's shorter than either of my previous Superb's. Appears the wheelbase is longer though, which explains it.

Mobile reception in the "mobile" cradle is terrible - much better in the centre console.

Limited centre console storage (nowhere to put a morning coffee without having the armrest up), and nowhere obvious to put the car key (I'm not dumping it in with the mobile)

Seats are overly firm for my liking, although I'm hoping they'll soften up in time

I've had frequent complaints that audio quality from the handsfree is poor. Seems to be irrespective of phone or person I'm speaking to.

Maps aren't nearly as up-to-date as they could be and navigation search is poor general. A postcode will often just end up in an area with no way to pinpoint a location. Often had to switch to Google/Waze to find a location, then calculate from there.

 

The ugly :

ACC "failed" after 1,500 miles (mid journey). Apparently due to poor visibility from the front grill mounted sensor. A quick wipe over of the sensor sorted it fortunately, although Skoda informed me there were only 4 centres in the UK that could repair it had it been faulty.

Utterly gutless (and peaky) engine - If I wasn't leasing it, I'd have re-mapped it within the week. Given it's a 2 litre, it's shocking how poor it is.

 

Negatives aside, overall I'm pleased with the car, but there are some quirks that weren't apparent in either reviews or my test drives. I generally prefer diesel cars, but given the current downer on them and the poor performance of the engine in this model, I doubt I'll get one again. Maybe they'll have a decent hybrid by the time it comes to swap the car. The part I was really disappointed about was the ACC failure though. I certainly hope the improve it moving forward, as for it to stop working within 1500 miles of mainly motorway driving is not good in my view.

[Gizmo]

Was the radar cover actually dirty though? 

 

You will I'll probably find the gutless engine is actually down to the EU6 software which makes the throttle pedal very unresponsive, 

a 'pedal box' will cure this

(I agree you shouldn't have to, but why let £180 come on the way of enjoying the car?)

[Bignij]

Although I didn't have ACC on mine it has got the front assist. Mine had a failure in the first week. Cured by wiping the bloomin' thing. No more problems since. I found the Sat Nav irritating. I haven't used it since coming back from Devon but whilst there the 'quickest' routes certainly weren't. The Eco routes were generally the best, however that may be due to the fact that the 60 mph back roads are barely wide enough to get the Kodiaq down. You'd have to be a nutjob to try and go down them at 60mph.

[CFBScout]

I was puzzled why the 184 PS engine wasn't dropped in to the Kodiaq? This is the one in my Octavia Scout and is a cracker and pulls well in a lighter car, the 150 seems underpowered to me for an SUV

 

I do remember mine feeling gutless for the first couple of thousand miles though until it loosened up and even now I know the DSG box into Sport mode to pull away from a standstill as the standard mapping is fairly lame.

[BoxerBoy]

I

Quote

The ugly :

ACC "failed" after 1,500 miles (mid journey). Apparently due to poor visibility from the front grill mounted sensor. A quick wipe over of the sensor sorted it fortunately, although Skoda informed me there were only 4 centres in the UK that could repair it had it been faulty.

Utterly gutless (and peaky) engine - If I wasn't leasing it, I'd have re-mapped it within the week. Given it's a 2 litre, it's shocking how poor it is.

 

Negatives aside, overall I'm pleased with the car, but there are some quirks that weren't apparent in either reviews or my test drives. I generally prefer diesel cars, but given the current downer on them and the poor performance of the engine in this model, I doubt I'll get one again. Maybe they'll have a decent hybrid by the time it comes to swap the car. The part I was really disappointed about was the ACC failure though. I certainly hope the improve it moving forward, as for it to stop working within 1500 miles of mainly motorway driving is not good in my view.

 

Take 2. I had compiled a witty retort, but with one slip of a finger, the iPad wiped it out and I ain't going through that again.

 

Suffice to say, I suffer none of the negative points above and an extra 40 horses combined with Sport mode eliminates any performance issues.

 

As an aside, today I tested my 3rd gear auto up shift again as it is proving reluctant to hit the rev limiter and promptly change up automatically the same way as 2nd does when giving it full bore in manual mode.

In 3rd, it lingers below the change up point even though my "pedal is to the metal".

[bigboss]

1) There is a dedicated slot to store your car key in the central console storage. Check page 2/3 of this PDF for close up of the central console storage. That rectangular slot is for the key:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.whitedovegroup.co.uk/skoda/pdf/kodiaq-simply-clever-features.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjpl7XA3bzVAhVlAcAKHdH1B2gQFggwMAE&usg=AFQjCNEJm_BXiHCcLZcH4wyWG26psZT4MQ

 

2) I use Google maps via Android Auto.

 

3) Audio quality via Bluetooth in my Kodiaq is excellent. Maybe worth getting yours checked out by Skoda.

Edited 4 August, 2017 by bigboss

[Rooted]

The reason the 184ps will not have been used is that for a New Type Approved model even undergoing the dodgy EU Emissions testing they had to use SCR TDI's.

New testing coming in now so lets see what the next engines fitted actually achieve in the way of Co2 g/km & MPG's

[Alien8d]

@bigboss - I did wonder what that weird shaped slot was for. Makes sense, except if (like me) you keep your car keys with your front door key, work keyfob, alarm key, work keys etc, it's bl**dy useless.....   Also, from that PDF, need to check if we've got the umbrellas (if so, the dealership completely omitted that one from the walkround). Will also get the BT checked out, as I've had complaints from more than one person.

 

@BoxerBoy I'm assuming you got the auto then ? I was tempted, but not a fan of automatics, even with the DSG gearbox (which I will grudgingly admit is better than most). I still enjoy changing gears far too much, even at my advanced age.....

 

@Gizmo Nope, wasn't dirty, just had rain on it. Since wiping it down (as @Bignij did), it's been fine. I do make sure I clean it once a week though now.

[bigboss]

Open the front doors and check on the sides.....the umbrellas are neatly tucked in there.

 

 

Edited 7 August, 2017 by bigboss

[666djb]

As for the coffee cup space, just slide the top of the arm rest backwards and you'll get two cups in the holders.

 

D

[TheRobinK]

OK 666djb - you gotta tell me - what are the "Heated Nipples" on your Octavia....?

 

I get heated nuts via my heated seats but how do I arrange for lady friends to get your option with the nipples? 

[666djb]

Hmm, perhaps I ought to update my profile. Heated nipples are good in cold weather; you don't have to warm them up before getting some action... from the windscreen washers! 

 

Think I have them on the Kodiaq too, but didn't need to add them as on option this time.

 

David

[Alien8d]

@666djb See my first post. I own a manual transmission, so to allow for gear changes I need to put the cup holders at the back of the centre console and have the armrest up else I can't change gear.

 

Probably fine in a DSG model. Either way, daft design choice IMO

[666djb]

11 minutes ago, Alien8d said:

@666djb See my first post. I own a manual transmission, so to allow for gear changes I need to put the cup holders at the back of the centre console and have the armrest up else I can't change gear.

 

Probably fine in a DSG model. Either way, daft design choice IMO

 

I can visualise the problem now even though I don't suffer it (due to DSG!)

[andyvee]

Saying your ACC was faulty is the equivalent of saying your windscreen is faulty because you can't see through it due to the dirt.

[bigboss]

On 21/08/2017 at 15:50, Alien8d said:

@666djb See my first post. I own a manual transmission, so to allow for gear changes I need to put the cup holders at the back of the centre console and have the armrest up else I can't change gear.

 

Probably fine in a DSG model. Either way, daft design choice IMO

The arm rest can be slid back too, doesn't have to be up.

[tfp2000]

I picked up my one on Wednesday and have just done 1000km and I'm very very impressed so far. 

 

Its the wifes car but I've been doing the driving and it really does feel like a big luxury motor. 

 

Only complaint so so far is that it does not have electric memory seats .. we went with this style model (top level in Ireland) and previous top level skodas I have bought came with electric memory seats .. so it was my fault I didn't spec it but really disappointed it wasn't standard. 

 

Other than that the DSG box is as good as I remember from my GTI back in the day, park assist is great and easy to use just like my superb. 

 

The whole  skoda connect and infotainment system (columbus) will take a bit of learning. 

 

 

[Alien8d]

On 25/08/2017 at 12:34, andyvee said:

Saying your ACC was faulty is the equivalent of saying your windscreen is faulty because you can't see through it due to the dirt.

 

If it had been dirty, I'd probably have agreed with you. The car gets cleaned regularly (handwash), and given there were no visible signs of dirt on the sensor I was somewhat surprised at the failure (does water count ? In which case, we've a problem in the UK ! ).

 

I now just wipe the sensor down once a week (or after a particularly long drive). The tech I spoke to at Skoda said they were exceptionally sensitive systems, but it's still a poor design IMO.

[bigboss]

2 hours ago, Alien8d said:

 

If it had been dirty, I'd probably have agreed with you. The car gets cleaned regularly (handwash), and given there were no visible signs of dirt on the sensor I was somewhat surprised at the failure (does water count ? In which case, we've a problem in the UK ! ).

 

I now just wipe the sensor down once a week (or after a particularly long drive). The tech I spoke to at Skoda said they were exceptionally sensitive systems, but it's still a poor design IMO.

I haven't had any issues with ACC so far. Works perfectly, and I've done almost 3000 miles.

[andyvee]

No issues on mine either.

 

It is a better design than the Octavia 3 where the radar was lower down and prone to impact damage from stones etc.

 

And I'm sticking to my earlier statement, if wiping it down cleared the warning then it was dirty, simples.

[FelisBengalensis]

Rain will affect the ACC under certain conditions - usually heavy rain.  I have found the same issues with my Superb 3 in certain conditions.  Light snow or frost also upsets it.  It's only a low power radar so doesn't have the 'burn through' capability that proper radar has (or its ability to warm your dinner!).

 

I keep the sensor cover lightly waxed to encourage the water to keep off in motion.  I have considered RainX too but with the cover being plastic I'm not certain if the solvents in RainX might affect it.

 

Interested in the comments about the 150 engine being underwhelming.  I am wondering the same about the 190 variant and whether a higher torque engine may become available.  I know the DSG clutch pack is torque limited and this could be one of the reasons for the apparent lack of 'go' in the EU6 models.  My S3 is surprisingly low on torque too.

Edited 31 August, 2017 by FelisBengalensis

[Mr Grump]

3 months in and mine is off to find a new home.

[CheshireBumpkin]

6 hours ago, Mr Grump said:

3 months in and mine is off to find a new home.

 

That's a shame - I didn't realise you were unhappy with it - what's prompted this? 

[Mr Grump]

I feel disappointed in the finish quality in some areas, (door card interiors in particular, I had all 4 changed and new ones were not much better for fit/alignment and the creaking handles are starting to return after nearly 2 weeks) various random odd faults with some of the tech. I just got the bee in my bonnet and felt life is too short to be driving around in something you aren't happy with.

 

[CheshireBumpkin]

Understandable - good to see you'll be joining the Superb club though! I'm quite pleased my impatience forced me (at the time) to choose a Superb over the Kodiaq now....