It's that time of year boys and girls, here we go again.

 

I've not seen a definitive list yet, does anyone know if it is available anywhere?

 

Someone just mentioned on Facebook that their build date for a UK-bound SE L has been pushed back and they'll now lose out on:

 

- Carpet in the glovebox

- Columbus to Amundsen headunit.

 

There's bound to be more.

 

Following on from this thread...

 

Wouldn’t put it past them, but I’d be surprised to see them taking more things out of the specification as the supposed facelift is coming up.

Edited 16 November, 20205 yr by Jfhuk

From what I've heard, the factory has no supply of heated steering wheels and are just putting normal steering wheels regardless if the heating wheel was optioned or not...

My SEL was built at the end of October and came with a heated steering wheel.

The brochure now shows Columbus to Amundsen headunit in the SEL model. Does anyone know when this becomes effective? Has anyone had a recent delivery and can comment?

For those interested the changes to the Kodiaq are from build week 48. Specifically, the following changes:

 

SE L Satellite Navigation

Navigation on SE L will be downgraded from Columbus satellite navigation to Amundsen satellite navigation

 

SportLine Seats

The material on SportLine seats will change from Alcantara upholstery to Microsuede upholstery.

Option 3LX, Waste bin in door panel is removed from SportLine options.

 

SportLine Steering Wheels

The SportLine steering wheels will no longer come with heating and hands off detection as standard.

The new steering wheel will be a 3-spoke leather sports multi-function steering wheel with paddles for DSG gearboxes.

3-spoke steering wheel with heating and hands off detection will now be available as an option on SportLine.

 

L&K Steering Wheels

The L&K steering wheels will no longer come with heating and hands off detection as standard.

The new steering wheel will be a 2-spoke leather multi-function steering wheel with paddles for DSG gearboxes

2-spoke steering wheel with heating will now be available as an option on L&K.

 

Glove Boxes

Glove boxes on both driver and front passenger sides will no longer contain carpet

 

Traffic Sign Recognition

Optional traffic sign recognition on SE L and SportLine will only be available in combination with Lane assist and blind spot detection

 

Smartlink+

Smartlink+ will become just Smartlink and will no longer feature the functionality to transfer vehicle data to the phone.

 

SE Drive

SE Drive will see the below changes to standard specification

• 19” alloy wheels

• New style fabric interior

• New design decorative inserts

4 hours ago, Buzby22 said:

Traffic Sign Recognition

Optional traffic sign recognition on SE L and SportLine will only be available in combination with Lane assist and blind spot detection

 

In my case this also forces the RVM USB-C port to be dropped, which is very annoying.

 

When I queried the change in Sat Nav model the dealer initially stated, simply based upon the current brochure, that it would be Amundsen. However when I queried this I am now being told my vehicle will have Columbus. I am getting him to confirm this absolutely as well as question why this is not affected by the above BW48 changes.

 

I do not have a build week yet, as far as I know. Order is SEL 1.5TSI DSG

Yes, the changes are now reflected in the brochure: https://www.skoda.co.uk/_doc/4fb122b2-e597-4ebe-a59f-53f971824299

Edited 3 December, 20205 yr by Buzby22
wrong link

Looks like Skoda are in a race to be at the very low end of the car market.

Edited 4 December, 20205 yr by Billywizzo

It’ll be interesting to see if what ŠKODA has removed throughout the years will return in the facelift. I’m doubtful though. 

9 minutes ago, ZacDaMan72 said:

It’ll be interesting to see if what ŠKODA has removed throughout the years will return in the facelift. I’m doubtful though. 

Dout it, once things are gone they stay gone.

Anyway new buyers probably won't notice unless they are looking to buy one when the cuts happen.

1 minute ago, Billywizzo said:

Dout it, once things are gone they stay gone.

Anyway new buyers probably won't notice unless they are looking to buy one when the cuts happen.

Yep. I reckon MY20 pre-BW48 were the best Kodiaqs. The only thing I like about these new ones are the steering wheels and wireless CarPlay, obviously not enough to get anyone to upgrade given the cost cutting. 

Good point that no-one will notice unless looking to but when the cut happens.

 

What in particular is better in MY20 pre-BW48 vs. MY21 pre-BW48?

27 minutes ago, Buzby22 said:

Good point that no-one will notice unless looking to but when the cut happens.

 

What in particular is better in MY20 pre-BW48 vs. MY21 pre-BW48?

Read here...mostly minor stuff but for previous Kodiaq owners they'd tell some differences.

 

On 03/12/2020 at 12:16, Buzby22 said:

SE L Satellite Navigation

Navigation on SE L will be downgraded from Columbus satellite navigation to Amundsen satellite navigation

Sounds like there trying to move the Kodiaq into higher profits, by using lower cost components. I see it’s now an £1,400 option!

Edited 4 December, 20205 yr by Jfhuk

16 hours ago, Jfhuk said:

Sounds like there trying to move the Kodiaq into higher profits, by using lower cost components. I see it’s now an £1,400 option!

 

astonishing!

But expected, though that price is a bit shocking!

halogen DRLs are the work of the devil 

Edited 5 December, 20205 yr by chrisluciofg

can't see the point of wireless Carplay - the charging pad is so inaccessible for larger phones that wired charging makes more sense

The charger pad is perfect for my Galaxy note 10+, and the wireless car play (or Android Auto) is a gift of god.

4 hours ago, chrisluciofg said:

can't see the point of wireless Carplay - the charging pad is so inaccessible for larger phones that wired charging makes more sense

Congratulations - some people don’t have large phones. 

Skoda have just updated their UK brochure, and the interior pics of the sportsline now shows the previous generation 3 spoke steering wheel again.  Wonder if that's a misprint?

 

It should also be noted SE-L ( in the UK at least ) originally came with Amundsen, the Columbus was an optional extra.  How much of a price increase was there when SKODA upgraded the std spec to Columbus?

 

PS - Columbus may have the larger screen but personally I'd take the Amundsen over the Columbus any day of the week, especially when the Columbus we get in the UK is the LHD version. VW and Audi have moved the touch buttons for their RHD cars. I've had to turn gesture control off here in the UK because every time I go to hit the MENU or HOME button, the screen changes or music jumps to the next track. Columbus in the UK is Simply not Clever.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Scot5 said:

Skoda have just updated their UK brochure, and the interior pics of the sportsline now shows the previous generation 3 spoke steering wheel again.  Wonder if that's a misprint?

 

 

I'll answer my own question - it has to be a misprint - their interior Sportsline pic is also showing chrome trim around the air vents which was done away with ages ago.

On 04/12/2020 at 11:51, Billywizzo said:

Looks like Skoda are in a race to be at the very low end of the car market.

 

I think that's the intention.

 

Over the years the price/quality difference between VW/Skoda/Seat has blurred massively.  To such an extent that when I was looking for my car, for broadly comparable specs the VW was cheapest, followed by the Skoda, and the SEAT was the most expensive.

 

Clearly the VW group needed to do something about this (in their opinon)

 

They   have decided (in their infinite wisdom) that the VW should be the top end, followed by SEAT and  finally SKODA should be the lower end.

 

Given each brand has access to essentially the same car, the only way they can really re-enforce this is through downgrading the interior in the Skoda.

 

Shame as it will turn people off (personally I doubt I will end up buying another Skoda for this reason) but there you go.

 

I guess the Skoda had a great run in terms of price/spec over the years.

On 03/12/2020 at 12:16, Buzby22 said:

For those interested the changes to the Kodiaq are from build week 48. Specifically, the following changes:

 

SportLine Steering Wheels

The SportLine steering wheels will no longer come with heating and hands off detection as standard.

The new steering wheel will be a 3-spoke leather sports multi-function steering wheel with paddles for DSG gearboxes.

3-spoke steering wheel with heating and hands off detection will now be available as an option on SportLine.

 

Can't vouch for any other model, but regarding Sportline, there's one very important change that nobody has mentioned.

 

The previous OTR price of the Sportline was £34955 and the new price has gone DOWN to £34770 which is more or less the price of that heated steering wheel. No cost cutting on Sportline so what's all this about Skoda being in a race to the bottom?