First long trip in my Kamiq

[marineboy]

From Northumberland to London, 295 miles, me and the other half plus a bootful of luggage, max speed 70 (adaptive cruise), average speed 57, 49.1 mpg. Superbly comfortable and quiet, Apple CarPlay navigation was faultless and even alerted me to police speed vans on motorway bridges, effortless with the 1.5’s power and the DSG. What a great car. 

[Expatman]

23 hours ago, marineboy said:

From Northumberland to London, 295 miles, me and the other half plus a bootful of luggage, max speed 70 (adaptive cruise), average speed 57, 49.1 mpg. Superbly comfortable and quiet, Apple CarPlay navigation was faultless and even alerted me to police speed vans on motorway bridges, effortless with the 1.5’s power and the DSG. What a great car. 

How do you find the ride height of the Kamiq? I currently have a Yeti and looking for a replacement. All the road tests of the Kamiq seem to complain that the ride height is more hatchback than SUV/Crossover and you lose the high view you have with competitors like the VW T-Cross or T-Roc. My wife has a bad back so needs a higher seating position to aid entry and exit. 

[marineboy]

I too read those comments before buying the Kamiq and so was a bit wary as my wife has a similar issue to yours. However, when we tried the car in the showroom and on the test drive it was fine. But we came from a Golf GT which had lowered suspension so for us the increase in ride height was more noticeable. I doubt you’d find that coming from a Yeti

 

When I was researching ride heights etc I stumbled upon this website - https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/car-search which I found really useful. 

[skoda1982]

3 hours ago, Expatman said:

How do you find the ride height of the Kamiq? I currently have a Yeti and looking for a replacement. All the road tests of the Kamiq seem to complain that the ride height is more hatchback than SUV/Crossover and you lose the high view you have with competitors like the VW T-Cross or T-Roc. My wife has a bad back so needs a higher seating position to aid entry and exit. 

The seats in the kamiq are the same as the scala so adjust to the same height so feels lower in the kamiq 

[Expatman]

6 hours ago, marineboy said:

I too read those comments before buying the Kamiq and so was a bit wary as my wife has a similar issue to yours. However, when we tried the car in the showroom and on the test drive it was fine. But we came from a Golf GT which had lowered suspension so for us the increase in ride height was more noticeable. I doubt you’d find that coming from a Yeti

 

When I was researching ride heights etc I stumbled upon this website - https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/car-search which I found really useful. 

 

2 hours ago, skoda1982 said:

The seats in the kamiq are the same as the scala so adjust to the same height so feels lower in the kamiq 

Using the RIDC website I now see that my Yeti’s seats at their lowest level are higher than the Kamiq’s at their highest level. So that pretty much rules out the Kamiq. Strange that Skoda using the same subframe as the VW T-Cross chose to make such a low riding vehicle. The T-Cross seat height is not quite so high as my Yeti but there are only a few mm in it. Problem is there are many aspects of the T-Cross which are frankly inferior to my current Yeti!!

[AJ89]

49 mpg isn't great over 295 miles. I find adaptive cruise masively wastes fuel I prefer to use the limiter.

 

I went 250 miles averaging similar speed and I got 68 mpg, that was with a 1.0 TSI manual

[sandal farm]

I think 49 to the gallon is fine and not that far off my diesel scout . So many variables 

[marineboy]

Yes, I think that figure is fine too, for a petrol engine with plenty of power and torque. I also disagree with the comment re the adaptive cruise. If you set it to operate in economy mode it doesn’t floor the accelerator to resume its set speed. 

[carefree]

On 09/12/2022 at 15:54, Expatman said:

How do you find the ride height of the Kamiq? I currently have a Yeti and looking for a replacement. All the road tests of the Kamiq seem to complain that the ride height is more hatchback than SUV/Crossover and you lose the high view you have with competitors like the VW T-Cross or T-Roc. My wife has a bad back so needs a higher seating position to aid entry and exit. 

My Kamiq feels no different in ride height to both the T Cross and T Roc, literally no difference whatsoever 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, carefree said:

My Kamiq feels no different in ride height to both the T Cross and T Roc, literally no difference whatsoever 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not what the figures say:

Drivers seat height from road (min, max)

Skoda Kamiq : 589-639mm

VW T-Cross : 635-678mm

VW T-Roc : 605-680mm

VW Taigo : 626-672mm

Skoda Yeti : 646-699mm

(All Figures taken from RIDC database)

The T-Cross lowest drivers seat adjustment is only 4mm  lower than the Kamiq’s highest setting and the Yeti’s lowest setting is actually 7mm higher than the highest setting on the Kamiq. This is exactly what road test drivers report, that the Kamiq seat height is more hatchback than crossover/SUV. Talking with my local Skoda dealer they admitted to me that this was a problem with customers being deterred and choosing to look for something with higher seat height. Kamiq is a great car but it does not offer the higher seating position that many people are looking for. It is no good for my wife who needs a higher seating position to ease exit and entry because of a back problem.

 

[Routemaster1461]

When discussing the mpg on a run like the op posted, I would like to point out something, MPG seems to be vey depebdant on temperature. I regularly drive to SW London, about a 100 mile trip. When temperatures are above 5 degeers my Karoq will achieve best part of 50 mph, ususlly better going than returning. On Sunday (the day that Heathrow had the issues with cold and deicing) I only managed 44mpg. My other (non VW group) petrol car invariably gives me a computer reading of at least 50mpg, this week is struggling to do more than 45mpg.

[carefree]

21 hours ago, Expatman said:

Not what the figures say:

Drivers seat height from road (min, max)

Skoda Kamiq : 589-639mm

VW T-Cross : 635-678mm

VW T-Roc : 605-680mm

VW Taigo : 626-672mm

Skoda Yeti : 646-699mm

(All Figures taken from RIDC database)

The T-Cross lowest drivers seat adjustment is only 4mm  lower than the Kamiq’s highest setting and the Yeti’s lowest setting is actually 7mm higher than the highest setting on the Kamiq. This is exactly what road test drivers report, that the Kamiq seat height is more hatchback than crossover/SUV. Talking with my local Skoda dealer they admitted to me that this was a problem with customers being deterred and choosing to look for something with higher seat height. Kamiq is a great car but it does not offer the higher seating position that many people are looking for. It is no good for my wife who needs a higher seating position to ease exit and entry because of a back problem.

 

I’m not denying it, I said it doesn’t FEEL any different.  The official figures show that there is literally mm’s difference, so unless someone is ultra sensitive I doubt most will notice.

Edited 16 December, 2022 by carefree

[Ootohere]

The Sill from the ground and then seat at lowest or highest makes a difference and the seat height to floor can make a difference to it being easy or not for in or out.

Dirty clothes on a sill outer and then a wide sill can be the issue on what at first feels to be ok when a car is sitting in a showroom or dealers lot.

 

Then there is the difference of a passenger getting in or out from a kerb or just from the ground. 

 

Sliding your bum right onto the seat obviously depends on your actual leg length or how far your bum is from the bottom of your shoes.

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, carefree said:

I’m not denying it, I said it doesn’t FEEL any different.  The official figures show that there is literally mm’s difference, so unless someone is ultra sensitive I doubt most will notice.

Thanks - I understand your thoughts now. Sadly doesn’t improve the suitability for my wife.

[Expatman]

54 minutes ago, toot said:

The Sill from the ground and then seat at lowest or highest makes a difference and the seat height to floor can make a difference to it being easy or not for in or out.

Dirty clothes on a sill outer and then a wide sill can be the issue on what at first feels to be ok when a car is sitting in a showroom or dealers lot.

 

Then there is the difference of a passenger getting in or out from a kerb or just from the ground. 

 

Sliding your bum right onto the seat obviously depends on your actual leg length or how far your bum is from the bottom of your shoes.

Everything is a compromise but from experience my wife finds it much easier to getting and out of a vehicle if she can just “slide” onto the seat without climbing up (hence no full size SUV’s) or sinking down! The seat height of our Yeti is about right so need something with seat height from ground which is similar. T-Roc or T-Cross fit the bill but currently they are both sadly lacking in available options. For example no heated windscreen and over the last week the heated windscreen has been fabulous as it clears totally in the time it takes me to scrape the side windows enough for safe driving. Why is it not available on all cars as a safety measure?

[Ootohere]

@Expatman Have you or she tried a MG for size.

Choice of drivetrains and with the EV no need for a heated screen as you just turn on the interior heat and almost immediately the interior heats and the glass / screen is deiced.

 

Heated from screens are not standard because every euro counts with manufacturers and people have to pay extra for stuff as that is how they make money.

If it is standard it is still the buyer paying though.

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, toot said:

@Expatman Have you or she tried a MG for size.

Choice of drivetrains and with the EV no need for a heated screen as you just turn on the interior heat and almost immediately the interior heats and the glass / screen is deiced.

 

Heated from screens are not standard because every euro counts with manufacturers and people have to pay extra for stuff as that is how they make money.

If it is standard it is still the buyer paying though.

So why not offer as an additional cost option? I would be happy to pay extra for adding a heated windscreen to base spec. 

[Ootohere]

See the threads this week in a couple of Briskoda sections of those not impressed with the heated screens they got.

A real shame when even a Fiesta many years ago could have one Ford Quick Clear Screen.  (i seem to remember they had the patent on them, that might be wrong like stuff on RS being theirs.)

 

 

 

Edited 17 December, 2022 by toot

[Expatman]

13 hours ago, toot said:

See the threads this week in a couple of Briskoda sections of those not impressed with the heated screens they got.

 

The heated screen on my Yeti clears the windscreen in less time then it takes me to clear the side windows to drive safely. A matter of a few minutes, "that’ll do” as they say in Yorkshire!

 

 

 

Edited 17 December, 2022 by Expatman

[Ootohere]

@Expatman

That is what others are saying, the older ones were quicker / more efficient.

[skoda1982]

On 17/12/2022 at 08:26, Expatman said:

So why not offer as an additional cost option? I would be happy to pay extra for adding a heated windscreen to base spec. 

They do 

Comfort and multimediaWinter pack

Winter package comprises heated front seats and heated windscreen washer nozzles.

£485

ADD