Are you the sort of person that enjoys taking the racing line when pushing a shopping trolley through the supermarket, but also has to regularly cart around many children and things? There’s good news for you, because the Skoda Kodiaq vRS is back, and it’s more powerful than ever.
Skoda’s uber-zen family hauler has been given the sporting treatment for the second time (sort of the third, actually, as the first-gen car switched from diesel to petrol power halfway through its life). The new one, based on the new second-gen Kodiaq, continues to drink from the green pump, still packing the VW Group’s totally ubiquitous EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder.
Skoda Kodiaq vRS – front detail
It’s now making 261bhp – a 19bhp gain over the old vRS – and sends power to all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG auto ’box. This makes for a healthy 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds and a 144mph top speed.
Also contributing to the sportification is a Dynamic Chassis Control Plus system, which offers – count ’em – fifteen different settings for the adaptive dampers, from a Sport setting to a dedicated snow mode. A set of new ventilated brake discs complete the hardware changes.
Skoda Kodiaq vRS – interior
Visually, it’s distinguishable from lesser Skodiaqs thanks to its chunkier front bumper, gloss black exterior details, the new light strip spanning the front grille, and the standard 20-inch alloys. They cover red brake callipers, because what performance-badged car is complete without some lurid callipers?
Those on the inside, meanwhile, will be reminded that they’re in the fast Kodiaq thanks to the Dynamic Sound Boost that pipes a bit of extra noise into the cabin. There’s a choice of two interior ‘Design Selections’ (read: trim/colour combos): ‘Lounge’ gives you lots of microsuede, while ‘vRS Suite’ switches that out for real leather. Either way, you’re getting chunkier sports seats up front and plenty of obligatory red stitching.
Skoda Kodiaq vRS – rear
Otherwise, it’s as you were with the standard second-gen Kodiaq, a car that’s beautifully relaxing to drive and be around, but is lacking in the excitement department – something the vRS could solve. There’s no word yet on when it’ll arrive in the UK, or how much it’ll cost when it does.
