It was recently that Skoda India revealed that it was going to bring the Kodiaq SUV to India and we got a few details as well about the car. However, we were told back then, that the car will most likely be launched by the end of this year and though we thought it was an odd decision to bring out the car post the festive season. However, Skoda has sprung a surprise and will be launching the car in October. While there are reports suggesting that the date of launch is October 4, Skoda India has not yet confirmed this.
The Kodiaq is Skoda’s first 7-seater SUV in India and with it, the company takes on the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and even the Volkswagen Tiguan (though it is a 5-seater). Internationally, the Skoda Kodiaq SUV was first unveiled last year in September in Berlin and production of the SUV began a month later in October 2016. We have already driven global-spec Skoda Kodiaq and were truly impressed by its build quality, features and performance which is why we expected most of them to come to India.
The Skoda Kodiaq is built on the same MQB platform as the Volkswagen Tiguan and shares most of its underpinnings with the latter. It will come to India as a CKD and we’ll see the car being assembled at the company’s Aurangabad plant. In terms of styling, the Kodiaq SUV employs the company’s latest crystalline design language, which is now commonly seen in all new-generation Skoda cars like the Superb and the Octavia. There are sharp lines, creased metal and very layered, bejewelled lighting elements. The Kodiaq SUV also comes with the signature butterfly grille flanked by sharp headlamps and LED daytime running lights. The bumper design is bold and aggressive, while the squared wheel arches and the larger roof rails give the Kodiaq that macho SUV stance.
Under the hood, the new Skoda Kodiaq will come with a mix of both petrol and diesel engines. We’re glad that the petrol engine has made it to India as customers have more to choose from. The 2-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit that churns out 177 bhp and a peak torque of 320 Nm, the 2-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine will produce 147 bhp of max power output and 340 Nm of max torque. Transmission options include a 7-speed DSG unit and there’ll be no manual transmission on offer.
[“source=auto.ndtv”]
