• Impressive fuel-saving tech in mild-hybrids 
• Long electric range with PHEV
• Unknowns about reliability but Skodas generally fare well

What are the running costs?

Regardless of which engine you choose, the running costs of the Skoda Kodiaq are excellent for a car of this size. Though there’s no regular self-charging hybrid like there is on many rivals – such as the Nissan X-Trail and Kia Sorento – we were impressed by the fuel economy of the regular petrol model. 

Equipped with mild-hybrid technology, the engine can turn off quite easily as soon as you lift your foot off the throttle. It’s one of the most effective cars of this type that we’ve driven for fuel-saving, and the result over a long-distance run was 50mpg, an exceptional figure for a large seven-seat SUV, and more than various full hybrids of this type that we’ve driven. 

You can expect better efficiency from the diesel still, particularly over long trips, with Skoda claiming up to 53.2mpg.

The plug-in hybrids are a real high point of the Kodiaq, as with a huge 25.7kWh battery, Skoda claims up to 71 electric miles are possible on a charge. During mixed driving with the car locked into ‘EV’ mode, we managed 63 miles. In everyday city driving, we reckon you should be able to achieve the claimed figure quite comfortably. 

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Another potential advantage of the plug-in hybrid is that it’s one of the few that can be rapid charged (such as at a motorway service station), which can charge it up in less than half an hour. Using an 11kW charger, it will take just over two and a half of hours to top up.

Servicing and warranty

Skoda’s standard warranty lasts for three years and 60,000 miles. That’s a long way behind the five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, or Kia’s, which lasts for seven years but is capped at 100,000 miles. 

There is the option to extend it for an additional cost, with a four-year warranty costing £340, or if you opt for a five-year warranty, it costs up to £630. 

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Skoda does, however, offer competitive servicing packages, with the firm currently offering an ‘all-in’ package for cars aged three to six years old that includes two services, two years of roadside assistance and up to two years’ warranty. The cost of a two-year service package on a Kodiaq works out as roughly £500 if done through an official Skoda dealer. 

Reliability

As the second-generation Kodiaq has only recently launched, there are certain unknowns surrounding its reliability, particularly with its next-generation software. One test car we tried had various software bugs relating to the driver assistance features, though this could be an isolated incident. 

Skoda’s cars generally have an excellent reputation for reliability, frequently coming near the top of ownership surveys, so we suspect there should be little to worry about in this respect.