It was the dead of the night when I found myself behind the ’ wheel of the Skoda Kodiaq. I had passed on the Taycan to Madan and Prithveen, who had been driving the Kodiaq over the last 24 hours. The Kodiaq felt alien after spending so long in the various Taycans I had driven untill that point — too upright, too far off the ground and packed full of people and equipment. After over a 1000 silent kilometres in the Porsche, even hearing the engine crank felt alien.
I was a bit apprehensive about moving into the Kodiaq. EV or not, the Taycan is still a Porsche and Porsches have an inherent feeling of specialness. I was worried the Skoda would feel… lacklustre, in comparison. Boy, was I wrong! Blasting through the night, using everything that the 2.0 TSI engine had to give, I had left the Porsche in the dust. The road had deteriorated, and I didn’t need to slow down where the Taycan did. The Kodiaq was loaded to the roof, and then some. But it didn’t feel lazy, it didn’t feel out of breath, it didn’t feel like we were asking too much of it. It just put its head down and got on with it. And I love that about it.
I’m hoping you’ve already read our incredible story on the Taycan India relay — a fleet of Taycans heading across the country with the Soul Electrified baton, attempting to set a national record. It was no easy task for the cars, or the people on the record run. But here’s the thing — the Porsches did one stint each, with an average of 300km. The drivers had it a little harder, some of them doing entire legs, like I did from Chennai to Kolkata. But get this, the Kodiaq did the whole drive — all 6000km, from Mumbai to Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and back to Mumbai. Non stop.
It had to be prepped for the drive — a radio transmitter was installed, as was the Thule roof box. They transformed the Kodiaq from sophisticated to purposeful, giving it this overland look that had me drooling. The radio set up was mounted on the inside and that was that. Adventure ready!
The Kodiaq had no less than five people, often six, inside it at all times. Not to mention a boot packed with camera equipment, and the rest of our luggage in the roof box. You’d think this would be enough to feel some sort of dip in performance, but that was not the case. The Kodiaq’s 2.0 TSI was pulling it along eagerly, the DSG staying as snappy as ever, ensuring three-digit speeds were a constant where the roads allowed it.
The weight should have also had an effect on the handling and ride. Most SUVs’ rears just sag under weight of this kind and throw their dynamics all over the place. Not the Kodiaq — it continued to ride brilliantly. So good was the ride that the three dudes in the backseat were knocked out within five minutes of my taking the ’wheel and stayed that way until we reached our next car swap location. I would’ve thought that the roof box would have increased drag, increased wind noise, but it was nothing too drastic. It just mowed down the kilometres — 2000, 4000, 6000 kilometres — like it was another day at the office.
Okay sure, not everyone was happy. There were times when one person had to move to the third row, so the guys in the second row had some space to move around and shoot. And let’s be real, the third row isn’t the most comfortable. Space is at a premium and the seating position is too knees-up which makes it strenuous over long distances. But hey, at least we had that third row — so many fancier SUVs were not even considered for this drive because they didn’t have that extra bench.
Over the 6000km, nothing went wrong with it. Sure an errant biker cracked the taillamp and a stone thrown up by a truck on the highway cracked the windscreen, but nothing that slowed us down in any way. The Kodiaq was back in Mumbai without so much as a puncture (which, incidentally, one Taycan picked up on the drive!), shrugged off its roof box and radio antenna and was back to the grind in no time. I fell in love with the Kodiaq a little more on this trip. The sheer breadth of ability it has is astounding. In the days before and after this mammoth drive, I have been using it around town as my daily. It feels like a genuine luxury car without the luxury car badge, in the way it rides, the way it drives, the creature comforts it offers. But then you can also just set off on a whim on a non-stop 6000km marathon and trust that it will get you to the other side, not just without a hitch, but in comfort and with a smile on your face.