Friday, 19 June 2020 10:24

‘Czech’ out Skoda’s latest SUV

Written by  Mark Daniel
The newest member of Skoda’s SUV family – the Kamiq. The newest member of Skoda’s SUV family – the Kamiq.

Skoda has released the newest member of its SUV family – the Skoda Kamiq – to enter the rapidly growing compact SUV segment.

The all-new Kamiq bears an upright radiator grille with distinctive double slats on its wide front section, with a prominent front spoiler and other add-on parts such as the rear diffuser to accentuate the overall impression. 

From the side, it looks rugged thanks to its distinctive tornado line, defined surfaces and roof rails, while the Monte Carlo model is fitted with a panoramic roof and gloss-black roof rails to bolster the bold appearance further.

The interior of the vehicle is spacious, offering the driver and front passenger 1,051mm of headroom and 1,439mm of elbow room – with rear seat passengers getting 1,003mm of headroom, 1425mm of elbow room and 73mm kneeroom. The boot capacity is 400L, but climbs to 1,395L with the 60:40 split backrests folded down, as well as delivering an extra 26L of stowage space via clever interior compartments.

Two TSI petrol engines are available, with The Ambition 85kW TSI and the Ambition + and Monte Carlo 110kW TSI with cylinder capacities of 1.0 or 1.5L, all mated with a 7-speed DSG transmission.

It uses a new chassis that combines the advantages of an SUV with the driving characteristics of a compact car. In comparison to the ŠKODA SCALA, which uses the same platform, the KAMIQ has longer springs and shock absorbers, a stiffer stabiliser for the front axle, a reinforced rear axle, larger wheels and power steering with a different gear ratio. This raises ground clearance by 39mm – 10mm of which stems from the larger cross section tyres to deliver a total ground clearance of 188mm.

The KAMIQ features Lane Assist, Front Assist including City Emergency Brake, Driver Fatigue Alert, and Cruise Control as standard. Using a camera, Lane Assist recognises road markings and helps the driver to stay in lane, Front Assist with City Emergency Brake lends a hand by preventing or reducing the severity of a collision with pedestrians or cyclists. 

The Driver Fatigue Alert system recognises a reduction in the driver’s concentration and recommends a break from driving. 

The optional, automatic door-edge protection is unique to the compact SUV segment, while an electric tailgate includes a Tap-To-Close function is also available. 

As with the rest of the Skoda SUV range, the umbrella compartment (including umbrella) is in the driver’s door, ice scraper in the fuel filler flap with a tyre tread depth gauge and the integrated funnel in the lid of the windscreen washer tank are all standard equipment.

More like this

Cool and clever Karoq arrives

Winning umpteen car-of-the-year titles in 2017 for the Kodiaq, Skoda might now be up for the double in 2018 with its new mid-sized SUV -- the Karoq. 

‘RS’ might mean ‘really sharp’

Buying a house, horse or car is often about first impressions, so the first look at the Skoda Octavia RS wagon is likely to have you reaching for the chequebook – if you still have one.

New kid on the block

The new kid on the SUV block will have auto sales and marketing managers burning the midnight oil and scratching their heads as they wonder how to deal with this – the Skoda Kodiaq.

Featured

Gongs for best field days site

Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.

Feed help supplements Canterbury farmers meet protein goals

Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.

National

Machinery & Products

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

Grabbing bales made quick and easy

Front end loader and implement specialist Quicke has introduced the new Unigrip L+ and XL+ next-generation bale grabs, designed for…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Risky business

OPINION: In the same way that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, economists sometimes get it right.

Should've waited

OPINION: The proposed RMA reforms took a while to drop but were well signaled after the election.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter