Skoda has officially revealed its new Kodiaq RS, which features the most powerful production diesel engine in the Czech firm’s history.
It is the first Skoda SUV to feature the high-performance vRS badge, and company boss Bernhard Maier called it “the new spearhead in our SUV offering".
The Kodiaq RS will be offered with five or seven seats, and features a 2.0-litre biturbo direct injection diesel engine making 240hp and 500Nm of peak torque from 1,750-2,500rpm. Skoda claims a 0-100kph time of seven seconds and top speed of 220kph.
The engine is mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox that powers all-four wheels via a variable all-wheel-drive and, for the first time in a Skoda, dynamic sound boost. The Kodiaq vRS also gets adaptive chassis control, which includes six drive modes and electronically adjusted shock absorbers. Progressive steering is also comes as standard.
The performance SUV sports a few subtle design tweaks that help to differentiate it from the regular model such as bespoke front and rear bumpers, RS logos, gloss black bodywork elements and new design 20-inch alloy wheels. It also introduces Skoda's new RS logo, which now has a red V and stripe ahead of the RS, in place of the green currently used. This logo will replace the current logo on all future RS models.
The cabin features Alcantara-covered seats and door trims as standard, along with a carbonfibre-effect instrument panel. Ambient LED lighting, tinted windows, black roof lining and stainless steel pedals also have also been added to separate the RS from the standard Kodiaq.
Skoda’s version of the Virtual Cockpit system is standard, and features a bespoke display mode showing a rev counter and speed in the centre of the display. There’s also a sports steering wheel.
The Kodiaq RS is the second model in Skoda’s performance line-up, which currently consists of just the Octavia RS.
The hot Kodiaq has lapped the Nürburgring in 9min 29.84sec, a lap record for a seven-seat SUV, and only 1min 38:14sec slower than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, which currently holds the SUV lap record.
The standard Kodiaq is on sale in India in a single Style trim, which retails at Rs 34.84 lakh. While the Crech carmaker has not revealed if the hotter Kodiaq will arrive in India, it does have the performance-oriented Octavia RS on sale at Rs 27.00 lakh.
All prices, ex-showroom, India
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