The ŠKODA KODIAQ sets off on more adventures

The popular ŠKODA KODIAQ SUV will soon show its rejuvenated looks. But its adventurous nature will remain unchanged, of course. Take a look back at some of its previous adventures.

6. 4. 2021 Models Kodiaq

The KODIAQ is getting LED front headlights that combine with the fog lights to create a “four-eye” light design. These features, together with the more upright and now six-sided radiator grille, give the modernised car even more adventurous looks than before. Another distinctive change is the modified front bumper that is flanked on both sides by L-shaped panels. The car also has a wider central air intake and aluminium-coloured details.

On the rear we again find the typical C-shaped lights, but these are narrower and more chiselled than on the previous version. The rejuvenated KODIAQ will follow up the success of the previous version: ŠKODA has sold over 600,000 of these cars since the model was launched in 2016. The Czech carmaker’s first big SUV paved the way for the current range of ŠKODA SUVs and also started the tradition of giving ŠKODA SUVs names starting with a K and ending in a Q. The KODIAQ was also the source of inspiration and springboard for the craziest ideas. Here are a few of them:

A name from Alaska

Even the premiere of the ŠKODA KODIAQ and the origin of its name were inspirational. In the run-up to the car’s global premiere, the name of the small town of Kodiak, which lies on an island off the south coast of Alaska, changed to KODIAQ for a day. In the language of the indigenous inhabitants, the Alutiiq people, the names of animals tend to end in the letter Q. That includes their word for the biggest brown bear in the world, the Kodiak, which only lives on the islands off the Alaskan coast and lent ŠKODA’s big SUV its name. This predetermined the car’s adventurous nature before it was even launched.

Roomy and rugged

The KODIAQ has already embarked on lots of adventures. One of the early ones included an encounter between the seven-seater SUV and a Czech women’s rugby team. We managed to fit all twenty members inside, and the KODIAQ came away from this experiment with fewer cuts and bruises than the event’s presenter.

Merciless Dakar

A ŠKODA KODIAQ successfully completed the course of the famous Rally Dakar in 2018, when the event was staged in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. The KODIAQ was the escort car for the Czech BARTH RACING team and coped with the almost 10,000 kilometres without any special modifications to the standard factory specs. The car was driven by Czech TV presenter Vlasta Korec, who appreciated the car’s ruggedness and spaciousness, but also its adaptive cruise control.

KODIAQ is first ŠKODA to complete the Dakar Rally. Image source: BARTH Racing

Kingdom of snow and ice

In 2018 a KODIAQ ventured beyond the Arctic Circle. In Lapland, motoring journalists from all over the world took turns behind the wheel, as well as the former Formula 1 star, Nürburgring champion and three-times winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans, Hans-Joachim Stuck. In the tough conditions, Stuck emphasised the importance of all-wheel drive as a safety feature.

24 hours on ice

The KODIAQ made its return to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Circle in 2019. The Italian branch of ŠKODA decided to test the car’s resilience in temperatures of around -20°C and strong winds. The goal was to complete the journey from Rovaniemi in Finland to the Northern Cape (Nordkapp) in Norway and back in under 24 hours. Fitted with studded tyres, the KODIAQ covered the 1,417 kilometres three hours ahead of the deadline.

Creative canvas

Students at the ŠKODA Academy chose the KODIAQ model for their student project for 2019. The students transformed the traditional SUV into a tough pickup with a ground clearance 10 centimetres higher than the standard KODIAQ. The car got a whole series of other modifications as well, including a frame with a winch on the front and a practical storage system beneath the cargo bed.