What's the news?
Skoda will show off the ritziest Kodiaq of all, the Laurin & Klement version, at the Geneva Motor Show this March. Skoda's highest specification models have always worn the Laurin & Klement badge, which comes from the names of engineers Vaclav Laurel and Vaclav Klement, who started Laurin & Klement motors in Czechoslovakia, which eventually became Skoda.
On the outside, the Laurin & Klement version of the Kodiaq gets a big grille with extra chrome trim, unique 19-inch alloy wheels, full LED headlights, and L&K badges on the front wings.
Inside, you get a choice of black or beige leather everywhere, and subtle Laurin & Klement logos. There's also wood trim and black piano lacquer inserts to go with the L&K model's upmarket aspirations. The L&K gets additional kit, including an electrically adjustable driver's seat including memory function, door sills which bear the Kodiaq model logo, aluminium pedals, textile floor mats, rain sensing wipers, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, ambient cabin lighting and Skoda's high-end Canton sound system. There's also progressive power steering (a variable steering assistance system) as standard.
On the mechanical side, the VW Group's latest 1.5 TSI turbo petrol engine with 150hp is now available, while the 2.0-litre TSI turbo petrol has been boosted by 10hp to 190hp. Those engines now get their own particulate filters for ever cleaner emissions, and that tech will eventually spread to all petrol-engined Kodiaqs. The 150hp and 190hp 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines are carried over from the existing range, but there's a new seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox available. If you order a Kodiaq with four-wheel drive (it's standard on the more powerful models, optional on the less powerful variants), the VW Group's Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive damper system will be available as an option.