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It's a case of September in Paris, December in Dublin for the new Skoda Kodiaq RS. The high-performance version of Skoda's popular seven-seat family SUV has been, finally, after much teasing, revealed in full today at the Paris Motor Show, and it's already a record breaker.
Well, sort of. We mean, it has actually broken a lap record at the famed and fearsome Nürburgring race track in Germany, but it was the record for seven-seat SUVs, which, to be honest, we didn't know was a thing until Skoda mentioned it to us. The record was taken with Sabine Schmitz, sometime Top Gear star and full-time 'Ring legend, at the wheel, and a nine-minute lap of the 'Ring isn't too shabby for a big, tall, family wagon such as this.
First used back in 1974, Skoda's RS (Rally Sport) brand is being applied to an SUV for the first time, and the Kodiaq RS justifies its badge with a chunky body kit, massive alloys and a 240hp bi-turbo diesel engine. That will give it more than 500Nm of torque, which should make for some very rapid school runs indeed...
In keeping with the RS heritage of Skoda, the Kodiaq RS has aggressive exterior styling. LED headlights, 20-inch alloy wheels, specific RS front and rear bumpers, a glossy black front radiator grille, black roof rails, sunset tinted rear and side windows, while black window frames complete the sporty road presence. Inside, the sports seats are decorated in Alcantara suede with specific RS stitching and are electrically adjustable. The Virtual Cockpit customisable electronic instrument cluster will also come as standard while aluminium pedals, Alcantara door panels and carbon styled decor complete the sporty interior.
Speaking today, Cathal Kealey PR manager with Skoda, commented: "The Octavia RS has appealed to a broad range of people in Ireland from plumbers to barristers and from students to pensioners. Ten per cent of all the Octavia models we sell are RS versions and in Combi version, 20 per cent of the sales are RS models. The RS customer expects power, practicality and value for money and they will be impressed by what the Kodiaq RS has to offer so we expect similar trends to continue when this car arrives later this year."