Having "crawled all over" a couple of Kodiaq's in the dealership over the last week, my partner and I test drove the Kodiaq yesterday for the first time. It was an Edition (in Quartz) 4x4 with the 190PS engine and DSG.
First things first......great build quality. Having previously owned (and returned!) a top-of-the-range LR Discovery Sport, there is no doubt that the Kodiaq is better in this department!
Seats are fantastic......and although the test drive was only 10-15 miles, I could easily have done 200 miles!
The car did NOT have DCC, and was on 19" Triglav wheels. I like a reasonably firm ride (as per my previous LR), and the ride was great for me, surprisingly little body roll, and it felt nice and taut for a car of this size. For me at least, it confirmed that I couldn't justify spending an extra £1000 for DCC......but that's personal choice and if you like a softer ride then you'd possibly want to consider it (or different tyres instead of the 19" ?)
DSG gearbox is great and responsive after a very slight lag when putting your foot down. In particular I liked the ability to override the gear selection (effectively put it into manual mode) by pushing the gear selector to the left, then selecting it up and down. I'm sure this is standard across many other Autos, but it's the first time I've driven this type (my LR had a rotary gear selector). With this in mind, why would you need to add flappy paddles? Of course it's personal choice (personally I never found the paddle option in my LR that natural) but with the gear-change option available on a gear selector with a very nice and positive feel, I personally wouldn't pay extra for paddles.
Steering nice and precise, no issues (for a car of this size.......it's not meant to be a Ferrari!)
Canton sound system was great....really decent bass. Although I've only heard the standard sound system at relatively low volume (in the showroom), that also sounded pretty good with no issues......but personally I've opted for the Canton upgrade.
I tried the engine in both Normal and Sport mode and there is a slight noticeable difference in terms of responsiveness and gear change.......but performance with this engine was still very strong in Normal mode.
Confusingly, even while the engine is in Normal mode, and therefore showing "Normal" on the large central infotainment display, you can, via the gear selector, alternate the gear shifting between "Drive" and "Sport".....so you'll have "Normal" showing on the infotainment screen, and "S" on the dashboard screen. (And that's without throwing DCC and a choice of suspension settings into the mix!).
The car had "area view" cameras. Quite impressive but personally I wouldn't pay the extra for that and have opted for rear camera (and sensors front and rear). Reversing in this mode is very nice and clear.
The cabin is very spacious.....but could be a little dark in the back even on a bright day like yesterday. I love the extra light via a glass roof (which I had in my previous car) so have opted for the sunroof.
It's a great car, and I struggle to find any negatives. I'd ordered mine within an hour of finishing the test drive!
First things first......great build quality. Having previously owned (and returned!) a top-of-the-range LR Discovery Sport, there is no doubt that the Kodiaq is better in this department!
Seats are fantastic......and although the test drive was only 10-15 miles, I could easily have done 200 miles!
The car did NOT have DCC, and was on 19" Triglav wheels. I like a reasonably firm ride (as per my previous LR), and the ride was great for me, surprisingly little body roll, and it felt nice and taut for a car of this size. For me at least, it confirmed that I couldn't justify spending an extra £1000 for DCC......but that's personal choice and if you like a softer ride then you'd possibly want to consider it (or different tyres instead of the 19" ?)
DSG gearbox is great and responsive after a very slight lag when putting your foot down. In particular I liked the ability to override the gear selection (effectively put it into manual mode) by pushing the gear selector to the left, then selecting it up and down. I'm sure this is standard across many other Autos, but it's the first time I've driven this type (my LR had a rotary gear selector). With this in mind, why would you need to add flappy paddles? Of course it's personal choice (personally I never found the paddle option in my LR that natural) but with the gear-change option available on a gear selector with a very nice and positive feel, I personally wouldn't pay extra for paddles.
Steering nice and precise, no issues (for a car of this size.......it's not meant to be a Ferrari!)
Canton sound system was great....really decent bass. Although I've only heard the standard sound system at relatively low volume (in the showroom), that also sounded pretty good with no issues......but personally I've opted for the Canton upgrade.
I tried the engine in both Normal and Sport mode and there is a slight noticeable difference in terms of responsiveness and gear change.......but performance with this engine was still very strong in Normal mode.
Confusingly, even while the engine is in Normal mode, and therefore showing "Normal" on the large central infotainment display, you can, via the gear selector, alternate the gear shifting between "Drive" and "Sport".....so you'll have "Normal" showing on the infotainment screen, and "S" on the dashboard screen. (And that's without throwing DCC and a choice of suspension settings into the mix!).
The car had "area view" cameras. Quite impressive but personally I wouldn't pay the extra for that and have opted for rear camera (and sensors front and rear). Reversing in this mode is very nice and clear.
The cabin is very spacious.....but could be a little dark in the back even on a bright day like yesterday. I love the extra light via a glass roof (which I had in my previous car) so have opted for the sunroof.
It's a great car, and I struggle to find any negatives. I'd ordered mine within an hour of finishing the test drive!
