Skoda Kodiaq RS brings diesel back

A diesel engine will return to Skoda Australia’s model range for the first time in a year when the Skoda Kodiaq RS performance SUV launches early in 2020.

Skoda’s local management believes the RS could claim a large slab of the popular seven-seater’s total local volume because it’s a diesel and because of the evocative RS badge.

The Kodiaq launched in Australia in 2017 with a single 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and later added a turbo-diesel. But the latter fell foul of the VW dieselgate-inspired WLTP bottleneck and dropped out of showrooms in 2019.

Currently, the Kodiaq’s 2.0-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine is available in two model grades priced between $42,990 and $46,990 plus on-road costs. The mainstream 140TDI diesel model is a chance to return at some stage once WLTP bottlenecks are resolved.

Despite the lack of diesel, Kodiaq has become the biggest selling Skoda in Australia, topping the Octavia passenger car and reflecting the local predilection for SUVs.

The Skoda Kodiaq RS will land in showrooms next February/March priced at $65,990 plus on-road costs.

Ironically, Skoda had to campaign to get Australia re-categorised as a moderately hot country to get the RS here.

Based on current pricing levels – although there is a Superb facelift due in early 2020 also – the Kodiaq RS will be Skoda Australia’s most expensive model.

And at 176kW and 500Nm, the biturbo is the highest powered diesel engine Skoda sells. Appropriately enough, it is being used by the first Skoda SUV to wear the RS (or vRS to be technically accurate) badge.

Check out our brief Kodiaq RS preview drive here, which also details Kodiaq RS equipment and spec levels.

“The big SUVs are largely still offered in diesel and it’s a very good concept for this type of vehicle at this point in time,” Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer told carsales.com.au.

“I am really happy with this choice. We have a petrol engine in the range and now we have a diesel engine in the range as well.

“Let’s face it, the bigger the SUV in particular, the more they are benefitting from the diesel engine concept, because of its torquiness and its fuel consumption.”

Irmer was bullish about the sports Kodiaq RS’s prospects.

“The share of RS of course we can only speculate at this point, but what we do know is other countries that already sell it, sell it to a level of about 20 per cent,” he said.

“And in the past … with Octavia RS in particular, we could learn that our share or our mix out of RS was equal or typically greater than in the European markets.

“So I would say 20 per cent would be a fairly safe assumption. It may even be higher.”

The Kodiaq RS will further boost Skoda’s expanding SUV line-up. The small Karoq arrived in 2018 and the even smaller Kamiq is due around mid-2020.

“Australia is becoming more and more prone to SUVs,” said Irmer. “The relationship between cars and SUVs swings more and more towards SUVs, which means for any manufacturer inclusive of Skoda, the SUV is becoming an important part of the line-up.

“At the moment we have two SUVs, we will soon have three SUVs and the RS is going to be the flagship of the SUV range.

“And a flagship should be very, very good for building the brand image further and so it will have an elevating effect for the whole brand as well as the models underneath.”

Despite supply limitations, Karoq is number three seller for Skoda in Australia. The brand is up 22 per cent year-on-year in a down market and attempting to double sales from 2018 levels to well over 10,000 per annum by 2023.