Skoda’s Kamiq SUV is a real winner — they’re stylish, spacious… and score highly in Scrabble
ONCE a fortnight, at Chateau Gill, we have a digital detox. No Fortnite. No Snapchat. No ultimate fails on YouTube. No phones. Just family time.
In those precious few hours, we just sit and chat and re-group. Inevitably, we end up playing cards or Jenga Pass or Junior Scrabble . . . with dares.
Thanks to Skoda, you won’t find me eating a cream cake laced with tomato ketchup any time soon. No, buddy.
Because next time the Scrabble board comes out, I’ve got three high-scoring K and Q words up my sleeve, all drawn from Skoda’s SUV line-up.
Car names are allowed. House rules. There’s Karoq (18 points), Kodiaq (20 points) and the car you see here, Kamiq (20 points).
Only Qashqai (18 points) gets anywhere close and that’s dependent on a blank as there’s only one Q tile.
So when my kids say, “Hang on, Dad, what’s a Kamiq?” I can tell them it is Skoda’s new baby crossover — and it scores highly as a family car too.
But what else did you expect? It’s a Skoda. It does everything well. Safe, stylish, spacious, decent kit, VW Group engineering, good value.
And to top it all, it drives rather nicely. Essentially, Kamiq is a cut-price VW T-Cross in a different dress.
It’ll start at around £17,500 when it hits showrooms in November, with the sweetspot 115hp SE model costing a smidge under £20k, two grand less than the equivalent T-Cross.
Monte Carlo version to follow. Now let’s start with the interior.
Nice driving position, digital dash, advanced 9.2in touchscreen, adaptive cruise control, wifi, wireless Apple CarPlay, soft-touch dashboard and door trims, full-length panoramic glass roof, heated seats front and rear, acres of space in all directions — class-leading, according to a Skoda — and an umbrella in the driver’s door.
If you’ve got a dog, you’ll love the reversible boot mat — one side hard plastic for muddy paws and wellies, the other side carpet to stop your shopping bags sliding about.
Fold the front passenger seat and Kamiq will swallow up to 2.5 metres of wood from B&Q.
KEY FACTS: SKODA KAMIQ
Official figures to be confirmed at launch.
- Price: £17,500
- Engine: 1-litre 3cyl turbo-petrol
- Power: 95hp, 175Nm
- 0-62mph: 11.1 secs
- Top speed: 112mph
- Economy: 50mpg
- CO2: 115g/km petrol
- Out: November
All very impressive, then. Apart from one thing. You shouldn’t have to press three buttons on the touchscreen to turn on the heated steering wheel — the ultimate luxury — when there’s two blanked-off switches down by the handbrake. Er, hello?
As for engine choices, there are two 1-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrols (95hp and 115hp), a 1.6-litre diesel and a 150hp 1.5-litre turbo-petrol to follow.
If you live in the sticks or somewhere like Sheffield — where you are always either going up a hill or down one — the 95hp will be too asthmatic.
Whereas the 115hp has a decent turn of speed and still returns around 50mph, so it will suit more than most. If you tow things or do more than 15,000 miles a year, go diesel.
MOST READ IN MOTORS
To conclude, then. There’s no show-stopping reason to buy a Kamiq but you won’t be disappointed if you do.
It’s a decent family car that’s incredibly easy to live with. Unlike a teenager with an iPhone glued to their hand.
READ MORE FROM ROB GILL'S SUN MOTORS COLUMN
Ask Alfie — used car specialist Q&A
Q) I HAVE a 1996 Ford Escort Masquerade – a dark-blue, 1.6-litre four-door saloon with FSH and MOT, one owner, 38,500 miles. What is it worth?
Bernard Hession
A) LIKE I told another punter last week, your car is an amazing survivor and will certainly be of a lot of interest – but only to a tiny minority of the motoring world. On the one hand, it’s a rare, low-mileage example of a car we all used to love back in the day.
But on the other hand, it’s a 23-year-old Escort, when all is said and done. Try specialist channels such as eBay and carandclassic.co.uk, and you might get £2,000 to £2,500 for it.
Q) MY ’03 plate Rover 45 passed its MOT. It has 47,000 miles on the clock. Could you please give me an idea how much it might make if I put it up for sale?
Terry Botting, Ashford
A) SEE the answer above, Tezza. Heh, another car that used to be everywhere in our youth, but now Rover has gone to the knacker’s’ yard there’s not a huge amount of love for older cars like this, even if they are minters like yours.
The sad reality is, you’re looking at a grand to 1,500 nicker.
Q) I’VE been thinking of changing to a hybrid – I like the look of a Toyota RAV4 but as my current mileage is only 3,000 a year, I don’t know if it’s a good move.
What are the merits of 2WD v 4WD? I have a Ford Kuga petrol, so should I just stick with what I know?
John Coughlan
A) I LIKE the current RAV4 Hybrid, Johnno, the one launched in 2018 – but not the one before it. I wouldn’t swap a Kuga 1.5 petrol for that. But if you’re after the new one, it’s a sweet machine.
The only merit of 4WD over 2WD is improved traction in poorer conditions. Aim for the 2WD version. Your low mileage should suit a hybrid.
BRAKING NEWS
LOTS of hybrid news this week. Volvo revealed the S60 plug-in hybrid will be 385bhp – and do 36 miles on pure electric.
Mercedes will now sell you A-Class and B-Class hybrids, with promised electric-only ranges of between 35-42 miles.
LEXUS has long been known for hybrid powertrains, but what about pure electric? We’re told the brand’s first EV will be a tall, boxy and city-friendly hatchback and have the most space-age design of the Lexus line-up. Expect to see it later this year.
AUTOCAR has just driven VW’s electric ID Buggy, a salute to the classic Meyers Manx dune racers. It’s just as much fun as you’d expect. It’s not confirmed for production but it’s looking likely – the idea is that third parties will build the machine on licence from VW.
LOVE it or hate it, the bulbous Bentley Bentayga SUV is here to stay. A facelift is due next year and is set to get subtle design tweaks plus a technology overhaul inside – bringing the car in line with the Continental GT and making sure it has an edge over cheaper rivals from Audi and Porsche.
GOT a spare £7.4million? Bugatti’s latest limited-edition model based on the Chiron hypercar has been revealed. The Centodieci pays homage to the landmark EB110 supercar and delivers 1577bhp, up 99bhp over the standard Chiron.
- Rachel Burgess is deputy editor of Autocar magazine.
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