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Ten Second Review

Skoda had a hand in popularising the small SUV concept a decade ago with their Yeti model. Today, we've got the Kamiq, which aims to distil all the Czech brand's best bits into a compact Crossover you could really bond with. Here's the revised version.

Background

Skoda could have been at the forefront of the current craze for supermini-based SUVs - Juke and Captur-class models. Back in 2009 before either of these two cars, it launched a model you might conceivably remember, the Yeti, which used Fabia bits but dressed them up with Crossover attitude. It was a good start, but the foundation wasn't built upon. The facelifted Yeti of 2013 was disappointingly conservative in a market seeking high fashion and after four years on sale, was allowed to drift out of production without being properly replaced. Leaving the Czech brand to wait until it could launch its own version of the small SUV design possible on the VW Group's MQB-A0 platform, a chassis that by Autumn 2019 had been pressed into service for the SEAT Arona and the Volkswagen T-Cross in this class. That was when Skoda was also able to use it to launch this car, the Kamiq. Four years on, we've got a lightly facelifted version of that same design.

Driving Experience

There are no significant engineering or dynamic changes as part of this facelift. Because this Kamiq uses the same underpinnings as a Skoda Scala family hatch (the A0 version of the VW Group's MQB platform), it can only have front wheel drive and straightforward torsion bean rear suspension. Still, that's all likely buyers will probably want. As an option, the brand offers 'Sport Chassis Control', which lowers the car by 10mm and gives it two-way adjustable dampers. We can't see many customers taking this up. Most customers will want the base 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine, now updated to the latest 'evo2' spec. Entry-level versions get it in 95PS form with a 5-speed gearbox but further up the range, the variants available feature this unit in a 116PS state of tune. Go for that and you'll be offered the option of a 7-speed DSG auto gearbox. Both engines have impressive torque available from low revs - the 95PS version delivering 175Nm from just 2,000rpm and the 116PS version serving up its 200Nm across the same 2,000rpm to 3,500rpm band. In other words, you won't have to row this little SUV along with the gear lever through town. Skoda is also offering a 150PS 1.5 TSI petrol powerplant with the option of DSG auto transmission. Don't expect a Kamiq to ride quite as well as a Scala - that taller, heavier body has to tell somewhere - but for the school run and commuting duties, few buyers are likely to have issues.

Design and Build

This revised Kamiq gets a range of subtle visual updates, with a larger, more upright front grille flanked by slimmer headlights, which can now be ordered with intelligent matrix tech and have a revised split-lamp treatment. There's also a wider front intake, a revised rear diffuser and restyled front and rear bumpers. There's also updated branding, with the Skoda name spelt out across the tailgate. Otherwise, things are much as before, which means that the Kamiq looks essentially like a version of one of the brand's larger SUVs - the Karoq and the Kodiaq - that's been somehow shrunk in a hot wash. Inside, an 8-inch digital instrument panel screen is now standard, with a larger 10.25-inch set-up offered as an option. The centre dash infotainment monitor is 8-inches as standard, but customers can upgrade to a 9.2-inch display, complete with a wireless version of the brand's 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring system. There's also a smarter cabin feel, thanks to trimming and materials governed by various 'Design Selections' - package combinations of colours and finishes. Other fresh additions include smartphone storage pockets in the front seatbacks, a removable box on the centre tunnel that incorporates a cup holder and the option of a powered tailgate with foot gesture control. As before, rear legroom isn't of the order you'd find in the kind of Scala or Octavia family hatch model you could buy from Skoda for similar money. But Kamiq customers, who'll typically use this area of the car primarily for ferrying kids probably won't care too much about that. The same comment applies to the boot, which measures in at 400-litres, extendable to 1,395-litres when the rear seats are folded.

Market and Model

Expect the Kamiq to sell in the £24,000 to £32,000 bracket, which is fractionally above what you'll pay for volume rivals like Renault's Captur and Nissan's Juke but much the same as you'd have to find for this model's two VW Group cousins, the Volkswagen T-Cross and the SEAT Arona. Kamiq customers will still be looking at the same three core trim levels - 'SE', 'SE L' and 'Monte Carlo'. 'SE' buyers get the chance to pay around £800 more to graduate from the entry-level 95PS version of the 1.0 TSI petrol engine to the 116PS variant. Further up the range, you have to have this perkier unit. Providing you avoid base trim and the base 95PS engine, you'll be offered the chance to pay £1,250 more for a 7-speed DSG auto gearbox. Even the entry-level Kamiq 'SE' is decently equipped, coming with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail lights, air conditioning and a 8.0-inch 'Bolero' centre touchscreen display. Customers opting for the 'SE' model benefit from satellite navigation, rear privacy glass, a wireless 'phone charger, dual-zone climate control, a space-saver spare wheel and a choice of either 17 or 18-inch alloy wheels. 'SE L' models get a larger 9.2-inch 'Amundsen' infotainment system and microsuede upholstery.

Cost of Ownership

Skoda quotes CO2 figures for the 1.0 TSI petrol engine ranging between 120 and 140g/km - so not too far off what you'd get in a diesel. Expect around just over 50mpg on the WLTP combined cycle (specifically bests of 53.2mpg and 120g/km for the 95PS version). The 1.5 TSI manages bests of 49.8mpg and 128g/km of CO2. And maintenance across the range? Well, there's the choice between fixed or flexible servicing regimes, depending on whether your annual mileage is short or long. Service intervals are every 18,600 miles or every 24 months. The available 'Skoda Connect' app has a 'Proactive Service' element included which, when activated, can send all the data needed from your car in advance to your local Skoda dealership prior to a service visit. What else? Well your car will come with three years of pan-European Roadside Assistance that has no mileage restriction. The paintwork warranty lasts for three years and, as you'd expect, this model is protected by a 12-year anti-corrosion package. Finally, while it's certainly true that other rivals better the three year 60,000 mile warranty that Skoda provides, you can extend your cover to four or five years by paying extra. Not that you really need to. The brand regularly tops independent consumer satisfaction surveys: according to real people, there are few more satisfying cars to own.

Summary

There's nothing very original about the Kamiq, but it's more in tune with the current zeitgeist than the old Yeti was. And certainly more fashionable than the next model up in the Czech maker's SUV model line-up, the rather worthy Karoq. Skoda buyers are now well used to re-worked Volkswagen Group engineering with a bit of practical embellishment at a lower price - which is precisely what's served up here. If you're looking for something more outlandish and personalisable, buy a Nissan Juke instead. But one of those might not be as easy or as pleasing to live with as a Kamiq. You get most of the sensible virtues we like in the brand's Scala family hatch, without the rather vanilla blandness we don't. A Kamiq, in fact, is without doubt the trendiest car the marque has yet produced, particularly in this improved form. A fashion statement that's also a Skoda. Whoever would have thought it?