‘Cheap’ Skoda Kodiaq RS Mud-Battles Cayenne PHEV, But Can They Off-Road-Deliver?

Because Mat Watson and his colleagues over at ‘carwow’ are established players in the field of automotive social media, there is no need for an introduction about their YouTube shenanigans that serve the purpose of attracting our attention toward the online sales and advice portal, right? So, let us jump in straight on the eleven-minute off-road SUV action with the “battle you didn’t know you needed in your life… until today!”

The team grabbed hold of £48k (£48,075 – to be more precise, which is almost $58k at the current exchange rate) Skoda Kodiaq RS, which is dubbed as the ‘cheap’ part of the off-road SUV equation. I do not know about Mat and his bank account, but to me, anything that goes above the $50k threshold is not that affordable at all! Anyway, on the other side of the mud trail resides a more powerful contender than the Czech automaker’s 245 horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo crossover SUV, also of the mid-size variety.

That would be the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, which in the United Kingdom costs almost 80 grand (£78,900, which equates to $95,111 in America) and rocks a much cooler and elegant hybrid solution harboring a 3.0-liter V6 turbo and an electric motor under the hood. They combine 462 ponies and thus provide almost double the oomph and torque (370 versus 700 Nm, aka 273 vs. 516 lb-ft), so the battle should be an easy one for the luxury crossover SUV. Alas, they are not there to make things easier.

Instead, the off-road course is ‘a bit’ muddy and filled with water holes, plus the challenges are more extensive than a simple drag race or track battle. Sure, there are variations of the two themes, like an up- and downhill skirmish, plus a bunch of tests to prove their 4x4 mettle in situations where no one in their right mind would be caught with a $95k vehicle. No worries, they’re there to cover all the basics and get filthy in our stead and provide a surprise or two. Hint – the Cayenne lacks a proper hill-descent control system and that robs it of precious points during one of the challenges.

Anyway, we are not going to spoil the outcome in advance – it suffices to say the battle was a lot closer than anyone would have thought at the beginning. As for other nasty ideas, do check out previous encounters where traditional quarter mile drag racing dominated the features, such as those times when a modern Toyota GR86 met an old-school Supra Mk4 or the BMW M3 Touring fought the Audi RS 6 Avant to see which German high-performance station wagon was better at delivering fast groceries.