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Sample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake Sound

Some say crossovers are cool because they're more economical than SUVs. But Skoda still decided to up the ante and put a twin-turbo 2.0 TDI inside the Kodiaq RS, its first spicy crossover model.
Sample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake Sound 8 photos
Photo: Skoda
Sample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake SoundSample the Skoda Kodiaq RS's Acceleration and Fake Sound
Sadly, the launch of the first RS model of its kind has been overshadowed by the BMW 3 Series, but we know that even though nobody reads about the Kodiaq in general, plenty of people are willing to pay over €50,000 for one of these things.

At 240 horsepower and 500 Nm of torque, this TDI is among the most powerful 2-liter diesel engines out there. But everything from the Jaguar E-Pace to the BMW X1 has a twin-turbo unit. What they don't offer, however, is an active sound exhaust system.

So far, Skoda has tried to hide the rattle of its diesels from its Octavia RS TDI drivers by using a kind of speaker in the cabin. But this is different, like the Audi SQ7, the Kodiaq RS is designed with a fake exterior sound as well, which works in RS or Individual driving modes.

Unfortunately, nobody used timing equipment to measure the actual acceleration times of this crossover. But they did film the digital dashboard while sprinting past 100 km/h, and we have no problem believing Skoda's claim of 7.0 seconds.

The rest of the package is predictable but nice. As we discussed in an earlier article, the RS model gets lots more standard kit than a normal Kodiaq. For example, the 20-inch alloy wheels and adaptive dampers form an interesting combo, but can't hide the bulk of the car.

LED headlights are also part of the deal, which combined with the new body kit and various other frills make this the most interesting-looking crossover with 240 horsepower. The interior is pretty nice too, with fake carbon on the dash and sporty Alcantara-covered seats. But this small version of the digital dash is smaller and less flexible than what Audi offers.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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