Skoda fans in Australia are a truly passionate bunch, but their numbers are few.
It’s sad because it’s not really the fault of the cars, in fact we at Chasing Cars have regularly bestowed high honours on Skodas, including crowning the Octavia our out-right Car Of The Year in 2022, the Superb a finalist in 2026 and giving the Kodiaq RS the rare honour of a 9/10 score in our recent review.
Despite being on sale in Australia since 2007 under Volkswagen – though initially from back in 1965 – Skoda remains somewhat obscure. Ask many folks what they think about the brand and they’ll answer “what’s a Skoda?”, which is tragic. Search further, however, and you’re bound to find the Skoda-curious.
It might be the quirky take on practicality, but more likely it’s the hot ‘RS’ products that have caught the eye of this crowd, as they pack the x-factor missing in the rest of what’s perhaps an overly understated lineup.
Not only is the Kodiaq RS a good bit of kit as a $76,990 driveaway, seven-seat SUV, it’s without any direct rival – save for the related Volkswagen Tayron 195TSI R-Line ($80,700 d/a in NSW). You can find similarly priced and punchy SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz GLB, but it’s yet to receive the finer touch of the AMG team, so the sporting intent just isn’t there.
The Kodiaq RS also gets around another much-maligned trap of Skodas: the absence of needing cost-optional packages to bring up to a decent spec. The standard equipment fitted here is more than many will ever want.
Our RS review also comes at a time when the Kodiaq range is expanding like never before, with enticing hybrid options filling out the lineup.
That leaves us with two key questions to address over our six month test: is the Kodiaq worth the high praise it’s received and is the hot RS truly the one to buy?
Month 1: The $7000 welcome
Welcome to the Place household dear ‘Skodiaq’, please leave your umbrella at the door and introduce yourself
Kilometres this month: | 2791 |
Fuel economy this month: | 8.8L/100km |
Running costs this month: | $561.13 (fuel) |
Two and a half years ago I stood beside the outgoing, first-generation Kodiaq RS – also in grey – and truly wondered why the hell it was being put out to pasture.
Flaws were few, the performance was solid (if not overly exciting) and everything in the cabin just…worked as it should. The pessimist in me couldn’t help but fear the new one would only be more expensive, bloated and ruined by electronic nannies nobody asked for.
“Bigger, faster and cheaper” were the words that led our review of the second-gen RS and by the end of it we added a fourth: “better”. The 2026 Kodiaq RS snapped up a rare 9/10 rating, gaining praise not just for its driving performance and practicality but also its value at $76,990 driveaway, a figure slightly below the previous gen.
So imagine our surprise when our long-term RS rolled into the garage with a new asking price of $69,990 driveaway. While technically now expired, it’s a deal that ran for several months and a quick scan of the website reveals that even now, in late October ‘26, there is still RS stock being offered for the same discounted price.
What is it?
It’s the go-fast version of the Kodiaq, often referred to by those in the know as the ‘Skodiaq’.
Offering seven seats and a detuned version of the 2.0T AWD drivetrain found in the Volkswagen Golf R or Tiguan R, the Kodiaq RS combines the practicality Skoda is known for with genuine performance credentials.
What’s the spec of our car?
As stated in the introduction, one of the joys of the RS is that it lacks the pricey option packages that often pushed those mid grades uncomfortably close to the RS flagship.
The only option on our test car is the $2000 panoramic sunroof, even the Steel Grey paint is a no-cost option.
Standard equipment includes:
- 20-inch alloy wheels
- Matrix LED headlights
- Space saver spare wheel
- Progressive steering rack
- Dynamic Chassis Control Plus with dual valving (compression and rebound)
- 13.0-inch media touchscreen w/ DAB+
- 10.0-inch digital driver’s display
- 13-speaker Canton audio system
- Leather-appointed trim
- Heated steering wheel
- Heated/cooled power front seats
- Heated outboard rear seats
- Three-zone climate control
- Head-up display
- Five USB-C 45w outlets
- Dual ‘cooled’ inductive phone chargers
- Kick sensor powered tailgate
How long is it sticking around for?
The RS will be in our stables for six months and travel at least 10,000km in that time.
We’ll also cover some extra miles in other Kodiaq grades to see if the RS is the pick of the bunch.
What are we going to do with it?
Our first plan for the Kodiaq is to simply forget it’s a special RS model and use it as an everyday family car. Quick trips to the shops, daycare drop-offs and tight carparks will be its proving ground, before we graduate to the highway for some interstate road trips across the east and south coast.
We’ll also take the opportunity to give it a good flogging on any piece of fun country road we see, not just to determine if it’s a good sports SUV, but if it can actually handle the abuse of pothole-riddled Victorian backroads.
Initial performance
As stated above, month one with our Kodiaq RS is all about the important boring bits of car ownership, and it has quickly made me realise why our deputy editor Curt Dupriez was so complimentary in his review.
The interior is modern yet restrained with its approach to technology, which we’ll dive into more in the coming months, but the immediate stand out is how it offers a large cabin space without giving the Kodiaq exterior dimensions that make it hard to park.
What does make it hard to park – or perhaps just confusing – is the 360-degree camera, which gives the Kodiaq more body dysmorphia than a jacked-up gym bro. For the first few weeks, I thought I was going mad looking at the centre screen that shows Kodiaq’s bodywork spilling over the lines on all sides, despite being perfectly inside the lines.
Around town the Kodiaq is also delightfully well-mannered for an SUV of sporting intent, with the adaptive dampers – now sporting dual chambers for both compression and rebound – soaking up the punishment of Aussie roads while keeping itself comfortable and composed.
It didn’t take long for us to take it for a spin on a fun b-road. In fact, it was the first place we went after collecting the keys, and the RS did not disappoint.
With outputs boosted by 5kW/30Nm to 195kW/400m and a still relatively lithe 1845kg kerb weight, the Kodiaq still feels light on its feet for a seven-seat SUV, with the progressive steering rack helping it feel responsive in tighter turns with enough grunt to punch out the other side thanks to the enhanced 2.0L turbo four.
All-wheel-drive and the carry-over seven-speed dual-clutch naturally aid this aggression, with the tried-and-tested trio feeling noticeably more refined than the first-generation Kodiaq RS, though this is primarily a benefit at lower speeds when the transmission had a tendency to thump and jerk it’s way around town if you weren’t driving it decisively.
It’s certainly quicker than its predecessor, with the 6.3 sec 0-100km/h time an impressive 0.3sec improvement but is it fun enough to deserve the RS badge?
Without the VW Group’s tricky torque-split rear differential, you could find in the likes of the previous Tiguan R, to evoke some tail-happy shenanigans the Kodiaq RS is certainly more sensible with its speed. We’re curious to see if we’ll miss that as the months roll on.
