FFIRIRSSTT D DRRIVIVEESS
28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 29
A little larger than the class norm, roomy, comfy, undemanding... It must be a Skoda
Price £20,000 (est)
Engine 3 cyls, 999cc,
turbocharged, petrol
Power 114bhp at 5000-5500rpm
Torque 148lb ft at 2000-3500rpm
Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight 1176kg
0-62mph 10.0sec
Top speed 120mph
Economy 41.5-51.4mpg
CO 2 , tax band WLTP figures tbc
RIVALS Citroën C3 Aircross 1.2
Puretech, Suzuki Vitara 1.0T
SKODA KAMIQ 1.0 TSI 115 DSG
T
he Skoda Kamiq’s headlights
are upside down. That might be
the most daring and enigmatic
thing about this new compact
crossover hatchback, which is set
to join bigger SUV-ish siblings theK a r o q a nd K o d i a q i n U K show r o om s
later this year. On those two larger
cars, the dipped-beam projectors
sit just above the daytime-running
light (DRL) strips as part of one
c ombi ne d l a mp u n it. O n t he ne w
Kamiq, though, the DRLs are sited
above and the headlights themselves
sit – separately, as it happens – just
b e low. A nd t h i s i s w h at pa s s e s for
‘interesting’ on a compact Skoda in
2019: a design trick already pulled by
the Citroën C3 Aircross and Hyundai
K on a a y e a r a go, for w h at it ’s w or t h.
Remember those crazy, free-
spirited types – the Roomster and
Yeti? Well, someone has decided that
smallish Skodas of their ilk must
remain dead and buried in favour
of smart but steady ‘Russian doll’
designs like the Kamiq. Skoda has
decided that while enthusiasts might
have liked more characterful cars,
Average Joe Customer prefers plain
and conservative; and, no doubt,
w it h go o d m a rk e t r e s e a r c h r e s u lt s
t o ba c k up it s de c i sion.
This car is, in fact, not a great deal
more than a jacked-up, reskinned
Scala, the Czech firm’s engineers
admit. It’s precisely the same width
a s t he r e c e nt l y i nt r o duc e d h at c hba c kand its wheelbase is almost identical.
It’s about 120mm shorter than the
Scala, though, yet still quite big for a
compact crossover, which is nothing
if not a familiar positioning for a
modern Skoda to occupy.
The car uses the Volkswagen
Group’s MQB-A0 supermini
platform, which in turn means it
can have only front-wheel drive
and torsion beam rear suspension,
although neither need necessarily
hold it back among a set of mostly
dynamically ordinary rivals. Petrol
engines range from a 94bhp three-
cylinder 1.0-litre up to a 148bhp
1.5-litre, and there’s a 114bhp 1.6-litre
diesel. Seven-speed, dual-clutch
automatic gearboxes are available on
all but the entry-level motor.
As an alternative to standard
suspension settings, meanwhile,
Skoda is offering Sport Chassis
Control as an option, which drops
y ou r K a m iq 10 m m c lo s e r t o t he r oa d
and arms it with two-way manually
adjustable dampers.
Our 114bhp 1.0-litre petrol test
car had the lowered, adaptable
suspension, although you’d have
hesitated to call it ‘sporty’. The Kamiq
just comes across as a pleasant,
albeit deeply ordinary, functionalf a m i l y c a r. It ’s pr e t t y r e f i ne d a nd
c om for t a ble , a l mo s t e nt i r e l y v ic e le s s
and easy to drive – and, like the Scala,
spacious enough to swallow four
adult passengers quite comfortably.
But making waves is the last thing
the Kamiq’s out to do.
On that optional suspension, our
t e s t c a r r o de muc h b e t t e r t h a n t he
passively suspended Scala we road
tested recently and it handled neatly
and with assurance, although with
little sense of agility or compactness.
Performance is respectable, but
I’m not sure you’d want a lesser
engine. The 114bhp 1.0-litre motor
has just enough torque to move
the car along with a reasonable
semblance of urgency, and the
dual-clutch transmission combines
w it h it w e l l , w it h a c ouple of c av e at s.
It’s too eager to upshift to make for
ba l a nc e d d r i v a bi l it y w he n le f t i n ‘D’
(although better in ‘S’) and doesn’t
always deliver the smoothest uptake
of drive from standing, but most of
the time, it does a decent job.
That leaves the Kamiq feeling
like a very sensible, practical,
versatile option for people who just
w a nt mo de r n f a m i l y t r a n s p or t i n a
compact, affordable package. It’s notan easy brief to satisfy, as many cars
in this class continue to demonstrate
to their cost. Still, this was a chance,
surely, to show that Skoda can still do
youthful, quirky and different – and
it’s a chance that’s either been missed
or, for reasons best known in Mlada
Boleslav, willingly passed up.
MATT SAUNDERS
SKODA KAMIQ
It feels starved of character but
isn’t short on practicality,
refinement or functionalityAAABC
Refinement, comfort and ease of driving are the Kamiq’s main virtues, along with a roomy, practical interior
@thedarkstormy1
TESTED 21.8.19, STRASBOURG, FRANCE ON SALE SEPTEMBER
TESTER’S NOTE
Although I’m not
convinced that the
Kamiq really qualifies
as compact, I’ll accept
that it’s not often
you find a compact
crossover with as
much second-row
space as this one. If
you’ve got older kids
to transport, that
could be a real
selling point. MS