Skoda has taken the wraps off the flagship version of its Kodiaq.
The thought of a hot SUV might seem like a contradiction but that’s what the Skoda purports to be.
Hot or not, what’s indisputable is it’s expensive – at £42,870 it’s a good £17,000 more than the entry level Kodiaq.
Hot hatches are overwhelmingly petrol powered but that’s not the case with the Kodiaq VRS.
It comes instead with a turbocharged 2.0 litre diesel that generates a healthy 237bhp.
That’s enough to do the 0-62mph sprint in seven seconds and take it on to a top speed of 136mph.
Fuel consumption is 47.1mpg and CO2 emissions 157g/km on the soon-to-be-replaced NEDC measurement.
The Kodiaq VRS is available in five or seven-seat layouts and comes as standard with four-wheel drive and a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox.
The look is powerful and sporty, helped with some striking external details like 20in alloy wheels, gloss black finish on the grille and mirrors, dual exhaust pipes, vRS sports bumpers and trademark red brake calipers.
Inside, the cabin gets the same premium sports feel, with Alcantara-trimmed sports seats finished with contrast vRS stitching and logo, along with a black roof-lining and vRS stitching for the door panels. The vRS is also the first Skoda model to be offered with fully digital Virtual Cockpit display as standard.
Dynamic sound booster – which uses the stereo speakers to make the exhaust note sound sportier – and front parking sensors are also standard fit.
The Kodiaq vRS has lapped the 12.94-mile Nürburgring in 9min 29.84sec, a lap record for a seven-seat SUV around the famous circuit, and only 1min 38:14sec slower than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, which currently holds the SUV lap record.
Order books for the Kodiaq VRS are open now and first deliveries should take place in the spring.
jmckeown@thecourier.co.uk