Not so long ago, diesel was losing its reputation as a heavy-duty fuel and was simply becoming the economical and fashionable choice for any type of car. Everything had to be diesel-powered, from city cars to supercars, to the point that Audi at one point seriously considered a V12 diesel R8.
How quickly that changed. There are a handful of diesel performance cars left, like the Audi SQ5 and BMW M340d, but the tide has quickly turned. The BMW M550d is long gone and the Ford Focus ST diesel will not return after the facelift.
Skoda has a long history with performance diesels – the first Fabia vRS had a 1.9 liter TDI – but now the most performance Skoda, the Kodiaq vRS, has fallen in line with expectations and swapped diesel for the gasoline.
The engine may be new for the Kodiaq, but it’s the familiar Volkswagen Group 2.0-litre EA888, here at 242bhp as also found in the Octavia vRS and Volkswagen Golf GTI. It’s arguably a sportier engine than a big diesel, but in a heavy SUV like the Kodiaq we liked the torquey oil burner instead, so the new petrol engine has something to prove.
The Kodiaq vRS remains an unusual offering in that it’s one of the very few seven-seat SUVs to offer an overtly sporty derivative. If you want a performance SUV, you normally have to go for something smaller like the Cupra Formentor or Hyundai Kona N, or pay a lot more for a six-cylinder BMW X3 or Mercedes GLC.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-04 08:01:23
