Updated Skoda Kodiaq joins brand's blue-light fleet

The updated Skoda Kodiaq has joined the brand’s blue-light fleet, with a more efficient engine range and prices starting from £28,185 OTR.  

All five powerplants are now part of the Volkswagen Group’s latest EVO range and feature a host of advanced features.

For example, both diesel engines (150PS and 200PS) feature a ‘twin dosing’ exhaust gas treatment that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions, while the new 2.0 TSI 245PS petrol engine fitted to the new Kodiaq vRS is significantly lighter than the twin-turbo diesel unit it replaces.

The new engines also have the potential to deliver lower running costs for emergency service fleets, says Skoda.

For example, the Kodiaq’s petrol engines are more efficient than their predecessors thanks to an injection pressure of up to 350 bar that ensures lower hydraulic losses and a reduced fuel delivery rate.

Equipped with Active Cylinder Technology (ACT), the 1.5 TSI automatically shuts down two cylinders when engine load is low, reducing fuel consumption further.

The Kodiaq’s ‘go-anywhere’ ability has always been a key element of its appeal to the UK’s emergency services, says the manufacturer.

The new model builds on this with a wide range of engines that can be specified with four-wheel-drive.

The new range-topping vRS model, for example, combines a 245PS turbocharged petrol engine with DSG and four-wheel-drive.

Ground clearance is 192 mm for all four-wheel-drive models (193mm for 2WD variants) while arrival and departure angles of 19.1 and 15.8 degrees respectively (19.0 and 15.1 for seven-seater model).

Individual customer conversion requirements can be accommodated via Skoda’s approved specialist convertors.

Since its launch four years ago, the Skoda Kodiaq has become a popular part of the UK emergency services fleet. Among the hundreds of Kodiaqs in active service are 50 fully-converted examples used by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and 30 used as fast response support vehicles used by West Sussex Fire and Rescue service.

A further 18 Kodiaqs are currently serving on the front line for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.