The Kodiaq proves its practical side. John Challen reports.

Our Škoda Kodiaq long-termer is setting in nicely

The big Škoda is settling nicely into life in the Fleet World family and a number of the Czech manufacturer’s now-famous ‘Simply Clever’ features have been put into use over the past month.

Due to the UK’s changeable weather, the umbrellas housed in the door sills have made an appearance, while a cold snap meant that the in-built ice-scraper was called upon earlier in the winter than would normally be expected.

Driving-wise, there have been a lot of school runs (I know, I know – bad parent), but the Kodiaq’s stop-start system is very effective and efficient, so I can be content that I’m using as little fuel as possible. A longer drive from the coast into central London was a similar story – plenty of stop- start traffic as we got to our final desti- nation – but the Kodiaq is a very comfortable place to spend a good few hours of the day!

It’s taken a bit of getting used to, but I’m close to mastering the throttle inputs. Too much and nothing happens for a few seconds before the 2.0-litre lump roars into action and you can sound like a learner driver attempting a hill start for the first time! ‘Gently does it’ is the way to go…

P11D (BiK): £36,650 (37%) MPG/CO2: 37.7-39.2mpg (WLTP) /145g/km (NEDC Correlated) Test MPG: 38.4mpg