Škoda’s much-loved and extremely practical Kodiaq large SUV entered its second generation earlier this year. Can the newcomer repeat its forebear’s success? By Al Suttie.

Škoda Kodiaq SE L 7-seat 1.5 TSI e-TEC 150 DSG

List price (BiK): £39,890 (33%)   CO2: 145g/km    Economy: 44.5mpg    Test efficiency: 39.8mpg

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Monday

The Škoda Kodiaq is a real Swiss Army Knife of the motoring world, and it’s why I and many others loved the first-generation model so much. Now for the tricky second album, which can often see the follow-up car become more muted or just repeating the same old beats. This week will show if Škoda has come up with a new riff on the Kodiaq, but first impressions this morning are it’s a handsome beasty.

Tuesday

A neighbour with an earlier Kodiaq has already clocked the new one on my drive and asked about it. This included a number of very specific questions covering the amount of space in the third-row seats (she needs this to cart around her kids and their chums) and the new infotainment set-up. I let her have a play with the touchscreen and she wasn’t fully convinced by it. However, she did love the new cabin’s style and materials.

Wednesday

Škoda has moved to the ever-more popular steering column-mounted gear selector for the Kodiaq – this one has the seven-speed DSG auto fitted to accompany the 1.5 TSI engine. I’ve used these before in a variety of cars, notably Hyundais, and I just don’t find them intuitive to use. Every time I go to use it, I have to stop and think for a split second about which way to twist the control to avoid reversing when I want to go forward.

Thursday

A few days into using the Kodiaq and my kids, as usual, have made full use of the infotainment. Just as well Škoda provides a handy cloth to wipe the screen clean of fingerprints and sweep away dust. This is exactly the sort of nifty touch Škoda does so well, and the cloth fits in a small plastic container that sits snug in its own holder in the centre console. Simple and clever.

Friday

The 1.5 TSI e-TEC engine in this Kodiaq comes with 150hp, which seems a little bit short on puff on paper. On the road, it’s fine thanks to the spread of gears in the seven-speed auto ’box. Acceleration is just the right side of decent for a big SUV and the Kodiaq whispers along on the motorway. This new generation doesn’t feel as agile in the corners as the previous model, however.

Saturday

Off to football with my son and a couple of his mates, plus my daughter is riding shotgun and insists on sitting in the third-row seats. It’s easy to pull the seat into position and still leave a big boot space for kit bags. There’s also plenty of room for a tall 11-year-old to sit back there in comfort. Best of all, it means I’m left in charge of the radio, so we hum along on the way to the match to the dulcet tones of Radio 4…

Sunday

Almost 40mpg has been the average over the week with the Škoda Kodiaq in this specification. That seems decent to me for large SUV. On top of that, it’s coped admirably with wintry conditions and family demands, though the ride on 19-inch wheels is a tad firmer than I’d like in this sort of car. Even so, Škoda has made a thorough job of this new Kodiaq, keeping the best of the old model while improving in almost every area.