Skoda has pushed the launch of the Kodiaq TSi in India to early 2021. The Kodiaq was discontinued earlier this year with its diesel engine. You can blame the pandemic if you really had been waiting for the Kodiaq to come back.
Skoda discontinued the Kodiaq SUV in India earlier this year as we stepped into the BS6 era. The Kodiaq was sold with a sole diesel engine in India and Skoda having discontinued their diesel engines, the Kodiaq naturally had to be pulled out of the market. The Kodiaq was however set to make a comeback with a brand new petrol engine later this year, but now that stands delayed as well. Zac Hollis, Skoda’s Director of sales and marketing confirmed the news on Twitter that the launch of the Skoda Kodiaq TSI has been pushed to early 2021.
That means there will still be no Kodiaq on sale until the first quarter of 2021. This is yet again a result of the pandemic and lockdown. Skoda has not only delayed the launch of the Kodiaq TSI, but the next-gen Octavia which too was scheduled for a late 2020 launch has now been pushed to early 2021. The decision was taken due to supply chain issues that has impacted production for the brand globally due to the pandemic. Even though the Kodiaq TDI was Skoda’s flagship model in India, it was a brisk seller for the brand and many customers are indeed waiting for the SUV to return.
When it does actually return, it will have switched from a diesel-only model to a petrol-only model. The 2.0L TDI diesel engine on the Kodiaq will be replaced by the new 2.0L TSI engine which also does duty on the newly launched Skoda Superb. In fact, the same engine also does duty on the Kodiaq’s German cousin, the Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace. This 2.0L four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine produces 187 bhp and 320 Nm of peak torque. The engine will come mated to VW Group’s famed 7-speed DSG automatic transmission.
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In comparison, the 2.0L TDI engine on the Kodiaq previously produced 148 bhp and 340 Nm of peak torque. The new TSI engine is thus a healthy 39 bhp up on power but loses out on 20Nm of torque. Apart from the change of heart, the Kodiaq TSI will remain more or less unchanged. It will however benefit from a new virtual instrument cluster and updated infotainment system on the inside, but otherwise it will be quite identical to the outgoing car. There will also be no exterior design changes, although we could see a new design for the alloy wheels. It was always a handsome looking car anyway.
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The interiors of the Kodiaq were always extremely well appointed and it does not need any work there, even now. It even already got a panoramic sunroof (something that has become the norm now) and seven seats to boost its practicality. Along with the standard Kodiaq TSI, Skoda is also expected to bring back the Scout variant with the new engine, which too was discontinued earlier this year. The SKoda Kodiaq TSI is expected to be priced between Rs 30-35 lakh (ex-showroom) and will rival the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace, Honda CR-V, Toyota Fortuner and even the BMW X1, all of which get the option of a petrol engine with an automatic transmission.
