The 2025 SKODA Kodiaq has finally landed in Australia, and it feels like the brand’s clever seven-seat SUV has been to finishing school. It is still the practical, value-heavy choice, but now it wears a sharper suit, packs a bigger 13‑inch touchscreen, nine airbags, and a raft of active safety tech. It launches locally with a single 2.0‑litre turbo‑petrol (140 kW/320 Nm) and all-wheel drive, with Select, Sportline and a feature-laden Launch Edition on sale now, and an RS due later in the year.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Spacious cabin with truly useful third row and huge boot (up to 2,035 L).
- Standard 13‑inch touchscreen, tri-zone climate, and heaps of USB-Cs even on the base car.
- Seven‑year unlimited‑kilometre warranty and affordable, fixed‑price service packs.
- Safety suite is stacked: nine airbags, Emergency Assist, Traffic Jam Assist and more.
Cons
- Official combined fuel use of 9.2 L/100 km is merely okay, not great.
- Only one engine tune for now; no hybrid option locally (yet).
- 0-100 km/h in 8.2 seconds is fine, but some rivals feel punchier.
How Much Does It Cost?
Australian pricing starts at $54,990 before on-road costs for the Select, $58,990 for the Sportline, and $63,490 for the Launch Edition. The Kodiaq RS arrives in September, with pricing to come. Expect the Select to be the volume seller given the big equipment jump over the old Style.
Features and Benefits
Even the base 2025 SKODA Kodiaq Select reads like a mid-spec competitor: 13‑inch touchscreen, 10‑inch Virtual Cockpit, heated front seats, tri-zone climate, two wireless phone chargers, five USB‑C ports, and a nine-speaker stereo. Step to the Sportline for Matrix LED headlights, 20‑inch wheels, suede/leatherette trim and a premium sound system. The Launch Edition basically takes the ultimate pack and gifts it to you: head-up display, surround-view camera, Dynamic Chassis Control, progressive steering, heated/ventilated/massaging front seats, and heated second-row seats. If you care about in-cabin tech and comfort, the value story is strong.
Safety
ANCAP has not stamped a score yet, but Euro NCAP awarded the new Kodiaq five stars in 2024. Every Aussie-spec car gets nine airbags, adaptive cruise with stop/go, AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, Blind‑Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross‑Traffic Alert, Emergency Assist, Traffic Jam Assist, Safe Exit Warning and more. It reads like a luxury-brand spec sheet, which matters when you are carting five kids and their sport gear on a Saturday.
Running Costs
Skoda backs the Kodiaq with a seven-year, unlimited‑kilometre warranty, plus pre‑paid service packs: $2,450 for five years/75,000 km or $2,750 for seven years/105,000 km. The official combined fuel efficiency is 9.2 L/100 km, and with a 58‑litre tank you are looking at roughly 630 km between fills if you match the claim. Not Prius territory, but acceptable for a 1.8‑tonne, AWD, seven-seat petrol SUV.
Comparison To Its Competitors
Cross-shop the 2025 SKODA Kodiaq against the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Mazda CX‑80. The Hyundai and Kia start a touch cheaper on paper, and both offer hybrids, which the Skoda currently does not in Australia. The CX‑80 brings premium vibes and a fresh badge in the seven-seat space, but the Kodiaq counters with more standard kit for the money, genuinely clever packaging, and a cleaner, less fussy user interface. If you want hybrid-level fuel efficiency, you may look elsewhere. If you want big-car practicality, Euro polish, and tech density without luxury-brand pricing, the Kodiaq makes a very strong case.
2025 Skoda Kodiaq Review: Price, Size, Efficiency and Safety Explained
Conclusion
The 2025 SKODA Kodiaq is the same pragmatic family hauler it has always been, only smarter, roomier and better equipped. It is not the thriftiest, nor the most thrilling to drive, but it nails the brief most Australian families actually care about: space, safety, tech and value. If SKODA slips a hybrid or PHEV into local showrooms later, the Kodiaq could become the obvious pick in the segment.
Rating: 8.6/10
It scores big on value, equipment, ride comfort and safety, loses a few points for middling fuel efficiency and the lack of a hybrid option, and lands in the sweet spot for families who want European polish without European pricing.