Skoda Kodiaq

- Stuart Milne

LIKE most SUV owners, I’ve just dabbled around the edges of the Kodiaq’s off-road ability. The occasional muddy track and snowy road have been about the sum of it, but even that was enough to show that, despite the Skoda’s tremendous talent on the road, the car’s ground clearance and four-wheel-drive system were more than up to the job.

Which is why I found myself on a green lane with the Kodiaq in its off-road mode, and a slight twang of concern as to whether the Pirelli Scorpion tyres would be able to cope.

I shouldn’t have worried, though. The car’s ground clearance meant there was no bottoming out, and the off-road drive mode managed the power perfectly. It was far from the Camel Trophy – a run of good weather put paid to any soft mud during our photo shoot – but it was also the kind of track you’d think twice about tackling in a less capable SUV.

With the exception of one hairy moment where the soft edges of the byway had slid into a ditch, there was no hint that the Kodiaq was out of its depth. Despite the 19-inch alloy wheels, the 50-section tyres offered enough flex to cushion me from the worst of the ruts on our Byway Open to All Traffic, to use the correct green-laning lingo.