FAMILY FEUD

The Kodiaq Scout makes Skoda’s flagship more affordable than ever before. So how does it match up against the Volkswagen Tiguan that it shares its underpinnings with?

- ABHISHEK WAIRAGADE

THERE ARE 87,000 WAYS TO CUSTOMISE your drink at Starbucks. Pour-over, skinny, hazelnut flavored, iced or frappuccino; you can have it whichever way you want. The essence of the coffee remains the same, and yet no two cuppas will be similar in the hands of a capable barista.

Picture the VW Group as your barista and a similar pattern will appear. Rapid and Vento, Octavia and Jetta, Superb and Passat; the Volkswagen Group has been delivering multiple iterations of the same coffee under the Skoda and Volkswagen badges over the years. But that changed with the Tiguan. Of course, Skoda followed it up with the Kodiaq but unlike the others that seemed like carbon copies, the Kodiaq and Tiguan are significantly different, at least on the outside. The Kodiaq, with its estateish lines and wider stance, feels like a borderline SUV. The Tiguan, like all Volkswagens, underplays its visual cues and feels more mature and restrained. In terms of pricing, the Skoda with seven seats was costlier by `5 lakh when launched as compared to the Tiguan. However, the gap has now reduced drastically with the launch of the Kodiaq Scout which retails at `34 lakh (`2.5 lakh more than the top-of-the-line Tiguan). But is the Scout worth the extra money when you know that you’re essentially choosing a Venti cappuccino over a Tall?

Visual cues