A new edition of the 2025 Skoda Kodiaq RS seven-seat sports SUV has been confirmed for Australia by the middle of next year.
Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer stated to local media that the new Kodiaq RS will be in dealerships between April and June 2025 (second quarter of the year), following the normal model's release in November.
According to reports last year, a new Kodiaq RS (drawn above by X-Tomi) was given the go-ahead following the success of the original, which debuted in Europe in 2018 as a diesel before converting to petrol engine for its 2021 facelift.
Specifications are yet to be confirmed, but the most likely candidate under the hood is Volkswagen and Skoda's new 195kW 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.It is set to be used in the next Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line and the upcoming Skoda Superb, both of which will be available in 2025, and offers a significant improvement over the current Kodiaq RS' 180kW/370Nm 2.0-litre engine.
The outgoing Kodiaq RS has an engine tune that is sold as the top-of-the-line option in the Tiguan in Europe, just behind the flagship R, so it makes sense to do the same in the next iteration.
It is believed to come equipped with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.The current 180kW variant is quoted as taking 6.6 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. Despite the fact that the new model is predicted to carry more weight with a larger, stiffer body, it is likely to be faster and more powerful.
The normal Kodiaq range will arrive in Australian showrooms in November with a single engine: a 150kW version of the same 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder.
Pricing and specs are yet to be verified, but its wider body and additional technology are expected to result in an increase over the current $56,490 drive-away entry price, which increases to $76,890 for the 180kW RS.