After getting to know how a proper German car performs, through the vRS, I just couldn’t give the i20 all of my heart.
BHPian rbk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hello everyone. I end up changing cars way too often. As financially unwise as it may sound, I end up coming up with reasons to change cars every now and then. To put things into perspective from 2018 I have used an Etios Cross, a Thar CRDi, a Figo Blu TDCi, an Innova Crysta G AT, an Octavia vRS 230 and an i20 N Line DCT (and if I may mention a used Alto K10 too as a transition car from the Crysta to the i20), with the last two being my latest cars.
My i20 N Line was only 6 months old when I drove past a Skoda Showroom last week and inside I saw the Kodiaq Sportline in Race Blue. As any enthusiast should ignoring the ongoing downpour outside I drove back to check the car out and it was love at first sight! It was my first time seeing the car in its Sportline trim in Race Blue colour. It looked astonishing, particularly in that colour. Unsurprisingly “the thought” starts creeping into my mind – “Which car will I sell to get the Kodiaq?”. I love the vRS way too much to sell it, it is an absolute thrill machine and I know the only satisfying replacement to this would be the much more expensive M340i, which is a story for another day. So I start cooking the idea of selling my 6 month old N-Line in my head. I listed the car on OLX the same day and jusSt like that I sold the car on the fifth day!
Sometimes I feel guilty for doing what I did, but I had my own justifications. After getting to know how a proper German car performs, through the vRS, I just couldn’t give the i20 all of my heart. It was a good car, but there was something missing about it. It didn’t have the door that closes with a “thud”, the car sometimes felt too light, the materials to touch did not feel “special” and most importantly the seats were not comfy for long drives. 90% of my driving happens on the highways. In 6 months I clocked 11000 km on the ODO meter of the i20, and this was despite doing most of my long journeys on the vRS. So for someone who does that kind of highway miles, comfy seats are way up on the list. I must also say that the alcantara Sports Seats of the vRS has spoilt me for good. Even the Innova Crysta and its famed comfortable seats had a role to play. I was constantly reminded of the seat issue when I travelled with my cousin in his Crysta. So thats that and now I have my own reasons to buy the Kodiaq.
I didn’t wait long. I test drove the Kodiaq Sportline the next day and booked it that instance – Sportline in Race Blue. Everything happened so fast that it took me a few days to comprehend what just happened. A simple walk in to a Skoda showroom ended up with me selling my almost new car to get another car.
The Kodiaq perfectly fits my use case – long highway hauls. I read through the 80+ pages of Kodiaq material on TeamBHP and started getting more excited about the car. I was aware that the Sportline missed out on the adaptive dampers among other things when pitted against the L&K but I was ready to give up on some “comfort” for the killer looks of the Sportline. But as I read though TeamBHP, I realised that the SA had misinformed me that the Sportline comes with TPMS. I called him to double check to only realise that it actually is missing the feature. Being on the highway most of the time TPMS has saved me time and trouble quite a few times both on the vRS and i20.
That got me thinking again. Apart from the adaptive dampers and TPMS, the L&K had the iBuzz Fatigue Alert, ventilated seats, 360 degree camera, boot lid gesture which were missing from the Sportline. The premium one had to pay for the L&K was more than justified by the added features. But I generally do not like beige interiors, and also the Race Blue colour was missing on the L&K variant. While talking to the SA, he pointed out that if I get the Sportline the interiors would be way too familiar to the vRS – so the L&K could be my plush luxury ride and the vRS could be the nimble sporty one. Finally I decided to change my booking to a Magic Black L&K.
All this time I was aware of the fact that the Next Kodiaq is due soon. May make its way into India in 2024. It would be larger in appearance and will be more tech loaded. Now I am faced with this question whether to wait for the next generation car or keep the booking and get the current model. The booking amount is fully refundable after all.
The reasons I have for sticking to the current gen car would be the following. Firstly the current car has physical buttons on the console, which I love as against the gimmicky haptic feedback touch buttons which may take over the console of the new car. I always loved that chucky Audi styled short gear lever – always wanted a car with that. The new car maybe priced at least 10 Lakhs higher OTR going with what happened to the Octavia when the new generation came out. The new Kodiaq I read somewhere would be less wider than the outgoing model (I feel the Kodiaq already is not that wide). Also I have read somewhere that when getting a big German car it is always wiser to get a car which is towards the older end of the generation cycle, because as time goes the little faults here and there keep getting addressed to and fixed and the last round of cars would probably be the “perfected” version of that model. Also what if Skoda decides to bring only the plug in hybrid to India (which I personally despise).
I would love if some current Kodiaq users pitched in and help me decide. Do I buy the current Kodiaq or wait for the next?
Keyword: Sold my 6 month old i20 N-line & booked a Skoda Kodiaq: Here's why