Skoda Kamiq Review (2023)

Introduction

Skoda's Kamiq is a compact crossover SUV – the smallest SUV that Skoda makes.

Although traditionally a Czech manufacturer, its ownership by the large Volkswagen Group means that, in practice, it’s a different body on a Volkswagen platform.

And that’s rarely a bad place to start from.

To be precise, it’s based on the MQB platform, which is used by the Volkswagen Polo and Skoda’s sister car, the Scala, while it’s also to be found underneath two other SUV crossovers, the SEAT Arona and VW's rival, the T-Cross.

Despite its small size, the Kamiq is slightly longer than all of those, so let’s hope that translates into even more practicality.

It certainly needs to have some standout features, as the compact crossover market is one of the most fiercely contested in the UK right now – and competition is growing stronger by the week.

At A Glance

Skodas tend to be unassuming and modest.

That's one of the company's qualities, especially as its 'Simply Clever' slogan personifies neat little touches, which are, in their way, very straightforward.

That means you get an umbrella that pops out from the driver's door, like in a Rolls-Royce, and you get an ice-scraper within the car's fuel filler cap.

It's very much function over form.

As a result, the Kamiq is unlikely to win many awards for stunning good looks, though it’s still got a bright, family-friendly personality.

The front end looks like it’s grinning, with a chrome surround on the grille, although the Monte Carlo version we’re testing is the exception.

It features more body-coloured styling and a black colour pack as standard, so the grille surround is black, along with various other features.

This gives the Monte Carlo trim a more aggressive, sportier stance compared with the rest of the line-up.

Calling it a hot hatch is excessive, but it’s a step up on the rest of the range.

The headlights sit just below the LED side lights, the latter almost acting like eyelashes, while the front features an extensive, rectangular lower grille.

Around the side, creases in the top and bottom of the doors add to its character. Meanwhile, the sloping roofline leads us to the back, which features a more chiselled, slightly concertinaed shape, although it appears flat from directly behind.

There are few differences in the Kamiq's shape when comparing the Monte Carlo edition with the rest of the range. However, a blacked-out front splitter, door mirrors and the addition of Vega black-silver alloys add to the Monte Carlo's athletic leanings.

It looks nice, with some rugged SUV styling and roof rails giving it that extra edge that will tempt folk away from the more traditional family hatchback.

Key Features

The Skoda Kamiq is available in four trims.

Entry-level SE gets 17-inch Braga alloy wheels, an eight-inch Bolero touchscreen with DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a leather steering wheel, electrically adjustable door mirrors and automatic windscreen wipers.

Next up is SE Drive, which adds a larger 9.2-inch Amundsen touchscreen with SatNav and gesture control, privacy glass and some additional safety features.

Choosing SE L Executive gets 18-inch Vega alloys, heated front seats, folding door mirrors, dual-zone climate control and keyless entry/go, and replacing the analogue dials with a 10.25-inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instrument display.

The Monte Carlo edition adds the blackened body features, the half-black, half-silver Vega alloys we mentioned earlier, plus a panoramic glass roof, red and black sports seats and LED front and rear lights.

There’s a range of petrol engines on offer but no diesels or hybrids.

The entry-level 1.0 TSI produces 95PS and comes with a five-speed manual gearbox.

There’s also an uprated version of the same engine producing 110PS or the 1.5 TSI supplying 150PS, both of which are available with a six-speed manual 'box or a seven-speed DSG automatic.

You can select any powerplant on the SE and SE Drive trims, while the SE L Executive and Monte Carlo trims remove the entry-level 95PS engine.

Given our Monte Carlo test car makes more energised claims with its bolder looks, we've gone with the most potent 150PS unit.

Performance & Drive

Before we begin, if you’re not interested in going quickly, the other two engines are perfectly adequate for what they are.

The entry-level 95PS unit needs to be revved hard to get any semblance of performance from it, but it’s perfectly adept at around-town driving.

Choosing a more powerful engine seems unnecessary if you’ll mainly be popping to the shops or doing the school run.

That said, the mid-range 110PS unit is advantageous if your morning commute includes a dual carriageway, as its extra punch helps when trying to overtake - and makes life easier when you take it on the motorway.

The 1.5 TSI we’re testing, though, feels more refined and noticeably smoother than the others – and it utilises cylinder deactivation to help save fuel.

Granted, it's hardly thunderous in terms of performance but in a relatively small car, it's about as much as you'd need.

Nought to 62mph is dealt with in 8.1 seconds and certainly seems to be the best fit if you pick the Monte Carlo edition, given its more stylish, sporty looks.

Hardly anyone will be leasing the Skoda Kamiq as a performance car, though; therefore, many will see it as an excessive, unnecessary additional expense, especially if your main priorities are around space and practicality.

Both gearboxes are well refined and change up and down smoothly, so go for whatever suits your needs best.

The manual puts you more in control of the driving experience, but those with more complicated commutes to work or those regularly motoring in stop-start traffic may prefer the ease of the automatic.

Regarding handling, the Kamiq isn't much to write home about. It's certainly not poor, but especially in Monte Carlo trim, its driving personality is at odds with the athletic look that the flagship edition attempts to portray.

Throwing it into a corner generated quite a bit of body roll and understeer, and we quickly gave up trying to test its limits, especially as the steering doesn't weight up much in the bends.

At lower speeds, the Kamiq can feel nimble, threading through traffic on ring roads with ease, but it's more at home on 50 to 70mph roads, cruising along.

The suspension setup is soft, which, while not lending itself to enthusiastic cornering, does produce relaxing levels of ride comfort.

It's one of the best small SUVs money can lease in that regard, making light work of smoothing out crevices in the road as it passes over them.

This is without the optional adaptive suspension fitted, too, which seems like a waste of cash, given the softness of the ride.

As we said earlier, the SEAT Arona is based on the same platform and given SEAT tends to set its cars up with driving dynamics more in mind, we'd be looking in that direction if you want something more exciting.

Running Costs & Emissions

Our 150PS petrol engine manages 47mpg, emitting 136g/km of CO2 with the seven-speed DSG automatic.

The figures are a near-identical 46.7mpg and 137g/km of CO2 if you go with the six-speed manual gearbox.

The difference is more pronounced if you opt for the 110PS engine, with the automatic managing 46.3mpg (139g/km CO2) compared with 49.3mpg (130g/km CO2) with the manual.

You’ll get one or two more miles per gallon out of lower trims thanks to their smaller wheels, while the entry-level 95PS engine manages 51.3mpg (125g/km CO2) with its five-speed manual transmission, with an automatic option not offered.

Those figures are pretty decent, but it won’t make the Kamiq an attractive proposition as a company car as, nowadays, Benefit In Kind tax favours all-electric cars, or at least plug-in hybrids that can go a fair distance without an engine.

In terms of reliability, Skoda is far improved from its infamous reputation of a couple of decades ago and now tends to sit in the lower top half of many dependability surveys.

In fact, in some customer surveys, Skoda SUVs have tended to outperform other Skoda models, so that’s an additional benefit if this trend continues.

Interior & Technology

Inside, the Kamiq looks nice, albeit not overly luxurious.

It's pleasant, although the colour scheme on our Monte Carlo trim didn't leave us feeling like we were driving a top-of-the-range model.

While de-silvering the exterior makes for a sportier look, inside, it often has the opposite effect. Still, nobody appears to have told Skoda that the lack of brushed aluminium surfaces cheapens the aesthetics.

As a result, although it's still quite lovely, it lacks a premium feel that could have been achieved by having a bit more in the way of contrasting lighter colours.

Admittedly, the red trim on the seats makes it look exciting, as does the shape of the sports seats, but it's a bit too dark and dingy in the cabin.

At least it's somewhat helped by the sports steering wheel in our Monte Carlo-trimmed test car, while the shiny piano black décor around the gear lever adds a classy touch.

Either way, it’s certainly not bad, especially as the tablet-styled infotainment screen looks inviting to touch, sitting on top of the dashboard with its ultra-wide shape.

The infotainment system has a crisp, clear display and is reasonably straightforward to use, although sometimes we found it took too long to respond to prods and presses.

It's definitely an improvement on Skoda's older systems, while the top two grades – SE L Executive and Monte Carlo – get impressive digital instrument displays called Virtual Cockpit.

As we mentioned earlier, this replaces the traditional analogue dials behind the steering wheel and is beneficial when using the built-in SatNav, as it shows the map and directions on the display.

This limits the extent to which you need to divert your attention from the road, as you can glance down at it briefly as necessary.

Voice control is included, though whereas Apple has Siri and Amazon has Alexa, Skoda's version goes by the name Laura. And it's an excellent feature, but we sometimes found it wasn’t perfect in understanding our commands.

Practicality & Boot Space

Getting comfortable is easy in the Kamiq as there’s plenty of space up front, with lots of headroom, and moving the seat and steering wheel to a convenient position is straightforward.

Manual seats are standard throughout the range, though, which is disappointing, as it means electric seats aren't provided even on the top-of-the-range Monte Carlo model we're testing unless you’re willing to pay extra.

The driving position doesn't feel high, which may disappoint those looking for that raised-up SUV perspective, but if you're tall, you'll likely be grateful for this.

That said, even drivers over six feet tall won’t be brushing their heads on the roof, especially as we’ve lost an inch or so in our test car, given it includes a panoramic roof as standard.

The seats are comfortable, helped by the adjustable lumbar support, but that’s only included as standard on SE L Executive and above.

The back is spacious, too, thanks to the Kamiq's longer body than the other models, which use the same underpinnings, meaning legroom is notable. And, despite a slight slope in the roofline, headroom isn't bad either.

Unfortunately, you don't get sliding rear seats, but thanks to the amount of space on offer, you're unlikely to need them.

Despite the airy cabin, fitting three adults side-by-side in the back will be a challenge – this is still a small car, after all.

Forward visibility is good, as Skoda has kept the front pillars as thin as possible. Although it's less successful at the back, rear parking sensors are included on all models, with our Monte Carlo test car getting the added benefit of a rear-view camera.

You’ll also find lots of places to store things inside the cabin, including a decent-sized glove box and reasonably generous door bins.

Pull-out drawers under the front seats can also be added as an option.

Boot space measures 400 litres, increasing to 1,395 litres if you collapse the rear seats.

They only fold in a 60:40 configuration, though, which is less versatile than the 40:20:40 split you'll find in some cars.

A height-adjustable boot floor is available, too, which will get rid of the boot lip, making it much easier to slide heavy, bulky items in and out.

Safety

The Skoda Kamiq was tested in 2019, earning a five-star safety rating from crash-testing specialists Euro NCAP.

It scored 96% for adult occupants, 85% for kids and 76% for safety assists.

The latter includes automatic emergency braking, tyre pressure monitoring, hill hold control and rear parking sensors, lane-keep assist and blind-spot alert as standard. At the same time, SE Drive and above adds front parking sensors and a rear-view camera, plus traffic sign recognition.

Plenty of additional safety features are available as optional extras, including adaptive cruise control and driver fatigue sensors.

The optional Travel Assist Package bundles the adaptive cruise control with Lane Assist Plus and the 10.25-inch digital instrument display for models that don’t feature it as standard.

Travel Assist Package Plus also comes with front assist and park assist, while you can also obtain additional airbags.

Options

In addition to the extra safety kit mentioned, there's no shortage of add-ons you can opt for to customise your leased Skoda Kamiq.

The Simply Clever Package Plus adds a 12-volt socket in the boot, door edge protection, the drawers under the front seats we cited earlier, and a tablet holder for rear-seat passengers, which fits onto the front seat headrest.

The Family Package also includes a double-sided boot floor and fabric seat trim covers.

A space-saving spare wheel, front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats and washer nozzles, plus dual-zone climate control, wireless charger, the SatNav system and the Virtual Cockpit can all be added to models that don’t include them as standard.

Rival Cars

There’s no shortage of competitors for your money.

The SEAT Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross are the alternatives, given they share the Kamiq's underpinnings – plus the Arona features slightly keener handling.

Even more fun is to be had in the excellent Ford Puma, though.

The Renault Captur, Hyundai Kona and Nissan Juke are others well worth considering.

Verdict & Next Steps

The Skoda Kamiq is an understated, modest, likely underrated car with an awful lot going for it.

It ticks so many boxes, offering a spacious, nice interior, practicality in spades and a range of capable, economical engines, in addition to family-friendly looks, with our Monte Carlo trim’s blackened exterior adding some extra spice.

In all honesty, though, we’d recommend a lower trim, as the Monte Carlo edition is more expensive but adds little that you need.

Other grades are well-equipped and offer better value for money, making the top-of-the-range car a tad overpriced, especially if you factor in the 150PS engine, which is overkill against the 95 and 110PS alternatives.

While the Monte Carlo edition is nice to look at, driving enthusiasts won’t be tempted by the Kamiq’s lack of entertaining handling.

But if you want something that’s comfortable, economical, practical and reasonably small yet maximises space, you’re in for a treat.

Where to next?

View latest Skoda Kamiq leasing deals - from just £248.62 per month inc VAT**.

Call us on 0118 3048 688 or hit the green 'Enquire' button for more details.

Looking for a great leasing deal? Check out our incredible range of car lease deals.

New hatchback? Read our latest Car Reviews and find the right model for you.

Want to know more about leasing? Take a look at our comprehensive Leasing Guides.

Interested in everything motoring? Why not catch up on all the latest Car Leasing News.

**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Skoda Kamiq

**Correct as of 20/06/2023. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments or £2,237.58 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.