- 16 hours ago
Skoda Kodiaq and Kia Sorento go head to head in a family SUV comparison that looks at space, comfort, tech, diesel power, towing, and light off-road ability. Marek compares the second-generation Kodiaq with the facelifted fourth-generation Sorento, both tested as 2024 models, to see which three-row SUV makes the stronger case.
The review covers design, boot space, rear-seat room, cockpits, ride and handling, and basic off-road tests. Both cars use 193 hp diesel engines with all-wheel drive, but the Sorento is larger and more flexible in seating, while the Kodiaq aims to stay more affordable and practical. Real-world boot space, third-row usability, infotainment layout, driver aids, and parking features all play a part in the verdict.
It’s a detailed SUV comparison for anyone cross-shopping a Skoda Kodiaq vs Kia Sorento, especially families looking for a diesel 7-seater, a comfortable road-trip car, or a practical all-wheel-drive crossover. If you’re searching for family SUV reviews, three-row SUV comparison, boot space tests, towing capacity, or real-world car reviews, this one is packed with useful buying advice and everyday usability insights.
The review covers design, boot space, rear-seat room, cockpits, ride and handling, and basic off-road tests. Both cars use 193 hp diesel engines with all-wheel drive, but the Sorento is larger and more flexible in seating, while the Kodiaq aims to stay more affordable and practical. Real-world boot space, third-row usability, infotainment layout, driver aids, and parking features all play a part in the verdict.
It’s a detailed SUV comparison for anyone cross-shopping a Skoda Kodiaq vs Kia Sorento, especially families looking for a diesel 7-seater, a comfortable road-trip car, or a practical all-wheel-drive crossover. If you’re searching for family SUV reviews, three-row SUV comparison, boot space tests, towing capacity, or real-world car reviews, this one is packed with useful buying advice and everyday usability insights.
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00this is the second generation skoda kodiak and the facelifted fourth generation kia sorento
00:05both are 2024 models or 2025 if you're american which one of these family suvs is better you'll
00:11find reviews of both of these cars on my channel links in the video description if you're new here
00:16subscribe and press the bell icon to get notifications about new reviews and comparisons
00:22also channel members get to watch episodes weeks and sometimes even months before everyone else
00:27and without ads and now let's get on with the comparison
00:44i'll be looking at design boot space rear seats cockpits power trains ride and handling as well
00:51as some very basic offer abilities both of these suvs are powered by 193 horsepower diesel
00:57engines and both have all-wheel drives which is not a given these days let's crack on shall we
01:03the skoda kodiak is 476 centimeters long and is around six and a half centimeters shorter than the
01:09kia sorento the kia is also four centimeters wider and two centimeters higher and also has two centimeters
01:16longer wheelbase most of kia's length advantage is in the rear overhang which may be important when
01:21considering a three row version and its boot space in my opinion the kodiaq was never a beautiful car the
01:29second generation has been given some bling but i still find the proportions somewhat awkward on the
01:35other hand the fourth generation sorento was good looking from the start and the facelift made it even
01:39more interesting and eye-pleasing especially from the front but i guess beauty is in the eye of the
01:45beholder which one of these suvs is your cup of tea visually both cars can be had as seven seaters
01:53the
01:53test unit i got from skoda here is without the extra two seats but the sorento does have a third
01:59row
01:59which is standard at least here in poland now skoda as well as kia are very optimistic when it comes
02:06to
02:06clean boot space no neither the kodiaq which you'll drive out of the showroom doesn't have 910 liters
02:12boot volume nor the sorento has 813 liters in both cases you're realistically looking at around 600
02:19liters behind the second row of seats more about that in my respective reviews of these models links
02:24in the description and now let's talk dimensions this test kodiaq is a five seater the boot has around
02:31100 centimeters depth plus 20 centimeters with the second row pushed all the way forward
02:36the width between the wheel arches is 100 centimeters height to the cargo cover is around 50 centimeters
02:42above the floor and around 55 centimeters with the floor dropped under the false floor is a mini spare
03:04so this sorento has the optional in some markets third row of seats the boot depth is around 110 centimeters
03:13up to around 125 centimeters with the second row pushed forward there's around 110 centimeters between
03:20the wheel arches the height is about 50 centimeters to the cargo cover there's a small storage compartment
03:26next to the sill where the cargo cover will fit the spare wheel is mounted under the car
03:34as expected the skoda kodiaq offers a lot of space in the back i'm 175 centimeters tall and the driver's
03:42seat
03:42is set to my driving position and look at that i have 27 centimeters leg room with the seats pushed
03:54all the way back and eight centimeters with the seats pushed forward also i have around 15 centimeters head
04:01the backrest angle is adjustable backrest splits 40 20 40 while the seat splits 40 60 isofix anchor points
04:10are on the side seats as well as on the front passenger seat there's third zone climate control
04:17two usbc ports a 12 volt outlet heated side seats pockets in the front seat backs door pockets
04:28and cup holders in the armrest
04:34depending on the market the sorento may be offered as a five six or seven seater six seats like here
04:40mean
04:41two captain's chairs in the second row they are comfortable they slide and either fold flat or
04:46fold partially for access to the third row i have 23 centimeters leg room with the seats pushed back
04:54and around 10 centimeters with the seats pushed forward and i have six seven centimeters headroom
05:01there are air vents usbc ports you can control the front passenger seat from the rear for more leg room
05:09there are window shades the door pockets are tight but there are cup holders on side armrests
05:16next to the seat heater buttons you can also access the third row between the captain seats and in my
05:22opinion that's the main advantage of this interior configuration so you can have older kids climb in
05:28the back and you don't have to touch the child seats mounted in the second row ice fix anchor points
05:35are
05:35in the second and third row but not on the front passenger seat
05:41the second generation skoda kodiak press car is a five seater so i'll paste a segment from my last gen
05:47kodiak review
05:48i don't expect significant changes in the space because the old and the new kodiak are basically the same size
05:55now as for the third row this is no peugeot 5008 which has hard to clean floor but otherwise probably
06:03has the best
06:04third row space in this price and size range sure there is more space in the toyota highlander but
06:11the price is also quite high on the left there is a cup holder and on the right there is
06:17a cubby not
06:18much else is happening here this is more or less as tight and as unpleasant as the land rover discovery
06:24sport or the vw tiguan all space the third row in case of these cars is for emergency solution only
06:30and
06:30only for the kids you really don't like no changes in the third row kids will be fine adults less
06:36so i'm 175 centimeters tall and i have just enough headroom legroom is fine but my thighs are up in
06:44the air
06:44third row passengers get their own climate control zone they have usbc ports a place for a phone and some
06:53cup holders which are too far back so you keep hitting your drinks with your elbow
06:59the new kodiak cockpit is based around two screens now but there are also some physical
07:05knobs and buttons for the ac since there is no manual gearbox option the gear selector is now behind
07:12the steering wheel like in the enya the infotainment system didn't crash during the test and that's a
07:17plus something else crashed more about that later you can download an app and set up driver profiles but
07:23you don't have to basic seat settings can be stored and accessed at a push of a button
07:30like it should be i discussed the multi-function ac knobs etc in greater detail in my full review of
07:37the
07:38kodiak otherwise the cockpit hasn't changed much since the previous generation skoda just used more
07:43interesting materials of course everything is recycled so that the planet doesn't feel bad about you leasing
07:48a new car every couple of years instead of driving one for 10 to 15 years while it's still good
07:54the
07:56door pockets are large but the cup holders are quite small extra points for a double 15 watt wireless phone
08:02charger with ventilation effective enough so that the phone just gets warm but not hot the face lifted
08:10sorento has a transitional cockpit layout as i like to call it hyundai and kia are already moving away from
08:16the solution that debuted back in the ionic 5 and ev6 models where in addition to a dual display on
08:22top
08:22of the dash there is also a dual function panel down here for either air conditioning or multimedia
08:28the new hyundai santa fe kia ev9 and ev3 already have solved it differently but in the sorento we have
08:35this rather unfortunate mess which was intended to clean up the dash but resulted in a situation where
08:41in order to adjust the media or air conditioning you still have to take your eyes off the road
08:48drivers can save their settings in profiles which can be activated with a fingerprint i can't
08:53demonstrate how it works because we need both keys to save a profile heating and seat ventilation didn't
08:59fit neither on the display nor on the panel so it remains in the form of toggles next to the
09:04cubby with
09:05usbc ports and a wireless charger the latter has rather low output and at most maintains the charge
09:13level also it heats up the phone a lot there doesn't seem to be sufficient ventilation if any
09:20the gear selector is still a dial on the tunnel kia has added a vibration when you engage reverse
09:25it's a good solution when for example you're performing a three-point turn and watching the road
09:30not the gears next to the gear selector are buttons to turn on the steering wheel heating and cameras
09:36as well as cup holders storage under the armrest is good size while the glove box is on the small
09:43side
09:44and the door pockets are still quite tight
09:53the kodiak is offered with petrol and diesel engines front wheel drive or all-wheel drive
09:59there is also a ph ev with front wheel drive and claimed electric range over 100 kilometers it also
10:06gets up to 50 kilowatts dc charging the car i'm reviewing is a two liter diesel which uses around
10:11seven liters per 100 kilometers combined that's about a liter more than skoda claims there are no longer
10:18drive modes it seems just a sport mode or setting for the gearbox and sport for esp the two combined
10:27unlock
10:27launch control which allows the car to achieve the claimed zero to 100 kilometers per hour of 7.8 seconds
10:35the diesel can tow up to 2.3 tons
10:42in my opinion the kodiak has too harsh a ride and the optional 20 inch wheels don't do it any
10:48favors
10:49otherwise it drives and handles like a family suv it's a bit vanilla i get the impression the sound
10:56proofing has been improved since the previous gen and that's even without the optional front side acoustic
11:01windows most driver aids are obligatory these days the simplest way to disable isa is a couple of
11:07clicks on the steering wheel the same for the overzealous lane keeping assist other aids
11:13stopped working everything crashed watch my review of the skoda kodiak i'll tell you more about it
11:19skoda offers several parking aids actually it currently offers two and the third one will soon be added
11:25the third is remote parking using the app the car will be able to park itself in a chosen spot
11:31parallel
11:32or perpendicular the driver with the phone has to be outside within four meters of the vehicle
11:38and then there's the standard automatic parking with the driver inside and so-called train parking
11:44where you save the location of your parking spot along with the maneuvers needed to park in it and here
11:49i encountered the same problem as in the volkswagen id5 the car wouldn't go up the tiniest of inclines on
11:56my driveway
12:15this sorrento test unit is a 2.2 liter diesel 193 horsepower there is also a 1.6 liter petrol
12:24hybrid
12:25and a ph ev however the ph ev has a much smaller traction battery than the skoda so the declared
12:30range is only around 60 kilometers claimed 0 to 100 kilometers per hour time is 9.7 seconds and i
12:38got
12:389.4 but only in normal mode because in sport mode i got 9.6 fuel consumption is in the
12:46high sixes combined
12:49that's achievable and the sorrento diesel all-wheel drive can tow up to two and a half tons
13:00the sorrento is well soundproofed the suspension is on the one side more comfortable than in the kodiak
13:05but on the other hand it feels a bit busy on more complicated imperfections in the road
13:10i like what kia has done with the sport mode if my memory serves me right in the hybrid sorrento
13:16sport
13:17mode did nothing in the diesel it makes the steering feel noticeably heavier the gearbox stays in lower
13:23gears and the all-wheel drive seems to be more proactive isa is dealt with by long pressing the mute
13:30button on the steering wheel driver aids are okay i like that many of the systems can be adjusted to
13:36be
13:36more or less aggressive i only wish there was an easy way to turn down or off the lane keeping
13:42assist
13:43i like the blind spot view monitor view from cameras under the wing mirrors is displayed on
13:49the driver's screen when you use indicators so you can be sure there is nothing in your blind spot very
13:54useful there is also a park assist feature we've seen in other hyundai kia models over the years
13:59if you're in a tight parking spot or need to drive into a tight garage you can use remote control
14:05to get
14:06out and into that spot just long press a button on your remote and once the engine is on press
14:12forward
14:12or back you need to remain close to the vehicle after you finish the maneuver you can get into the
14:17car
14:17without turning the engine off
14:39and now my diagonal approach test i stop halfway with the wheels on the diagonal with limited traction
14:44and then i try to get moving again the kodiak has no off-road modes so the first approach is
14:51with esp on
14:54and the second with esp off
14:58clearly it's not a car for tough conditions but it managed okay-ish on dry grass
15:03not sure how it would cope in the wet though
15:07the sorento has several off-road modes the first attempt is in normal mode
15:14the second attempt is in snow mode
15:21the third attempt is in mud mode
15:26the fourth attempt is in sand mode
15:31and just for shits and giggles normal mode with esp off
15:37prices of the second generation skoda kodiak start at 41 990 euro for the front wheel drive mild hybrid
15:44in selection trim this all-wheel drive diesel in selection trim with options costs 61 500 euro
15:51in order to make it comparable with the sorento we'd have to add a panoramic roof and the third row
15:57of seats for two and a half thousand euro which brings the total to 64 000. meanwhile prices of
16:04the refreshed kia sorento start at 53 190 euro for the front wheel drive diesel this test car is the
16:11top spec all-wheel drive diesel with options it costs 68 000 450 euro
16:20while i'm not a fan of skoda kodiak's design i don't think the kia sorento is four and a half
16:25thousand
16:26euro better so unless i was planning frequent soft roading or green laning i'd pick the kodiak
16:33and how about you do you like the skoda kodiak or the kia sorento and why let me know in
16:38the comment
16:38section below
16:42if you like my sarcastic down-to-earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews
16:46join me every friday at 3 p.m central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this video
16:53as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next one
17:01so
17:02you