Skoda Kamiq

The cabin of the Skoda Kamiq is the same in both of its variants, which feature different upholsteries – all-black fabric upholstery in the Ambition variant and dual-tone black and beige leather upholstery in the Style variant. Here also, the Kamiq shares a lot of components and design elements with the rest of the Skoda offerings.

Take for instance, the driver’s cockpit of the Skoda Kamiq, which like other Skoda offerings, also gets a two-spoke multi-functional steering wheel with piano black and satin silver inserts and a full-TFT instrument console behind it. The middle layer of the dashboard has trapezoidal AC vents on the corners, while the centre console here has a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with trapezoidal AC vents below it. The lower centre console has a dedicated panel for the switches of dual-zone automatic climate control.

The cabin of the Skoda Kamiq is decently equipped with essentials for an SUV or crossover of this price, such as push start-stop button, powered driver’s seat, cruise control, rear AC vents and tilt and telescopic adjustability for the steering wheel. However, for a vehicle of its price, we expect a lot more features in the Kamiq, considering that even the smaller Kushaq gets a couple of more features over the Kamiq.

Designed on the lines of other Skoda offerings, the Skoda Kamiq boasts of a typical European tautness, consisting of sharp and angular-looking elements and creases all around. It shares a lot of design cues with other Skoda SUVs, and while it is not a proper SUV, the heightened stance and rugged design elements make it look like one, though by a minor margin.

At the front, the Skoda Kamiq gets a trapezoidal grille, with tapered upper edges, chrome surrounds and vertical black slats. The upper edges of the grille come attached with slim rectangular daytime running LED strips, which also serve as dynamic turn indicators. The trapezoidal quartz cut headlamps are all LED units, and are detached from the LED DRLs, while placed below them. The air dam in the front bumper is stretched from end to end, featuring a mesh hexagonal design in the centre and faux layouts on the sides. At the bottom of the front bumper, there is a long satin silver skid plate.

The side profile of the Skoda Kamiq looks as crisp and sharp as the other Skoda SUVs, with angular window frames and a sharp crease which flows from the edge of the daytime running LED strip and tail lamp. While the upper and lower window frame lines get a chrome finish, the Skoda Kamiq also gets satin silver roof rails and side skirts. The Kamiq gets 16-inch Castor alloy wheels too.

The rear profile of the Skoda Kamiq gets quartz-cut inverted L-shaped combination LED tail lamps, with fog lamp strips placed below them. The raked rear windscreen gets black aero spoilers on the sides and a roof spoiler with an integrated brake light in the middle. While the boot lid of the Kamiq gets a couple of sharp creases through its width, the rear bumper has a thick-looking silver skid plate spread across its lower part.

Skoda offerings have a reputation for offering a balanced ride and handling prowess, with it having both sharp handling and supple ride quality, with its suspension combination having Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. The Skoda Kamiq is being offered with a front-wheel drive layout as standard for both powertrain options.

There are two powertrain options offered in the lineup of Skoda Kamiq in the UAE. The first is a traditional 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, which produces 110 PS power and 155 Nm torque. The Kamiq claims a top speed of 193 kmph and a fuel efficiency of 17.8 kmpl. Meanwhile, the smaller 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine claims 110 PS of power and 178 Nm of torque, while claiming 193 kmph of top speed and 21.3 kmpl of fuel efficiency. Both these engines are available with a 6-speed automatic transmission and 5-speed manual gearbox options.

The safety features list of the Skoda Kamiq comprises nine airbags, travel assist, side assist, crew protect assist, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, front and rear parking sensors, front assist, ABS with EBD and brake assist, collision detection, hill assist and reverse camera.

The Skoda Kamiq might not be a true-blue SUV but tries to create an impression of being one with its rugged stance coupled with sharp lines all around, along with loveable performance, ride quality and handling.