Styling
There's something about Skoda's design work that suits the bigger, longer, more elegant forms of its larger model lines. That's not to say the Kamiq is bad-looking, and it's also obviously a Skoda, even if you're viewing it from a distance in excess of 50 yards. But the corporate aesthetic is less striking on the smaller vehicles such as this 4,241mm-long Kamiq, so we never feel quite as enamoured with it as we do with the grander SUV lines. And the 2024 facelift was so vanishingly small that it's almost impossible to spot what Skoda even changed (for reference, it was astoundingly modest airbrushing of the radiator grille, the front bumper/lower airdam and the rear diffuser). That said, it can look quite purposeful in some of the higher trims, like Monte Carlo, and there are some nice body colours for it as well, only two of which (Velvet Red or Phoenix Orange metallics) cost any extra money at £410.
Interior
Everything feels very well-made inside the Skoda Kamiq, while it's an ergonomic success because - as one of the company's compact models - it hasn't yet gone all-in on touchscreen interfaces. There is, of course, a 9.2-inch infotainment display running the main infotainment and also a 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster in a mid-grade SE L like our test car, but these work really slickly and the inclusion of a separate, physical panel of climate controls only further helps matters.
Despite the tech, it's not particularly flashy in here, and the Kamiq as a diminutive crossover is one of those machines where we struggle to discern the 'semi-command' driving position you're supposed to get from one of these vehicles. In other words, what we're trying to say is that it feels very car-like from behind the wheel, rather than SUV-esque, but in general the interior quickly proves itself a hit once you've sat yourself within the Skoda, even if it's not the most memorable cabin in the world.
Practicality
It might not be one of the roomier Skoda models within but compared to its equivalent rivals from other manufacturers, the Kamiq maximises its interior volumes as well as it possibly can, making it one of the more practical cars in this class. Rear-seat space is adequate rather than amazing, but then you could say that about a lot of the rivals in this sector, while some - such as any of the Stellantis products on the smaller platform, like the
Alfa Romeo Junior - are actively cramped in the back, so the Skoda has the definitive edge on them nonetheless. A smattering of useful 'Simply Clever' features inherent to this Czech manufacturer are dotted about the passenger compartment, as are some sizeable storage pockets too, and then there's a capacious 400-litre boot to seal the deal for the Kamiq's positive practicality report.
Performance
Skoda has dropped the diesel models of the Kamiq in the UK and focused on the petrol powertrains, which are formed by two 1.0-litre 'triples' with either 95- or 116hp (the latter representing a 6hp increase from the pre-facelift version), and then this 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo unit with 150hp and a chunky 250Nm of torque to go with it.
All facelifted Kamiqs remain front-wheel drive, while gearboxes amount to a choice of five- or six-speed manuals, with a seven-speed DSG auto as an option on the two higher-power units. And this TSI 1.5 can run on two cylinders from time-to-time to save fuel, which is about as close to eco-motoring as the entire range gets. There aren't any mild hybrids in this Skoda family as yet, never mind full hybrids or plug-ins.
The 1.5-litre engine, however, is perfectly sweet. It gets a touch coarse at higher revs, as many of the Volkswagen Group cars running 1.5s seem to do these days, but it offers a surprising level of punch that's only vaguely hinted at by the 8.3-second 0-62mph time of the Kamiq 1.5 TSI. It's no road rocket, naturally, but it moves with a good degree more alacrity than the 1.0-litre alternatives in the range. Also, there's a real sense of satisfaction to driving such a 'pure' trad drivetrain as this: zesty, small-capacity engine with a decent slug of torque, trim overall vehicle mass and a proper, H-pattern manual shifter. So even though this powertrain is installed in a crossover, not the most auspicious of surroundings dynamically, there's always some driver interaction required to rowing the Kamiq 1.5 along at a fair old lick.
And when you don't do that, it's reasonably economical. We didn't drive it with any great level of fuel-saving care during our 236-mile test week with the Skoda, and yet it achieved a commendable overall average consumption level of 45mpg. It managed to do that distance on less than half-a-tank of petrol (indicated), as well, so there's a good amount of range to the four-cylinder Kamiq, and with the added muscle its extra power gives to the performance then it seems a worthwhile upgrade from the 116hp 1.0-litre; you don't lose much in terms of economy for the gains made in speed and useful day-to-day flexibility.
Ride & Handling
The Kamiq is a very safe, very composed car to drive. And therefore it's somewhat anodyne, bordering on the dull. This isn't exactly a surprise - few B-segment crossovers, save for some of the madder performance derivatives, ever are that thrilling or memorable from behind the wheel, because the target audience for these vehicles is not made up of hardcore track-day enthusiasts. So despite the fact the 1.5 TSI is the 'flagship' of the Kamiq family, it is not some kind of undiscovered warm hatch in disguise, or even operating a vRS-lite level of handling ability. Indeed, as an indication of just how kinematically conservative it is, there isn't even a Sportline trim in the Kamiq family, the 'raciest' model being the Monte Carlo... which only comes with the 116hp 1.0-litre engine anyway.
Therefore, while the Skoda is admirably light at less than 1.3 tonnes in this specification, and its compact wheelbase aids agility, to suggest there's any fun to be wrung out of throwing it down a twisting road would be stretching the realms of credibility to the limit. It's clean and grippy, needing a healthy dose of driving like a buffoon to get meaningful understeer to appear, but all of its major controls, such as the steering, are geared for lightness and ease-of-use.
Like we said above, this lack of chassis sparkle is not exactly a fatal flaw of the Kamiq; in the main, no B-segment crossover is in the least bit exciting to drive. Well, apart from some notable exceptions, that is, like the old
manual Ford Puma ST and the sadly short-lived yet bonkers-brilliant
Hyundai Kona N from the ICE era, and moving into the EV age some efforts which
are a hoot to drive and then others which are
markedly less successful. But what we'd therefore like from the Kamiq, by means of compensation for the understandably inert underpinnings it sits on, is more of the polished rolling refinement and ride comfort that blesses Skoda's bigger models. In this car, it's not quite there.
That'll be a corollary of the Kamiq's pleasingly affordable nature (see section below), but there's always a little more tyre roar in the Skoda and a little more jiggle to its suspension as it deals with surface imperfections in the road than is strictly necessary. It is, you understand, a long, long way from ever being uncomfortable or outrageously noisy, but you can tell with the Kamiq that the noise-suppressing materials crammed into the hidden parts of its structure are either not of the high standard of some other Skodas' wadding, or maybe there's simply not as much of the stuff in the first place. And the spring and shock absorber rates are not as supple as they possibly could be. Either way, it doesn't just mean the Kamiq is a bit rowdier and less plushly suspended than other, more expensive Skoda models - it also means it's not the best-riding nor quietest car in this B-segment class. It's fine, but it's not exceptional.
Value
As the 'odd' one out of the Skoda SUV portfolio right now - there's no electric analogue for the Kamiq, yet, whereas the
Karoq has the
Elroq and the
Kodiaq is balanced by the
Enyaq (admittedly, the latter doesn't have seven seats, but still) - this is clearly the cheapest way into something that's supposedly higher-riding in the Czech company's showrooms.
Our test car was a great example of the Kamiq's value-for-money quotient, because as one of the highest-spec combinations you can get (the 1.5 engine and SE L trim) it still came in at considerably less than 30 grand. And for the £28,270 outlay, that includes the heavily digitised dashboard including wireless smartphone mirroring for the infotainment, 18-inch 'Fornax' alloy wheels, an eight-speaker sound system, dual-zone climate, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, LED exterior lights with direction-sweep dynamic indicators, heated front seats, keyless entry and go, four high-speed USB-C charging points in the cabin, loads of advanced driver assist safety gear... oh, and an umbrella in the car's door.
Verdict
The 1.5-litre TSI seems to make the most sense in the updated Skoda Kamiq's range, because it brings a welcome extra dose of on-road performance without being too much of a price walk from the lesser 1.0-litre models, and it doesn't sacrifice all sensibilities of fuel economy in the process. The Kamiq is also one of the better B-segment crossovers, even if the midlife update hasn't really changed a lot about it.
But while we accept not every Skoda product can be as expensively developed and highly proficient as each other, the Kamiq still feels like one of the company's less-impressive vehicles in relation to its direct competition. It's neither sharp to drive nor the most refined thing in its sector, and its design is also a little staid outside and in. However, at the end of the day, it's a Skoda and so if this is the kind of vehicle you specifically need, the Kamiq 1.5 TSI would slot into your life effortlessly and without drama. It is simple and effective A-to-B motoring, and sometimes - when it's as good value and amenable as this - there's nothing wrong with that.
