Here's How A Baby SUV Copes With Demanding CT Life

It’s been a few months and an ongoing pandemic since I last updated you on life with the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Skoda Kamiq longtermer. And the world as we know it changed, which meant driving to and from shoots stopped, and our lives were put on hold.

Since the restrictions on work and travel eased recently, life has been getting more normal, and the Kamiq has already been on multiple shoots doing what it does best; supporting our video production needs.

It’s been instrumental, in fact, in getting us and our equipment to and from our podcast location in the Midlands (links to our podcasts); no mean feat considering we’re three-up, with Alex’s dog Maisy riding shotgun in the boot. And yes, getting our gear in the small Kamiq is a very tight squeeze, but we make it work. Just.

Away from the long motorway trips we’ve embarked on with the Kamiq, it’s a car that I’ve warmed to a lot as a family runabout too. As I mentioned, this is a small SUV, which presents its challenges as a crew car, but as a runabout, its higher riding position makes it easy to drive and park in the city.

What’s more, that 1.0-litre engine might sound like a poor match to a car like this on paper, but the reality is very different; the Kamiq is pokey, has a great DSG gearbox, and is good on fuel. In fact, economy has gone up from 42mpg to 44.5 mpg in recent weeks, which I’m happy with.

There are a few things about the Kamiq that annoy me, however. This includes lane assist - mandatory because of EU regulations - which requires you to indicate every time you want to switch lanes, jerking you back if it thinks you’ve made an error. To me, it seems too sensitive to white lines too, meaning that it often puts me on edge when I’m driving down a country road.

And then there’s the Kamiq’s heating system that frustrates me and infuriates Alex because it’s electronic and not controlled by dials. Instead, you have to press a button to bring climate settings up on a screen, but even when you’ve done that, trying to figure out what’s what always takes time and is very distracting. Also, confusingly, you have to press the ‘off’ button to get the screen back on…

What else? Ah yes, I’ve always found it strange that our car is fitted with rear parking sensors only, but not front ones as standard. For a car with a list price of over £25,000 (including options), I’d have expected these to have been included.

Apart from these things - and a massive screw in the tyre, which was sorted by Skoda within 24 hours - life with the Kamiq is good. Sure, interior space for equipment and a baby buggy is challenging, but as a frugal, easy-to-drive and dependable car, it takes some beating.

I’ll also be taking the Kamiq on a couple of trips later in the summer to Ireland and France respectively, so am looking forward to putting more miles on the Kamiq.

Ethan Smale: Head of Production