‘Over Hill and Dale’ to the First Lesson

Homework done? Sandwiches made? PE kit packed? Those are the routine questions that most parents ask before their children go to school each day. However, the Jones family from Wales have a few more, such as, is the chainsaw in the boot? A job for the KODIAQ.

2. 12. 2016 Models

Astudy carried out by ŠKODA in the United Kingdom found that British parents spend nine weeks of their lives driving their offspring to school and picking them up again. For a third of parents, this routine is also the most stressful part of their day. For the majority, heavy traffic is the main source of annoyance. But in remote regions like the Scottish Highlands, it is primarily due to problems with wind, weather and livestock. In order to test the new KODIAQ in such conditions, ŠKODA has searched for – and found – the ‘UK’s most extreme school run’.

William and Sarah Jones live with their children in Pontrhydfendigaid in the Welsh county of Ceredigion. Their farm is situated in the middle of hilly, lush green countryside which is crossed by bubbling streams and dotted with gnarled trees and substantial boulders. Their land even features a waterfall.

But the rural idyll often has some unpleasant surprises in store, “When we wake up in the morning, we don’t know what obstacles are waiting for us on the school run this time,” said Sarah. Delays ranging from ten minutes to two hours are therefore not uncommon and the variety of reasons is unrivalled: from delays due to sheep crossing and icy lanes right through to floods or storm damage, everything is possible.

This is precisely why a chainsaw forms part of the standard equipment in William’s boot. Having to clear the road of fallen tree trunks is not unusual for him. However, sometimes even that doesn’t help, “Once a broken-down lorry blocked the road for two whole days,” he recalled.

“But to us these daily surprises account for the charm that is associated with life out here,” said Sarah. As a result, the family’s horse Willow sometimes proves to be the safest option for the school run. “An all-wheel-drive vehicle would however make life considerably easier for us.”

This is why the Joneses were given the opportunity to put the new KODIAQ to the acid test. And so ŠKODA’s first large SUV eventually came to face this unusual challenge – having completed more than a million test kilometres in many of the world’s inhospitable regions. And Pontrhydfendigaid gave the seven-seater a fitting welcome – with wind and rain.

This meant that the family was immediately able to test every single function: William drove the KODIAQ over slippery, stony ground, crossed water and mud and overcame the many hills on the terrain with the greatest of ease.

“That would make it easy for us to take our children’s friends back to the farm.” Dad William was also enthusiastic, “That was a fantastic test drive. I can see myself taking on the school run more often with the KODIAQ.”