A detailed little SUV with some clever storage features
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The 2021 Skoda Kamiq is a small five-seater SUV, filled with the usual Swiss army knife of Skoda gadgets! Let's find out how it gets on with our BabyDrive testing…
I'll start with all the gadgets and they're mostly in the boot! Firstly you can turn over the boot floor carpet and it has rubber on the other side. I would probably leave it on this side permanently for putting prams in and out of the boot or transporting dogs, kids sports gear, scooters and bikes etc.
Then there are the cargo nets! There are four cargo nets in the boot of the 2021 Skoda Kamiq, which I found really useful during our week with the car for separating kids gear, wet stuff in one, umbrella in another, ball in another etc.
There are storage wells behind the wheel arches on either side as well as bags hooks and a torch on the left-hand side of the boot. But my FAVOURITE clever Skoda Kamiq boot feature is the top tether anchorage covers that double as luggage hooks! So when you are not using one or more of the top tether anchorages then there is a luggage hook!
The 2021 Skoda Kamiq's boot is a fair size for a little SUV, holding ten shopping bags when empty, the same as the Citroen C3 Aircross and Nissan Juke however it's two more than the VW T-Cross. I found that because the boot floor of the VW T-Cross drops down it is actually a little more practical for a family car as prams and strollers fitted without removing the parcel shelf, whereas in the Kamiq I found you would have to remove the parcel shelf to fit a double pram.
There are more clever Skoda gadgets in the rest of the car. Like the ice scraper in the fuel cover, this is not something the majority of Australians will ever need for their car but I come from the UK where you definitely keep an ice scraper in your vehicle!
There are slots in the back seats to hold the seatbelts from flapping around if you have the window open and because they keep the metal part of the seatbelt out of the sun, it stops them from getting burningly hot in the Australian climate too.
There is also the sneaky umbrella in the driver's door which is another Skoda classic.
What I don't understand is how Skoda can get all of that so right and not the cup holders?! The only cup holders are in the central console and they aren't the right size to hold any vessel I tried, except a disposable coffee cup, which is a real shame.
The rest of the storage throughout the Kamiq is more practical with a good size glove box and glasses case in the ceiling as well as door bins that will hold large refillable water bottles.
In the back of the 2021 Skoda Kamiq are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tether anchorages for all three rear seats. You can fit two child seats in the back nicely. We found there is space for a 182cm adult to sit in front of a rear-facing child seat on the passenger side and a 182cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat.
There is a third top tether anchorage for the centre seat so you do have flexibility if you want to position a seat in the central position but we couldn't fit a third child seat or person between the two child seats, so the Kamiq would suit a family of four for everyday trips.
We found it a great little car to drive with our family for the everyday school and daycare runs around town and its tight turning circle helps with shopping centre and school car parks. It feels sturdy on the motorway at speed too and doesn't feel like a small car to drive. It is nippy once it's going but there is a couple of seconds' lag when you first accelerate, which you do have to allow for when pulling out of a roundabout or junction.
Skoda have gone to quite a bit of effort with the interior of the Kamiq, with contrast stitching in the seating and contrast light grey suede panelling (although this did make me a little nervous with my kiddies!)
There is a nice design detail in the front lights with a smashed glass effect so a little more thought has gone into the outside too.
The media system in the 2021 Skoda Kamiq is quite simple and easy to use and it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
I particularly like the settings page for turning on and off the drive-assist features of the car, the visual made it really easy to use.
The 2021 Skoda Kamiq has air-con vents in the back which are great for keeping the rear passengers big and small cool in the Australian climate. However, the aircon fan speed isn't that easy to control as it's all done through the media screen with a two-touch process that makes adjusting it while driving difficult.
The camera image quality is a little milky but, you do get the full-screen view as well as a bird's-eye-view showing obstacles the parking sensors have picked up. You can also turn the parking sensors off with a button on the screen.
The 2021 Skoda Kamiq has a five star ANCAP safety rating and six airbags: Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags for both rows of seats are standard.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the 2021 Skoda Kamiq?
The boot in the Skoda Kamiq is a good size for a small SUV, holding ten shopping bags from empty. This is the same as the Citroen C3 Aircross and Nissan Juke and two more than the VW T-Cross.
The twin stroller fits into the boot of the Skoda Kamiq with two shopping bags but you need to remove the parcel shelf as it has to be stood on its side.
The tandem stroller fits into the boot of the Skoda Kamiq with two shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as my daughter's lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The single stroller fits into the boot of the Skoda Kamiq with two shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits into the boot of the Skoda Kamiq with four shopping bags beside it.
The boot floor has a mat you can flip over so one side is carpet and the other side is rubber, which is great for protecting the surface when transporting kids bikes and prams etc.
This is also great for transporting dogs, we found you can fit a medium-size dog in the boot of the Skoda Kamiq.
How good is storage inside the 2021 Skoda Kamiq?
The storage inside the Skoda Kamiq is minimal in the back with just map pockets on the back of the front seats…
…and door bins that are only just big enough to hold a refillable water bottle.
In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console, however, they are not a good size to hold water bottles or reusable coffee cups. We found the only vessel that will fit securely is a disposable coffee cup.
There is a 12v socket behind it too and the central console box, which is very small and not lined so anything in there can rattle and  scrape about while you drive along.
In front of the gear lever is the wireless phone charging tray and there are two USB-C sockets there. If your phone charger uses regular USB then you have to get an adaptor.
The glove box would hold my wallet and the iPad with the manual.
There is a sunglasses case in the ceiling with rubber grip lining so it doesn't scratch your lenses.
The door bins in the front are a good size and will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad fits too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the 2021 Skoda Kamiq?
The media system in the Skoda Kamiq has a modern and easy to navigate interface.
It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too which is great.
Within the media system, you can adjust the driver-assist settings on this great screen. I found it much easier to use than the usual list system.
On the downside, the aircon fan speed is only adjustable through a two-touch process using the media screen, which I found inconvenient and tricky to use when driving.
The reversing camera image quality is a little milky but it fills the whole screen, you can turn the parking sensor sound on and off on the bottom left of the screen.
The cruise control in the Skoda Kamiq is quite accurate, the controls are situated on a stalk behind the steering wheel, and I found after a few journeys I was used to them and they became second nature to adjust.
The Skoda Kamiq is an easy feeling car to drive, it can be quite nippy once you are going but I did notice delay when you accelerate from a standstill at junctions that you need to compensate for in your driving.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The indicator volume wasn't baby-waking in the Skoda Kamiq.
The auto engine cut-out can be easily turned off with a button down in the central console.
The windows and doors of the Skoda Kamiq close quietly, so they are not baby waking.
With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!Â
There is a window lock button on the driver's door control panel and individual child locks in the rear doors.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2021 Skoda Kamiq?
Two child seats fit in the back of the Skoda Kamiq.
There wasn't room for me to sit between them but I wasn't really expecting it in a small SUV of this size.
There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats within plastic guides and easy to connect to.
There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three seatbacks, they are clearly labelled and easy to connect to and reach through the boot. You can use them as luggage hooks when you are not using them as top tether anchorages because they have clever covers for them.
Legroom in the Skoda Kamiq is doable for a family of four. We found that putting the rear-facing child seat on the passenger side meant we could fit a 182cm passenger in front, as well as a 182cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat. If you need two rear-facing seats at the same time, the driver would have to be of average height (about 173cm) or less!
We found it fine to pop bub into their child seat from outside the car and could lift them into their child seat from inside too.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2021 Skoda Kamiq? And How good is the 2021 Skoda Kamiq to drive?
The front seats of the Skoda Kamiq are lovely and comfortable. The interior feels a little more cosmetically pleasing and of higher quality than those of the VW T-Roc and T-Cross that are otherwise very similar to this Skoda. With contrast suede panelling, contrast stitching and how the plastic surfaces feel to touch.
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are extremely comfortable too, there is no fold down armrest in the central seat back so there is no hard backrest in the central seat. Legroom is pretty good in the back, there is a hump in the central footwell that you have to straddle.
For the first year of our daughter’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with our baby so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
Across the front dashboard, there are four air conditioning vents, two in the centre below the media screen and one at each end of the dashboard.
There are some controls for the aircon temperature on the central dash, below the media screen.
However, the fan speed controls are within the media screen and I found them difficult to use quickly while driving and would have preferred them to be proper dials and buttons on the dash.
In the second row, there are air-conditioning vents in the back of the central console box, which the driver can reach whilst driving. There are also two USB-C ports in there too.
Visibility is good in the Skoda Kamiq is good when maneuvering or parking, being a little SUV you know where all the edges of the vehicle are. However, when loaded up with child seats and front passengers visibility down the sides when reversing is affected so the side mirrors and camera are needed.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Skoda Kamiq, was pretty easy to park.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the 2021 Skoda Kamiq?
The Skoda Kamiq scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating and has six airbags as standard. There are frontal airbags for driver and front passenger and side chest airbags for the front passengers and head curtain airbags for the first and second-row outboard passengers.
In testing the Kamiq was rated 87% for child occupancy protection (42.98 points out of 49), 96% for adult occupancy protection (36.7 out of 38), 76% for safety assist technology and 80% for vulnerable road user protection.
In adult occupancy testing, the Skoda Kamiq scored 7.17Â out of 8Â for the frontal offset test and 7.89 out of 8 for the full-width frontal, 8/8 for the side impact test and 8/8 for the pole test.
In the frontal offset test, dummy readings indicated MARGINAL and ADEQUATE protection of the neck of the 10 year and 6 year dummy respectively. Otherwise, protection of both dummies was GOOD.
Protection of both child dummies in the side impact test was GOOD with maximum points scored.
The Skoda Kamiq is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages and top tether anchorages for the rear outboard seats.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed that all of the selected child restraints could be accommodated in all rear seating positions and full points were scored for this assessment.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!
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