Skoda is continuously trying to come up with clever ideas and useful tools and technology to enhance your driving experience and make life simpler.
Today we’ll reveal some of the more useful and lesser known or perhaps underappreciated features you may find in your Skoda.
Simply Clever solutions
With a cleverly concealed umbrella in the door or under the seat, you’ll never have to worry about getting stuck on a rainy day without an umbrella. Because the umbrella has its own special compartment there’s no chance of losing it and you always know exactly where it is. Some Skoda models have not one, but two umbrellas (usually one in each the drivers and front passenger door). So next time you get a quick look in the door or under the seat and see if you have a nice little pop-up surprise.
Talking about Simply Clever tools, we can’t forget the classic ice scraper that’s tucked neatly in the door of the fuel filler cap. It also has a handy tyre tread depth indicator so you don’t have to go digging for coins. And an ice scraper is one of those things that you never have on hand when you need it most.
Take a look in the bottom of the cup holders in the centre console and see if there are little rubber mounds or nodules. These are designed to grip the bottle and help you unscrew bottle caps with just one hand (so you have at least one hand in control of the steering wheel). It provides a safe and easy method for opening bottles for the solo driver that’s always on the go.
KESSY makes it so easy
Remember when key remotes came on the market and made things so much easier. You could lock and unlock your car from afar and with just a press of a button. It has been around for a little while, but if you haven’t had the opportunity to use it, the KESSY (Keyless Entry, Start and exit SYstem) takes that convenience to a whole other level. With it you can lock and unlock the doors, start and stop the engine all without even touching your key.
The door automatically unlocks as when you grip the door handle and your key is within 1.5 metres of the car. On default as a security feature, only the door on the same side as the key will unlock. To lock the car you simply close the door and brush your finger along a small sensor on the door handle before walking away, though this may take some getting used to at first. Pro tip: program the side mirrors to automatically close when the car is locked so you can easily tell that is locked.
With your keys still in your pocket, you can start the engine with a push of a button your foot on the brake. Stopping is just another push of a button.
Control all windows
Imagine it’s a burning summer’s day and you’ve parked your Skoda out in the sun. The last thing you want is to get into a baking hot car after a day in the air-conditioned office or inside the shopping centre. So what do we usually do? We open the windows right? Well Skoda has this nifty feature where you can open and close all the windows at the same time (and from a cooler location away from the escaping heat)!
To open you simply press and hold the lock button on the key fob. And to close, you guessed it, just press and hold down the lock button. If you are a bit fancy and have a panoramic sunroof installed, that can be programmed to go up and down with the windows too.
Retractable tow bar
Some Skoda’s have a simple to operate electrically retractable tow bar that hides neatly and safely behind the rear bumper. This means no more messing about attaching and detaching the tow bar.
To release the tow, you pull on a button inside the boot and it will drop down from its hidey hole. You then manually position and lock it in place. You can tell when it’s properly locked when the light on the button stops flashing. Once you’re done with the tow bar, pull the button again to release it from the locked position and push it back into its home and it will lock it in place, ready for next time you need to tow that trailer/load.
Emergency Call Button
If you look up in the roof headlining and you see an obvious red button with “SOS” written on it, then your Skoda has this feature. This potentially life-saving feature automatically connects you handsfree to the Skoda Emergency Centre in the event a serious accident is detected, where you can speak to an operator that can help you. The system also transmits data about the vehicle position, the direction of travel, the number of passengers and the seriousness of the collision. You can also call by pressing the button. Help is only one button push away.
It comes as part of the Care Connect service package and is free of charge for the car’s entire lifetime.
Only a glimpse
These are only a few of the many useful features you get when you buy a Skoda. If you are already fortunate enough to own one, why not have a poke around and find out which Skoda features you may be underutilising or what else your Skoda can do for you.