koda. The name brings many things to mind, depending on who you are talking to.
For the older generation, the images conjured when talking about this car brand are not always positive.
A reputation for being a ugly, bulky vehicle was shared by many….
Wheres first gear? Ah, I need to put it in H…
Today, you just cant laugh at koda. They dont deserve your scorn. In fact, they’ve recently just won best car manufacturer. Here are also three other very good reasons why. For a start…
Volkswagen runs the show now
With koda, especially a few decades ago, there was always a sense that they werent really being taken seriously in the car market. After all, the running joke was they werent good at running!
However, they got some serious backing in 1991 when the Volkswagen group entered into a joint venture, taking a 30% stake in the company. Eventually, this rose to a staggering 70%, meaning that when you now make fun of koda, youre pretty much mocking precision, high level German engineering.
And no one makes fun of the Germans.
Modern, reliable design
Related to the previous point, it seems that you just cant laugh at a koda these days when to comes to the whole driving experience. Once, they were scorned for shabby construction and low level design.
Of course, its a totally different matter today. In fact, Auto Express released a list of the best 100 cars to own, and guess who came out on top?
Yes, the koda Yeti came in at #1 in terms of running costs, performance and how easy it is to drive. It’s won awards, and deservedly so. This kind of value for money is proof that the brand is no longer a laughing matter.
Although the open-top model was a hit.
Its a numbers game
The great thing, it seems, about the koda today is that it really comes into its own and has done a remarkable thing by turning the brand from laughable to bankable. Affordable driving to buy. Its even affordable driving if you only wanted to lease a koda for a short time. Thats what makes it so popular now. Dont believe us? You only have to look at the figures.
In 2011, an impressive 879,000 models were sold worldwide. Last year, almost 1 million, with the UK market increasing by 20%.
These numbers are certainly no joke. And neither is koda any more, it seems.
Yes. You heard. I rock.
What do you think of koda?
[Images via flickr.com, wearemarketing.it, topskips.com]