The Skoda Yeti is a hard act to follow. Its individual character, incredible practicality and affordability attracted customers in droves. The new Skoda Karoq feels a little more grown-up, and whatever it may lack in character, it makes up for with a breadth of ability that sends it straight to the top end of the crossover class.
The Karoq is bigger than the Yeti and gets a similar versatile rear seat arrangement, but it actually shares more in common with the firm’s larger Kodiaq SUV, making it a practical choice of family transport. A good range of engines offers efficient and refined performance, and while it’s not the sportiest crossover on sale, the chassis delivers a good mix of comfort and driving pleasure. With strong safety credentials and a model range that offers competitive value for money, it’s a real contender.
While the Yeti design was arguably more characterful than the Karoq, this new model has a broader range of talents. It’s a mature design, and while it lacks any flashes of stylistic flair it does have a solid, almost premium appeal.
At a glance, there’s not much to separate it from the bigger seven-seat Kodiaq, with a very similar grille and headlamp design, the same ridge up the centre of the bonnet, and a similar side profile set with chunky wheelarches. The rear lights are the biggest difference at the rear, and despite variations in details such as intake shapes in the lower bumpers, even car enthusiasts could be forgiven for a little difficulty in telling the two models apart. Park them side-by-side, and the Kodiaq’s extra length stands out, but it’s wider and taller too.
There’s only one five-door body variant for the Karoq, as with the Kodiaq, and while the Karoq only offers five seats it can be specified with the same VarioFlex adjustable rear bench as the Kodiaq that allows you to alter the amount of passenger legroom or boot space depending on your needs.
Inside, the Karoq cabin design is identical to that of the bigger Kodiaq, which means it’s conservative with no flashy or fashionable design highlights. But it’s also incredibly functional, with great ergonomics, plenty of space and a sense of quality. It feels well built, while it’s also stacked with tech features.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
Karoq SE models feature a pretty good sound system, with eight speakers, voice control, DAB and Bluetooth. Smartlink connectivity with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is also standard across the range, meaning you can use sat-nav through your smartphone.
Upgrade to the SE L model and you get an Amundsen sat-nav system with an eight-inch touchscreen and integrated wi-fi.
Top spec Karoq Edition models have all the bells and whistles, which in this case means a Columbus sat-nav system with a bigger 9.2-inch touchscreen featuring voice and gesture control. You also get a wireless phone charging pad.
Although the Skoda Karoq is a close relative of the SEAT Ateca, one of the defining differences is in the way they behave on the road. Skoda has opted for a softer suspension setup than the sportier SEAT, which means it’s more comfortable and arguably more family friendly. It may not feel quite as crisp if you want to drive quickly, but while the Skoda’s steering is not as involving as the SEAT’s, it still feels accurate and direct. Body roll is also sufficiently well-controlled to help strike a great balance between handling and comfort.
The benefit of the softer ride is particularly evident around town and on longer motorway trips, adding to the sense of overall refinement. The ride quality isn’t as soothing as the Peugeot 3008, one of the Karoq’s closest rivals, but there’s not a lot in it.
On Karoq models with selectable drive modes there’s the ability to alter the powertrain and steering response between Normal, Sport and Eco. It also varies the urgency of gearshifting on models equipped with dual-clutch DSG automatic transmissions, while 4x4 cars get an additional off-road setting. The driving feel of 4x4 versions is all but identical to the two-wheel drive cars, as most of the time all the torque is sent to the front axle.
Engines
Of the two petrol engines, the larger 1.5 TSI comes out as our clear favourite, although the smaller 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine performs pretty well, too. The entry-level TSI unit makes a respectable 113bhp, and while it will accelerate the Karoq from 0-62mph in 10.3 seconds, it feels a little strained at higher speeds or when fully laden. It means that when accelerating hard, you can feel and hear the work the little engine is having to put in, as the noise becomes somewhat intrusive and there’s a small amount of vibration present through the pedals.
The larger 1.5 TSI has a broader power band, and with 148bhp it’s a stronger performer and more refined – 0 to 62mph arrives in 8.1 seconds, and you don’t have to work the engine quite so hard.
The smallest 1.6-litre TDI turbodiesel makes the same 113bhp as the entry-level petrol, but has more torque, so it doesn’t feel quite as strained when you need a bit of grunt, although it too can be noisy when stretched. 0-62mph takes 10.4 seconds.
The 2.0-litre TDI has 148bhp, and knocks off the benchmark sprint in 8.4 seconds, as well as offering a lot more punch for overtaking. This will help if you’re intending to tow as well.
As it’s based on the VW Group MQB platform the Skoda Karoq shares its underpinnings with a huge number of cars from the Audi, SEAT, Skoda and VW stables. The list includes names from the Audi A3 to the VW Touran, with almost two dozen different models either in production or in the pipeline.
All of which means that the Karoq’s engineering and technology is already very well-proven, and that bodes very well for the model’s likely reliability. What also bodes well is the marque’s extremely good performance in our own Driver Power owner satisfaction survey. Last year saw the Skoda Superb and the Skoda Yeti take first and second spots in the overall Driver Power satisfaction ratings, and we’ve seen nothing to suggest the new Karoq won’t impress owners to a similar degree in 2018. The brand finished second overall behind Lexus in our list of makers, too.
Euro NCAP has already performed independent crash tests on the Karoq, awarding a full five-star rating and a great score for adult occupant safety at 93 per cent. Child occupant safety came in at an impressive 79 per cent, but the Karoq isn’t top of its class.
There’s a full range of the latest safety measures available as you would expect, and most of it’s fitted as standard to the top spec Karoq Edition which comes with traffic sign recognition, lane assistance, cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring, as well autonomous braking that’s standard across the range.
Warranty
A three-year/60,000-mile warranty is standard, which is standard for the industry. However, rivals such as Toyota, Renault, Hyundai and Kia offer more extensive coverage.
Servicing
The Skoda Karoq requires annual servicing unless you do mainly long-distance motorway driving, in which case the intervals can be extended – onboard computers tell you by how much while the brand’s servicing packs are relatively affordable when bought up front.
On the road, a hushed cabin that’s marred only a little by wind noise around the door pillars at higher speeds and a little too much engine noise under hard acceleration in entry level cars goes hand-in-hand with a supple ride to make the Karoq a comfortable SUV. Throw in the supportive seats, roomy cabin, well laid out controls and high quality fit and finish, not to mention plenty of gadgets and toys on top versions, and it’s an impressive effort.
The large interior with its voluminous boot is well suited to family use, and there are a range of options you can add that will make life a little easier. Cabin features include a large Jumbo Box for gadgets and drinks that sits between the front seats, and there are plenty of storage spaces dotted around, plus foldable tables in the backs of both front seats.
Things like a space-saver spare, rough road package with engine and chassis guards, a reversing camera and adaptive cruise control are all either standard or available optionally to improve how easy the Karoq is to live with.
Size
The Karoq is noticeably bigger than its predecessor, the Yeti, and measures 4,382mm long, 1,841mm wide and 1,603mm tall. That compares with the 4,447mm length of the Peugeot 3008, or 4,394mm of the Nissan Qashqai, so it’s pretty much on par with its rivals.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
There’s good leg and headroom in any of the seats in the Skoda Karoq – in fact the rear-seat passengers do slightly better for headroom than those in back of the larger Kodiaq. Taller rear seat passengers may find their knees brushing on the seat backs though.
Boot
Depending on spec the Karoq’s tailgate raises electrically, and there’s a ‘virtual pedal’ that allows you to open it with the waggle of a foot under the rear bumper if your hands are full. Once it’s open you’re greeted by an impressive load area, that’s practically shaped and roomy. In standard form it will swallow 521 litres with the rear seats in place, or a huge 1,810 litres when they’re folded. Opt for the VarioFlex rear seats and you can adjust the ‘seats up’ figure from between 479 to 588 litres – although more luggage space means less legroom.
Aside from the relative practicality, one of the Karoq’s great attractions is the combination of fashionable SUV style with manageable running costs. Apart from a small fuel economy penalty, these cars shouldn’t cost more to run than a comparable hatchback.
The Karoq’s petrol engines look attractive from a cost point of view too, as they’re pretty efficient and cheaper to buy than the diesels you might typically associate with the SUV genre.
The Karoq’s engines aren’t class-leading for economy, but they’re still among the most efficient in the sector. The 1.0 TSI can return up to a claimed 52.3mpg combined while emitting only 121g/km of CO2. The larger 1.5 TSI’s official figures are only slightly worse thanks to the inclusion of cylinder deactivation tech, with fuel economy of 51.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 125g/km.
If you really do want to eke the best mileage out of every gallon, the 1.6 diesel is the best choice. It returns up to 64.2mpg with the DSG auto gearbox emitting as little as 117/km. The 2.0-litre 4x4 diesels aren’t quite as good, offering up to 56.5mpg and 138g/km – however, this is respectable for a four-wheel drive SUV with a larger diesel engine.
If you’re a business user, the 1.0-litre TSI looks favourite, with a Benefit-in-Kind tax rating of 23 per cent, meaning this will be the cheapest option for company car users.
Insurance groups
You won’t pay too much for insurance with any of the Karoq models, but the lower spec versions are obviously cheaper – the smaller petrol and diesel engines attracting Group 9 and 10 ratings respectively. The 1.5 petrol and 2.0 diesel are both Group 15, and premiums across the range should be cheaper than the Peugeot 3008 which is Group 11 to 24, helped by strong safety tech.
Depreciation
Skoda is known for solid residual values, so we expect the Karoq should do better than some of its Korean or French rivals.
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