Less known than its cousins in the Volkswagen group, the Skoda Karoq is getting a makeover to pursue its career. It retains its proven recipe for a small family and practical SUV, without innovating on the technological level.
Car tested: Skoda Karoq 1.0 TSI 110 bhp Ambition
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From€29,530
125 € penalty
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Almost five years after its launch, the Skoda Karoq is finally entitled to its first restyling. A very useful attention to relaunch the career of the medium SUV in the range of the Czech manufacturer. This discreet model is well positioned at the heart of the market, which allows it to secure its place on the brand’s sales podium with more than 500,000 units sold since 2017.
Discreet, the Skoda Karoq remains so with an appearance remodeled by small touches for this restyling: refined look thanks to lower headlamps, line of LED daytime running lights, rear lights revised with dynamic indicators and Matrix headlights at the top of the range. The more marked grille and the redesigned shields contribute to the change, while the raw plastic appendages emphasizing the SUV character of the Scout versions (which disappear) are generalized on the range, except in Sportline finish which is entitled to full paint.
The aerodynamics are also refined (roof spoiler, rims and underbody contribute to it), gaining nearly 10% with a Cd of 0.30. A way for the SUV to slightly optimize the consumption of its 100% thermal engines TSI of 110 and 150 hp Evo and TDI of 116 and 150 hp. Not the slightest hybridization, even light, is on the program for the restyled Karoq. That is unfortunate.
Price Skoda Karoq 2022
The new Karoq retains a wide range with gasoline or diesel engines, 4 x 2 or 4 x 4 transmission and manual gearbox or DSG. The 1.0 TSI 110 hp petrol version is a good compromise for those who don’t swallow tens of thousands of kilometres. Displayed at €29,530, it offers a very complete package from the outset which includes in particular a beautiful infotainment screen (with GPS navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), hands-free entry and start-up and windows. overdyed. In order to enrich the equipment of this small petrol engine a little, it is possible for individuals and professionals alike to prefer the Business version at €31,900. This adds the reversing camera, the front parking sensor, the adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assistance and the motorized tailgate (see all the equipment on page 2).
Driving
With a small engine like the three-cylinder 1.0 of just 110 hp which equips our test car, one is entitled to wonder if the road services will be sufficient. Fortunately, thanks to the very contained weight of just over 1.3 t and the well-staged six-speed manual transmission, we are very quickly reassured when taking the wheel of this SUV. The small engine even offers an astonishing pleasure: it is not very noisy as long as you do not try to approach the red zone, without vibrations, very flexible and well supported by a box with frank and fast control. Be careful, however, to keep the foot light because, in the absence of any hybridization, even micro, consumption can easily approach 8 l / 100 km on the road. In town, on the other hand, the Karoq is reasonable. We noted a consumption of 6.5 l/100 km, and barely more on the highway, which is quite remarkable.
Thanks to a fairly compact size (4.39 m), direct steering and an excellent turning circle of 10.20 m, the Skoda is easy and agile to drive. It also exudes good ride comfort, even with our car’s optional 18-inch wheels, including on track or poor cobbled surfaces. The very natural and safe behavior is pleasant and completes a positive picture regarding driving pleasure. An area where such a version was not necessarily expected.
On board
Competetion
There’s no shortage of competition in the crowded compact SUV segment, starting with the Karoq’s cousins within the Volkswagen Group. Surprisingly, the Seat Ateca is offered at a much lower access price in its Reference call version equipped with the same engine (€23,900), but with a more stripped-down level of equipment. The hierarchy is respected with the Volkswagen Tiguan, which is positioned more upscale with a minimum price of €35,865 and 130 hp under the hood.
Another reference, the Peugeot 3008 starts a little above the Karoq, at €32,600 with a three-cylinder 130 hp PureTech engine. Its technical cousin badged Opel, the Grandland X, is positioned at €29,050 with the same engine, while the Citroën C5 Aircross, which is more spacious and also has individual rear seats (but not removable), is displayed from €27,450. € only. Finally, Nissan remains one of the safe bets in this segment with its Qashqai offered at just €24,950 (140 hp engine).
Find the results of the test and the prices, equipment and technical sheet of the Karoq 1.0 IST on next page.
