IT’S not just Paloma who’s got faith in the latest Skodas – the motoring public have seen the light too.
Long, long gone are the utilitarian models of old, replaced by cars that are bang up to date and offer a wide and varied selection for all sorts of owners.
Karoq Sportline here, for example, has a four wheel drive system with the 2.0 litre 150ps diesel engine that offers fuel consumption in the 40s as well as acceptable performance.
There are many similarities inside to the SEAT Ateca it shares its existence with but the Skoda racks up envy points with its smart eight inch touchscreen that integrates all the buttons, its 10.25 inch virtual cockpit display (a £450 option) and its overall high level of fit and finish.
Karoq is a replacement for the highly popular Yeti in Skoda’s range, and should appeal to a wider range of customers, not least because it brims with up to date technology.
Sportline trim sampled here comes with sports seats with Sportline fabric, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats, 19 inch alloys, automatic headlight control and the adjustable Varioflex rear seats for a bit more practicality.
The interior passes close inspection, neat and functional in its layout and if you search around you’ll find some neat touches, like the ‘why has no one done this before’ logical placing of the push start/stop button on the steering column when most put it in the dash or the centre console.
Sportline is neatly accentuated with a shiny black finish applied to the door mirrors, roof rails, front grille and the tidy 19 inch alloys, which complements the smart red paintwork.
You’ll find lots of neat Skoda touches, like the ice scraper in the fuel filler flap, the removable rechargeable torch in the boot, the umbrella under the passenger seat and pop up tables on the backs of the front seats which can be locked at 45 degrees and are thus ideal of youngsters to rest their ipads on.
It feels well built and it’s easy to live with, and comes with a good ride and handling balance as standard. You’re not going to uneccessarily push an SUV like this to its limits but its capable of romping along at a fair lick without disturbing the comfort of those inside. You will notice the over eagerness in first gear but once you get past that a more reassuring level of control is evident.
It’s natural habitat will obviously be the highways and byways of our ailing road network, but in 4×4 trim it’s quite adept at heading for the bondooks..
It’s pitched against some of the top selling smaller crossovers like the Ateca, Renault Kadjar and Nissan Qashqai, and it can certainly hold its own in that company.
Skoda are thriving on the back of a reputation for building good quality family cars, and the Karoq is certainly living proof of that.
Skoda Karoq Sportline
Price: £31,395 (£34,275 as tested)
Engine: 2.0 litre, four cylinder, diesel
Power: 150PS
Torque: 340Nm
Transmission: six speed manual
Top speed: 121mph
0-62mph: 8.9secs
Economy: 44.1mpg
CO2 emissions: 134g/km
© wheelwrite.co.uk 2019