Skoda Karoq

The Skoda Karoq has a pretty simple but highly sophisticated inter layout which speaks quality in a high pitch and has an impeccable fit and finish comparable to luxury SUVs positioned even two segments above it. The cabin has a sporty ambiance due to all-black treatment with contrast red highlights om dashboard, door panels, and seats.

The slim three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel is backed by an equally opposite in appeal virtual cockpit instrument console. The dashboard looks wide and broad with vertically designed AC vents on the corners and besides the large touchscreen infotainment system in the center. 

The lower housing of the dashboard has a flowing central panel that incorporates a premium console for the automatic climate control buttons as well as the transmission lever ahead. With ample amount of space as well as premium features like leather upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, electric tailgate, powered driver’s seat with memory function, ambient lighting, and Canton sound system, it feels heavily equipped as well.

One glance at the Skoda Karoq and it looks unmistakably a Skoda SUV which is due to the fact that it looks completely like a scaled-down Skoda Kodiaq with smaller dimensions. This is a good and bad thing both, as while it retains the sharp lines and silhouette of the flagship Kodiaq, it has not much new to offer in terms of designing.

The Skoda Karoq has got a sharp face at the front, with the SUV getting the Skoda’s butterfly grille with tapered edges towards down. The SUV gets trapezoidal headlamps flanking the front grille, which has rounded upper edges on the outer corners and gets full LED treatment with a sleek daytime running LED at its bottom.

The headlamps do get small trapezoidal fog lamps placed just below them. The faux air dams covering the majority of the front bumper area make it look larger from the front. In a true SUV fashion, the Karoq gets thick body cladding at the bottom of the front bumper.

The Skoda Karoq looks pretty taut from the sides, with a crisp character line flowing all the way from the upper edge of the headlamp to that of the rear tail lamp. While the Karoq gets traditional SUV traits like body cladding and roof rails, it also gets squared wheel arches to make it look muscular. The alloy wheels look nice but are not machined units, though.

At the back, the Skoda Karoq looks simple yet edgy, which is due to the fact that the SUV gets a clean boot design but sharp and wide C-shaped LED tail lamps on the corners. The trapezoidal line flowing across the width of the boot lid enhances the character of the SUV at the back, and so does the thick body cladding on the rear bumper.

This is perhaps the strongest forte of the Skoda Karoq as the SUV has a great balance of comfortable ride quality and nice handling. The SUV gets Macpherson struts at the front and compound link at the rear with a front-wheel-drive layout, which are on a stiffer side and makes the overall driving experience pretty much enjoyable.

The only powertrain option available in the Singapore-spec Skoda Karoq is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. This powertrain makes a maximum power output of 150 PS, while the peak torque output is rated at 250 Nm.

The Skoda Karoq has a decent amount of safety features onboard like the front, side, curtain, and knee airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, electronic stability control, traction control, front assist with city emergency brake, rearview camera with park distance control, cruise control, driver alert system, tire pressure monitoring system and side assist with rear cross-traffic alert.

The Skoda Karoq might not be too flamboyant and flashy in appearance as other SUVs in its ballpark, but it has an air of sophistication and simplicity which is rare to find in midsize SUVs of its segment.