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By Jonathan Crouch

Skoda has had decent success with its mid-sized SUV, the Karoq. Jonathan Crouch looks at the updated version of this crossover to see what it has to offer.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 68

Skoda is these days very serious about SUVs and the core of the company's Crossover range is found with this mid-sized Qashqai-class Karoq model, here lightly updated. As before, it gets all the latest Volkswagen Group engineering and differs from rivals with a useful sliding and removeable rear bench and generous levels of equipment. Everything in fact, that you'd want from a modern family-sized SUV of this kind.

Backgroundword count: 197

Skoda's best selling SUV is this one, the Karoq, a mid-sized Qashqai-class Crossover originally introduced back in 2017 which went on to become the brand's second best selling model, generating more than half a million sales in sixty countries. But time moves on and the segment this car competes in gets ever-more competitive, hence the need for updates. The main one came in mid-2022, then two years on, Skoda added more equipment and uprated the base 1.0-litre TSI engine to EVO2 status, creating the line-up we're looking at here. At its original introduction, this Skoda was basically a successor to the brand's popular Yeti line of compact SUVs, but the Czech maker re-named it to designate the fact that this was a slightly larger and considerably more versatile product. It sits just above the little Kamiq and just below the seven-seat Kodiaq in a line-up of Skoda SUVs that now accounts for 50% of the marque's total sales. If you're wondering, by the way, if the word 'Karoq' has any meaning, then we'll tell you that it's taken from the language of an Alaskan tribe and, roughly translated, means 'car arrow'. Make of that what you will.

Driving Experienceword count: 267

Not much has changed with the engineering of this car. Under the skin, this Skoda uses much the same MQB chassis as you'll find in the Volkswagen Group's rival SEAT Ateca and CUPRA Formentor models. The set-up with this Karoq is deliberately more comfort-orientated than it is in those two. The various powerplants on offer are all familiar from other Volkswagen Group SUVs. There are four turbo-charged direct injection engine options, none of which (yet) get the VW Group's latest mild hybrid tech. Things kick off with a 1.0-litre TSI petrol unit, which is now from the VW Group's EVO2 family and develops 116PS. But most choose the 150PS 1.5 litre TSI powerplant, which can be had in manual or auto forms and uses cylinder deactivation for an exemplary combination of performance and efficiency. There's also a top 2.0 TSI 190PS DSG auto 4x4 petrol variant, but that's a rare sight on our roads. More common will be the 2.0 TDI diesel engine, which uses the VW Group's 'Twin Dosing' technology and now comes only in 150PS DSG auto 4x4 form. The 4WD derivatives are fitted with a special 'Off Road' mode and hill descent control so that you can more easily slither down slippery slopes. In general though, this Skoda's limited ground clearance makes testing off road forays fairly inadvisable. The Karoq is much happier being used for tarmac use and an option worth considering here is the 'DCC' 'Dynamic Chassis Control' adaptive damping system that can considerably improve the ride over poor surfaces. It works through the settings of the standard 'Driving Mode Select' system.

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