2.0 TDI 150ps Edition SCR 4X4 5dr

Cheap at the price - tells you something you need to know about the Karoq

This was a "top-of-the-range" Skoda I bought for my daughter who`s Kia was on the way out; she preferred this to the Kia Sportage. I ended up with the fully loaded version because frankly it was not much more than the basic 1.6 TDI 2w drive version. Hugely discounted on the new price at 3900 miles.

The car is full of useless gimmicks but my grandsons love them; I believe it will even park itself, but I had no inclination to find out how. It has an irritating habit of turning the radio off when you reverse which I would do without.

There are a few other things they don`t tell you about in the road test.

The 19" wheels are a pain for kerbing, nt not too bad on bumps - until ypu hit a pothole. The Karoq does NOT like potholes which my elderly Ford Focu would hardly notice.

There is no spare wheel - Skoda expect you to ;pay £200 for this useful accessory; kit`s a space-saver; but they do give you a jack and wheel brace to go with it. Be warned. With a spare wheel etc the boot space is much reduced; the floor is higher with 4 wheel drive; the boot is then shallow and none too wide. It`s a lot smaller than a Focus.

The Kodaq is on a shorter wheelbase than the VW Tiguan. The car is a hatch-back on raised suspension, no way is it an estate. So long as you have that clear, so far so good; but you know now why it is so cheap. I have no particular brief for the Ford Focus, but it`s a much nicer car to drive; and it does not stall. The salesman had trouble with my Karoq - it wasn`t just me.

Better than the Kia Sorento though.

The high end Karoqs get a complicated "infotainment" system; this one had a forgetable name - it was above "Magellan" and cost another £1900 I think. A big touchscreen and no knobs. Trouble is the important controls are on the LHS of quite a big screen - you have to lean right over; this is at least as dangerous as using a mobile on the move and is a disgrace, It would have been ludicrously easy to re-arrange the icons for RHD - Skoda just could not be bothered.

The huge number of sub-menus will control your life with a high-end Skoda. You won`t find the answers in the driver`s manual - you have to go on-line to find the "electronic manual".

Good luck

Sum-up. If you only need 2wd I wouldn`t waste my time with the Karoq - there are better hatch-backs out there; if you need 4wd it`s worgth a look but you need the 2.0TDI diesel (which is not a bad thing). Just stick to the basic versions - the "SE" is probably the best choice. Don`t waste your money on the "Scout" or "Edition" models, these are just marketing dept b*****t

Or go for a Kia Sportage; but test drive the Kia dealer first - I have found they can be a surly lot.

AS

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