Skoda, the Czech auto manufacturer has officially released the first set of teaser images featuring several inside out details of its upcoming SUV, the Karoq prior to its public debut on this May 18 in Stockholm, Sweden. The all new Karoq will be introduced as the Skoda Yeti replacement and will be slotted below the full sized 7-seater Kodiaq SUV. It comes with new design theory, several advanced driving assist technology and four new turbocharged motors.
The Karoq is expected to go on sale worldwide in the second half of 2017, while it is likely to enter the Indian auto segment in 2018. A couple of weeks back, Skoda released a few camouflaged images of the Karoq revealing the exterior outlines and few exterior details of the new SUV. And it can easily be noticed that Karoq will no longer continue the unique exterior shape from its predecessor, Yeti. Instead, it shares many features with its elder sibling, the Kodiaq. While both the cars have a number of similarities, there are a number of noteworthy differences from inside-out as well.
From inside, the Karoq is a five-seater SUV with a class leading boot space of 521 litres which can be further extended to 1,630 litres by folding the second-row seats. This gives it an edge over its rivals such as Nissan Qashqai which gets boot capacity of 430 and 1,585-litres respectively. It is based on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform which is also shared with VW group’s other models including Audi Q2 and Seat Ateca.
The teaser images reveal split-headlamps design inspired by the Kodiaq. However, Karoq gets a rectangular layout, while on the Kodiaq they follow a relatively sleek pattern. At the rear, the Karoq comes with split bracket-shaped tail lamps similar to the Kodiaq, however, only the upper part of the LED light extends into the boot lid. Overall, with the Karoq SUV, Skoda aims high at replacing the old and distinctive exterior shape of the Yeti with a more conventional design ideology from Kodiaq which is surely a more upmarket SUV in the Skoda line-up.
With the fresh set of images, the Czech carmaker also hints a few inside the cabin details such as center console and gear selector knob. The dash layout sounds familiar with the one seen on the Kodiaq. It gets dash-mounted carmaker’s all-glass infotainment system which is also featured on the Octavia facelift version. It is also reported to get an all-digital instrument cluster, first in Skoda lineup.
In terms of powertrains, the Karoq will be offered with a choice of five different turbocharged engines, out of which four are new to Skoda. The new powertrain list consists two patrol and two diesel mills. The new petrol line-up includes an entry-level 1.0-litre 3-cylinder TSI and a larger 1.5-litre TSI mill. The latter features active cylinder technology and covers 0-100 kmph in 8.4 seconds.
Two new diesel engines are a 1.6-litre TDI and a 2.0-litre TDI. The latter one is the quickest available with the 0 to 100 sprint time of 7.8 seconds.
These all four powertrains are accompanied by a brand’s familiar 2.0-litre TDI engine. The Karoq will be available in both two- and four-wheel drive system connected via either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission. On the higher variants, it gets different drive select modes such as Normal, Sport, Eco, Individual and Snow.
For the enhanced driving experience, the Karoq comes with a number of driver assist system that adds a radar-based adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection mirror and front assist which further includes automatic city braking with a pedestrian braking system. One will miss out a few important tech-features such as hill assist control and emergency assistance.
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