FACT FILE
AS I pride myself on originality, I decided to check before writing that the Skoda Karoq would make me want to Karoq ’n’ roll.
Needless to say, everybody had thought of that one – even the Danes who are better known for goalkeepers than their sense of humour.
So I have thought up something different – it’s the Skoda that makes me want to rock around the Karoq.
For starters, why is it so good? Well, it could be because the Karoq loaned to me by Skoda had a tiny 1.0-litre engine under its massive bonnet.
Now you might think that would be like asking a cat to tow a wheelchair but despite the 14ft 4in long Karoq’s 1,340kg weight, it was unbelievable.
After driving it for 450 miles, the Karoq averaged 45mpg, not far off its claimed 52mpg figure.
At 80mph its little engine is turning over at just 2,750rpm in sixth gear (it was a manual box) PRICE (on the road):
£23,170. Range: £20,880£32,005.
999cc, all alloy
12-valve, direct injection turbo (115hp, 200Nm/147lb torque).
yet it still pulls away quite nicely and can be driven in sixth at speeds as low as 30mph.
It’s amazing – though if you need it to respond with any urgency you will have to change down, especially on hills. Big deal.
The engine is one of a choice of four on offer. There’s also a
1.5-litre petrol and two diesels,
1.6 or 2.0-litre.
But the 1.0-litre is fine provided you don’t haul around concrete elephants for a living.
And that brings me to the Karoq’s next major feature, which won’t change whatever engine you choose – and that’s its sheer practicality as a load lugger. Rear-seat passengers get TOP SPEED: MPG: CO2: a massive 14 inches of leg room. But as the seats are on rails and can slide forwards up to six inches, that means variable storage space when the seat backs are folded down, leaving a 5ft 4in space, admittedly hampered by an awkward 10-inch ledge because they don’t fold flat.
However, if that’s a problem, the seats also tumble forwards and it is simple to completely remove all three back seats. They’re easy to put back, too.
The delights of this massively variable boot start as soon as you open the tailgate to find that it’s 4ft-wide, 2ft-high and goes back 3ft.
There are useful double bricksized pockets on both sides, and a third behind the one on the left, plus EIGHT shopping bag hooks, four of them sturdy rotating affairs, and a pop-out torch next to a 12v socket.
Rear-seat passengers get another 12v socket, their own air-con vents, door pockets big enough for wine bottles, map pockets on the back of the front seats and twin-folding airline-style trays
In the front there’s a removable multi-purpose plastic section in the centre console with twin cup holders.
There is storage space a-plenty with huge five-inch deep door pockets with springy straps to stop papers flying around plus a key and coin holder by the driver’s right knee.
The black leather and grey Alcantara seats are white double stitched and silver switches are set in a piano-black background. The speedo, rev counter, fuel and oil temperature gauges have white tipped needles and the whole thing is capped by soft-touch mottled black trim. Rock around the Karoq?
It’s more like rock around the palace.