Prices for the new Skoda Karoq will start from £20,875 when UK ordering opens on 3 October – which is almost £1,600 more than the price of an entry-level Nissan Qashqai, the new model's arch-rival. It's also over £3,500 more than the cost of a basic Skoda Yeti, the car it replaces.
But Skoda isn’t worried: the bigger, bolder Karoq has a better haul of standard equipment than the base Qashqai Visia for example – all models come with 17-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, pedestrian-detecting emergency braking and rear privacy glass. A basic Qashqai doesn’t even have standard alloys…
The three-trim UK Karoq range consists of SE, SE L and launch Edition variants. Move up to SE L and the 17-inch alloys grow to 18-inch, and Skoda adds 8.0-inch touchscreen sat nav, full LED headlights, Alcantara upholstery, headed front seats and an all-round parking sensor/parking camera kit. Prices start from £23,165.
The fancy Edition has 19-inch alloys, a larger 9.2-inch sat nav setup, full leather upholstery, panoramic glass roof, metallic paint and an electric tailgate. Edition models also get an even more comprehensive haul of driver assist systems, including traffic sign recognition. It’s yours from £27,110.
Skoda’s offering early Karoq with four engines – 1.0-litre TSI 115, 1.5-litre TSI 150, 1.6-litre 115 TDI and a 2.0-litre TDI with 148bhp. The latter is all-wheel drive, with the others all driving the front wheels: buyers can pick either manual or DSG automatic versions of all engines.
Deliveries of the new Karoq will begin in mid-January, says Skoda, following the opening of ordering on 3 October. If the Kodiaq is anything to go by, expect demand to be high and the waiting list to thus be months rather than weeks…
Source: Skoda
Gallery: 2018 Skoda Karoq
