2020 Skoda Karoq – The Mini SUV Lost in Time
During the AutoExpo 2020, Skoda India showcased the Karoq as successor for the underrated Yeti. The Skoda Karoq, or should we call it a mini Kodiaq came to India in only single variant - Style Automatic for the price of ₹24.99lakhs. Only a 1000 units were imported as CBU (Completely Built Unit) attracting high import duties and raising the price. After these 1000 units Skoda discontinued the Karoq. India is highly price sensitive market and introducing a car as CBU is just wrong. What does the Karoq offered and why did Skoda decided to discontinue it? Let us dig deep and find out.
Engine and Engineering
Built on the same platform as the Skoda Kodiaq, the Karoq was powered by 1.5L Turbocharged petrol engine that produced 150bhp and 250nm torque combined with absolutely brilliant 7-speed DSG transmission. This Front Wheel Drive (FWD), BS VI compliant engine had a mileage of 14.5km/l and a massive 50L fuel tank. The same engine is now available in the top variant of the Skoda Kushaq
Design
The Skoda cars do not differentiate much with each other as long as the exterior is concerned. If we look at the Karoq, Kodiaq, Rapid and Octavia, they all share a very similar front profile with boxy looks and sharp lines, although the new models Slavia and Kushaq offer a refreshing look. 4382mm long, 1841mm wide, 1624mm high and with a wheelbase of 2638mm, the Karoq was a big family car. Spectacular designed 17-inch allow wheels, 521L boot space and silver roof rails adds to the comfort and practicality of an SUV. The simple yet elegant designed Karoq was available in 6 body colors – Candy White, Magnetic Brown, Lava Blue, Quartz Grey, Brilliant Silver and Magic Black. Over the side there were body color door handles and chrome as the window frames. “C” shaped tail lights at the rear with “SKODA” written between the tail lights with more letter spacing. Shark fin antenna and fog lights both front and back complete the exterior of this SUV. The exterior design had everything one needs in an SUV, yes it didn’t had animated lights which the other SUVs at this price point offered but the European SUV’s are not famous for dancing lights, rather they are known for their robust built quality and sturdiness.
The plush dual tone black and beige interior of the Karoq had a mix of hard and soft touch materials that are great in quality and premium fit and finish. A lot of chrome is used be it the AC vents, 3 spoke steering wheel and the temperature rotators, the pedals come with brushed aluminum. Lots of storage space in the dashboard and the doors, speaking of doors they made a beautiful thud sound reminding about the built quality. 60:40 split rear seats expand the 520L boot space to 1630L, Skoda also offered bag hooks and luggage separators to organize the luggage, the boot also had a magnetic LED light. Visibility inside the car was great as well thanks to big windows and massive panoramic sunroof.
Features
As the Karoq came to India through the CBU route it had a big price tag and to compete in the price sensitive Indian market the only way to justify is through the list of features. Apart from some of the common features like Dual Zone Climate Control, Smart Access Card Entry, Engine Start/Stop button and a cooling glove compartment, it had premium features like 12-way Electrically Adjustable driver seat with memory function, Ambient Lighting, Voice Control, Foot well Lamp, massive Panoramic Sunroof, Puddle lamps which should be made standard in every car in India, Digital Instrument Cluster and an 8-inch Infotainment System that supports both Android Auto and Apple Carplay combined with 8 speakers for surround sound. The features do not stop here and adds LED DRL’s, headlights, tail lights and fog lights. The Karoq also had headlamp washers which is also offered in the Octavia. Features list was good but it missed a wireless charger
Safety
Talking about safety, the built quality of the Skoda Karoq spoke for itself and as a result it scored 5-star rating for adult occupancy in the Global NCAP. The built quality alone is not responsible for the ratings, it had 9 airbags and ISOFIX child seat mounts in both rear and front passenger seats. Adding to these features was Predictive Cruise Control, Brake Assist, ABS, Traction Control and a Tyre Pressure Monitor.
Driving and Performance
The best part about having a Skoda by far has to be its driving capability. It had the same direct injection engine that is also offered in the Volkswagen cars. This refined engine gave a comfortable drive with no engine noise till 4000RPMs and the car was easy at handling and corners, the smooth suspension helped in covering bumpy roads very easily. Switching to Sports mode made things even more interesting with some good engine revvs, quick upshifts and downshifts thanks to the DSG transmission resulting in 0-100km/h in 10.3secs
Verdict
In March 2020 Skoda started importing the Karoq to India with a limit to only 1000 units, by the end of January 2021 all 1000 units were sold. Volkswagen too brought the T-ROC through the same CBU route with a batch of 1000 units but after completely selling out they brought another batch of cars but Skoda decided to discontinue the Karoq. After the launch of Skoda Kushaq, the Karoq was silently removed, the big reason for this has to be the increased price because of the CBU route, people that take price to size ratio of the car seriously opted out of the Karoq as it was a Hyundai Creta sized car at a price of Hyundai Tucson. Skoda’s bad service network in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities is also a big reason why customers focus more on Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra. The same superior engine is now offered in Kushaq’s top end variant which is available at a price of 17-18lakhs, Skoda was able to bring the price down by building the Kushaq domestically. The Skoda Karoq with its amazing engine and great built quality was a perfect example for us to see what people in the 1st world country gets in their cars.