Skoda Australia has announced Australian pricing and specifications for the latest addition to its ever-growing range: the 2018 Skoda Karoq. Priced from $29,990 plus on-road costs, the Karoq competes in the most hotly contested segment in Australia: medium SUVs, which were worth 164,835 sales alone in 2017.
Competing with everything from the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, Nissan X-Trail and to even the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Karoq will launch initially in a single front-wheel drive trim with a single engine choice, that being a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol.
Priced from $29,990 plus on-road costs, the 2018 Skoda Karoq is well equipped for the money – better equipped than its rivals. Standard equipment highlights include 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a reversing camera with rear parking sensors, silver roof rails, keyless entry and start, an alarm, LED daytime running lights, automatic headlights and wipers, heated mirrors, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearknob.
Safety is well covered with seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking, radar cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring and an electric handbrake with auto-hold functionality. Three main option packages are available for the Karoq – the $3,600 Premium Pack, the $3,200 Tech Pack and the $1,700 Travel Pack. Single options include $700 metallic paint, a $1,900 panoramic glass roof and $700 19-inch alloy wheels.
Included in the Premium Pack are adaptive LED headlights, black or ivory leather upholstery, an electric tailgate, stainless steel pedals, front parking sensors and 18-inch alloy wheels.
Choose a Tech Pack and you receive a larger 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system with inbuilt satellite navigation, 10 years of map updates and gesture control, a 10-speaker Canton sound system, an electric tailgate with kick-to-open functionality, DAB+ digital radio, wireless phone charging, selectable drive modes and Park Assist 3.0, which the car will park itself in parallel and perpendicular (in both forward and reverse) situations.
Finally, the Travel Pack adds blind spot monitoring, rear traffic alert, lane assist, a 10-way electric driver’s seat with memory settings, auto-folding mirrors with puddle lighting and heated front seats.
The 2018 Skoda Karoq is based on the same MQB platform as the Volkswagen Tiguan. Measuring 4,382mm long, 1,841mm wide and 1,605mm high, the Karoq is 108mm shorter but the same width and height as the Tiguan, whilst its bootspace is 479-litres at its smallest. Standard equipment is Skoda’s VarioFlex rear seating system, which splits the rear seat into three and each portion can slide, recline, tumble and be removed altogether. Push the rear seats forward and up to 588-litres of space – fold them down and 1,605-litres – almost as much as the larger Tiguan. Remove them and 1,810-litres is available – the largest in the medium SUV segment.
For now, just a single drivetrain is available. A new 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 110kW of power between 5,000 and 6,000rpm and 250Nm of torque between 1,500 and 3,500rpm, matched to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. This engine features cylinder deactivation and Skoda lists fuel consumption as between 5.7 and 5.8L/100km (manual – auto), whilst performance is spritely at 8.4 seconds to reach 100km/h from a standstill (the auto takes slightly longer at 8.6 seconds). 1.5TSI Karoq variants are front-wheel drive, whilst an all-wheel drive 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and/or diesel will be launched early in 2019.
2018 Skoda Karoq pricing (plus on-road costs):
110TSI 6-speed manual: $29,990
110TSI 7-speed automatic: $32,290
Options:
Travel Pack: $1,700
Tech Pack: $3,200
Premium Pack: $3,600
Metallic paint: $700
19-inch alloy wheels: $700
Panoramic glass sunroof: $1,900
The 2018 Skoda Karoq goes on sale in Australia on July 2, 2018. Stay tuned to Chasing Cars for our first review of the Skoda Karoq closer to its launch date.
