It’s not news to anyone that Skoda’s have the most amount of interior space you could possibly engineer into a car. If you have a family and you need to move (big) things as well as people, with the least amount of fuss possible, you need to look at their range. They have saloons, SUV’s small hatches etc. All of which will surprise you with the sheer space available.
Starting prices are competitive at €28,350 for the Ambition, Style is €32,550 and Sport €33,700. If you want to go undetected in the car park but slip into something modern and comfortable, the Karoq does just that. There are lovely engineering touches throughout, not least the Varioflex seating. It’s the easiest and quickest way to convert your family SUV into pretty much the ideal IKEA van. You simply release the triggers on the back bench and remove the rear seats entirely. Or you can remove the middle (3rd) seat to create a more spacious environment for 2 adults to travel in comfort.
Other nice touches include the passenger seat umbrella for those horrible Irish weather moments that come along at just the wrong time. There’s also the cup holders which assist in opening the bottle via grips in the base of the cup holder area – pure genius. And finally there’s a small removable torch in the boot for those dark wintry days.
The engine range consists of VAG’s old reliable 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesels. The newest engine available is the 1.0 TSI petrol, with 115bhp it’s built for economy but with a reasonably heavy sized body sitting on top, the engine will strain to pull the weight and uses more fuel. It does move swiftly but runs out of puff quickly.
As for optional extra’s, there’s an argument in today’s congested cities for DSG automatics. If you spend a good mix between motorways and city congestion, for those times you’re in the thick of it, you really will be glad you specc’d the auto. DSG was always good and continues to improve. Wonderfully smooth and a hip saver, I’m surprised that more consumers aren’t requesting auto.
All in, Skoda is the old reliable, there’s a reason why Taxi drivers choose Skoda, they’re huge, reliable and reasonable vehicles to run daily. They’re hard wearing and the diesels will go and go and etc….
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