On the face of it, the Skoda Karoq is just another family-sized SUV. Easily one of the better ones, but a spacious, efficient high-riding car for the sprogs and family shopping nevertheless. But my six weeks of driving it so far have revealed there’s so much more to it than just that.
When I was handed the keys to KY73 YSU by its former custodian Ted Welford, I was expecting nothing out of the ordinary. The Karoq has been around for some seven years now, and I’ve driven loads of them. Apart from a four-day trip driving one from the Czech Republic to London, I’ve usually only ever spent a week at a time with a Karoq, so the last six weeks have been a treat.
Long-term tests are the perfect opportunity to get to know a car and live with it in the same way an owner would, and this Karoq has revealed a number of very nifty things which I’ve really come to appreciate. Skoda likes to give its cars a range of ‘Simply Clever’ features – you all know about the ice scraper located on the inside of the filler cap that’s present on all Skodas, and how the Superb saloon has umbrellas in the doors like a Rolls-Royce, but the Karoq is chocked full of other things.
Speaking of bottles, the centre console is a treasure trove of cunning storage spaces. There are little cubbies and little slots to keep coins (real money, remember that?) for the parking machine. The cupholder is the real triumph here, though, as it has a special bottom to it to allow you to unscrew bottle lids one-handed when you’re driving. Cupholders are normally an afterthought in cars I find, and are either too large or too small. Not so in the Karoq.
Going food shopping is now my favourite hobby due to the Karoq’s key ring. Sometimes we have to get our weekly shop from a town where for some people stealing supermarket trollies is a pastime. And despite the opening of an M&S Food Hall, nicking trollies is still rife. Because of this, if you want to use a trolley to prance around with other middle-class people in M&S, you have to insert a £1 coin to unlock a trolley from the great line of them in the car park.
Aside from this, the Karoq is averaging a solid 40mpg most weeks and is proving to be a perfect long-distance companion. More on this next time.
