nonuffinprof

Many thanks everyone! We are nearly the proud owners of the Karoq, pending a valet! Test drove the CRV with my wife and my back had a very visceral reaction against the seats, especially the passenger one that has no lumbar support (which I hadn't spent much time in before). And after having driving the Karoq the day before I suddenly how much the CRV wallows by comparison. Full credit to DM Keith Skoda Leeds. Very lovely to deal with. Got 5 years comprehensive Skoda warranty for £649 (first two, including services, were free if we took out finance, which we can pay off as soon as we like). Didn't bother with the other extras and got a good deal on the part exchange. The salesman did promise to include timing belt on the service plan, but since no one knows when they are supposed to be changed now, I imagine we'll have to fork out for that when the time comes. Bizarrely, the only thing the warranty excludes is wiring diagnostics. Thanks again. It feels like we've made the right decision. The Karoq was my first choice when I started looking in July and after a lot of dithering, a load of test drives and far too much time on the internet, we've come full circle. Happy to be firmly part of the Skoda family/ badge, given we also have a 08 Fabia (we'll go down to one car when the Fabia starts to need costly repairs). Thanks again one and all. r extras.

So drove the Karoq today and it drove spot on. I felt it encouraged leisurely driving (compared to my Focus) and thus good fuel economy but cornered well and was very easy to manoeuvre. You have to depress the accelerator a bit for anything to happen, but that contributed to the relaxing vibe. I appreciated the way you can change it to sport mode via the gear stick: this felt intuitive for me coming from a manual and should be useful if I want to prepare to overtake, although I know there are other ways of increasing the revs. The only concern was the tight legroom (kneeroom to be precise) behind me. I could only really fit in by lifting the table (I'm just under 6' 2"). The way the whole middle seatback comes down if you want an armrest seemed slightly unnecessary, but I think this may make the seat back more comfortable if you actually have to use it as a seat. The tight back seats made me have a quick run out in a Tiguan down the road. Definitely more space (two and a half finger widths) but again the long term average mpgs were wildly different: 23.1 for the Tig as opposed to 41 for the Karoq! Maybe VW drivers just like to rev more, or maybe they just get snarled up in more traffic. I also think the Karoq is much more pleasing to look at from the outside and the boot seems a marginally better shape ( I like the tonneau cover that you can attach to the boot door much more than the standard hatchback parcel shelf in the Tiguan. I tried the voice command feature but neither the salesman nor I could get it to switch radio stations: must be a knack. Also found out that Skoda are happy to offer a warranty up to 10 years/120k. This doesn't seem to be as widely advertised as, say Toyota's 10 year rolling warranty. First two years are free if I take out finance ( servicing costs also included) and can get another three years warranty from them for £849. I think I'll leave the extended warranty for the moment,and all the other extras where they make their money, unless anyone gives me a good reason to do otherwise (diamondbrite £414, alloys 235, cosmetic repairs 385, GAP 328 and punctures 244). If anyone has a good bargaining tip, I'm all ears, but the price for is hard to beat on autotrader, even from car supermarkets, cinch etc. Tomorrow my wife and I test drive the hybrid CRV and the Karoq back to back and (hopefully) make our final decision...

The car arrives tomorrow so I'll report back on the test drive...

Thanks everyone: brilliantly helpful!

Some crossed wires here, Toot. No, It's not. It's a 1.5 TSI SEL DSG but no mention of ACT or AWD.

Thanks Breezy Pete! That certainly matches with what I thought I was buying! There's a 2020 Tiguan TSI Match DSG going at an independent garage for almost the same money as the 69 plate Karoq with similar mileage but with a different autobox (DQ381). Given the scepticism over whether the mpg is really that different between the Tiguan and the Karoq, would anyone counsel going for the Tiguan? No heated seats but I could always get a heated seated cover.

How did you work out it was AWD? YK69YEV TMBKR7N UXL2010434 Karoq SE L 1.5 TSI 150 PS DSG Velvet red metallic Engine number: DPCAC15770 Yes, would be funny if it were AWD (does AWD reduce mpg even if you have it switched off?) and good news if it has the DQ 381! The car is being brought over from another branch, so that might explain things!

Thanks Rory too--just spotted your post! For some reason it wasn't showing or i didn't make it to page 2. Interesting that you got good mpg out of the Tiguan. I found it great to drive, so maybe I shouldn't be put off by the snooty/ incompetent main dealer.And yes, Honda Leeds has closed too. The Honda dealer in Harrogate has a tiny plot but pleasant people and friends report that it's good, if expensive. I wonder why Honda do so badly in the UK when they are so big worldwide.

Thanks Toot. Knew I could rely on you! I have it in an email from the salesman that the car has "the DQ200 wet clutch" after he supposedly checked with the mechanics: doesn't exactly fill me with confidence that they know what they are doing! I plan to hang on to the car for as long as possible ( say 10 years but at low mileage, 10-12k/year) so don't really want a problem part to worry about once I'm unable to get a warranty. Most of the stuff I've read on the DQ200 suggests that the problem was on earlier plates and should have been engineered out by now, so maybe "dreaded" wasn't the right adjective. How about the much discussed but probably fine now DQ200?! If people really think it is no longer an issue, then that's fine. On mpgs, yes, both are the combined figures from Honest John. I was a bit dubious about the 8 mpg difference between the Tiguan and the Karoq, given its the same engine, but there was a similar gap when I did my test drives, both of which were obviously slightly more cautious than I normally drive. The long term average on the Karoq I drove was an impressive 43.8 mpg at an average speed of 36mph, whereas the Tiguan was 32mpg long term (didn't note down average speed). And yes, going with what's comfortable and fun to drive sounds like good words of advice. The complication is that my wife will drive it more regularly than me (I cycle to work, she goes by car) and she presently drives a Fabia. I suspect that the Karoq will win out as less of a jump for her.

Update. I decided to step back from buying for a month or two as prices were so high. They seem to have come down quite significantly now so I'm back looking. I've been round the houses. Nearly bought a Tiguan 1.5 TSI for the extra knee room in the back but was put off by the mpg (honest John quotes real mpg as 32, whereas the same engine in the Karoq achieves 40, figures born out by my test drives) and the rubbish VW main dealer in Leeds. So currently down to two cars: 1) a 69 plate Karoq 1.5 SEL that's done 50k going for £18,000 at my Skoda dealer and 2) a hybrid Honda CRV 19 plate, 58k that's going for £20,000 at a Honda dealer. I'm guessing everyone here will suggest the Karoq the better choice but I really enjoyed driving both and am slightly seduced by the idea of going hybrid and the extra space/ efficiency on offer in the CRV (real mpg of 45, plus better on city driving, which is most of what we do). On the other hand the heated leather seats in the Karoq felt much more supportive than the CRV seats and the touch screen tech better. Both have rear cameras and parking sensors. Only the Karoq has roof rails, which will no doubt come in handy. I can add roof rails to the CRV, but it's already £2000 more without the rails. The Karoq has the dread DQ200 clutch. The salesman says that it is a wet clutch, which I gather would make it more reliable, but I can't find any evidence on the web that a wet DQ200 exists! He also claims that it is 'not showing as a serviceable item' which suggests to me that it is a dry clutch from what I've read--otherwise it should be serviceable, surely? I'm hoping to take out a two year skoda warranty (free if I take out finance) and then extend it for a further two years, and I'll check (as someone suggested above) that the clutch is covered under this. As Skoda have removed the directive to change the cambelt, I won't worry that the 1.5 is harder/ more expensive to change than the 1.0 (having finally driven both, I definitely prefer the 1.5). As far as I can tell, Skoda are not recommending any change interval at all now, which seems a bit weird. Is there anything I should insist on them checking/ changing before I buy? I'm thinking the Honda probably more reliable in the long run, but I haven't dug as deep. It has a chain rather than a cambelt, and the clutch system doesn't have gears. HJ tells me that "Rather than use a conventional CVT, the kind you'd find with most hybrids, the CR-V has a clever single fixed-gear system, resulting in a smoother transfer of torque". In theory, I think, this should mean less wear/ moving parts. Any thoughts welcome! I very much appreciated the advice I got a couple of months ago! Much will depend on our final test drives later this week. The Karoq details in case this helps: YK69YEV TMBKR7N UXL2010434 Karoq SE L 1.5 TSI 150 PS DSG Velvet red metallic Engine number: DPCAC15770

Thanks all. BTand SID: I've tried a 1.5 TSI manual and really enjoyed it. I think next step is to test drive a 1.5 auto and see if I feel the same lag as I did in the 1.0. And thanks smipix too: after a while on these forums, you begin to despair of finding any car without issues, but once you know about issues, its hard to forget them! I started out thinking I would just upgrade to another Ford, as my Focus has been absolutely rock solid. But then I started reading about exploding "ecoboom" engines...

Thanks all. I think I'll avoid the launch control function! Looks like I'll have to get my tape measure out re which version has more legroom. And yes, the Ateca did feel a bit harsher when I test drove one. Most of our regular routes involve several sets of speed bumps so that pretty much rules out the Ateca. Will remember to get smallest rims possible! Still undecided on 1.0 v 1.5, and trim level. And would still welcome advice on whether the DQ200 dry clutch auto box issues are serious enough to warrant going for a manual. My knees could probably handle a light clutch (only 53...) and the model I most enjoyed testing was the 1.5 manual (less gear changes felt necessary than the 1.0).

Thanks both--again very helpful. XMan: Everyone after Karoqs and few around, so prices similar: 2018 Karoq SEL roughly same as Rav 4 Icon (lowest spec), circa £20,000. But RAV4 insurance another £300/year, presumably as 2.5 hybrid petrol engine. Bit worrying about the DQ200 dry clutch auto box issues. Should this be enough to put me off DSG Karoqs? Aged Briar: I suspect I'll just have to get used to a slightly more laid back style of driving: manual focus to an auto SUV was always going to be a bit of step change!

Many thanks SurreyJohn. Really helpful replies. I'd forgotten about the rear seat adjustment. We were test driving an SE today, which has fixed seats. Another reason to go SEL, although I take your point about more gadgets to go wrong! And yes, we tend to hang on to cars for as long as possible.

Many thanks Toot. That was my mistake not the garage's. They said the 1.5 harder to change; in fact they had to send it to another garage. Good to have it confirmed that they have dropped the 5 year change. It almost put me off buying one! So are you saying 1.5 ACTs will be quicker to respond than 1.0s? Sorry if this is a dumb question. Also, I'd ignored the ACT spec which I gather stands for Active Cylinder Technology. About half of the Karoqs advertised on autotrader signal that they are ACT. It might be that some dealers just don't bother noting it. Otherwise it seems odd that some have it and some don't. Presumably it's a bonus if it does, as better mpg? Or is it just another thing that might go wrong...