Agerbundsen

The idea that the diesels are "dirty" in relation to the current petrol engines is a myth. They have lower CO2 output because of higher efficiency - less fuel used per kW produced. The DPF and AdBlue also reduces the particulate and NOx in relation to the direct injected petrol engines. The current brouhahah about engine testing is really about the particulates and other emissions from Petrol engines - not the diesels. Real time performance is also better in the 150 HP TDI vs. the 150 HP 1.5 TSI - torque is higher much lower down, so in normal driving, much more refined way of power than the petrol engine. The press and social media have a nasty habit of judging diesel engines based on what they were 10 or 20 years ago, and ignoring the low emissions from the modern ones.

Agree. But I think the problem is that coming from two Yeti's - like I also did - they had the soul/spirit/verve that the Karoq is missing. It's just too damn perfect.

Irritant: The electrical paraphernalia on the bottom of the Varioflex seats and on the floor below them. This seems very prone to damage when these seats are folded fully forward. Not quite in the "Very Clever" Skoda tradition. I assume this is for the seat belt/load sensors - which show on start-up in the multi function display.

I suppose the purpose of the speed bumps are twofold: 1. Make you slow down. 2. Remind you when you did not slow down enough. Operator error?

I have a long term relationship with my dealer. They frequently get requests from buyers of new or used cars for upgrade wheels and tyres. So I ordered a set of new 17"wheels with Michelin CrossClimate tyres and traded the "old" ones in. They allowed about 50% of the new price for the used wheels, so with their good discounts on the new wheels I got the wheels I wanted at a lower price than buying a set of wheels with winter tyres. The 18" Skoda wheels with a 45 mm off-set fit many other Skoda and VW vehicles - basically all of those built on the MQB platform, so can be offered to another car buyer. Another alternate is to sell the old wheels on the internet. If you do not try to get the last few pennies out of the deal, they will sell quickly.

This might be heresy to some in here, but I seriously question the wisdom of 19" wheels and /45 series tyres on a Karoq. Mine came with 18" /50 series Bridgestone Turanza's, which were noisy as heck, but of course quite responsive in braking and cornering. after a few thousand miles, they were replaced with 17" Michelin CrossClimate 225/55 series tyres. The result is that the car is very much quieter, and handles like the tyres and suspension tuning is much more harmonious. Much more like my much loved Yeti's. On top of that, in our climate, there is no need for SERIOUS snow capability tyres in winter, so a capable summer tyre with excellent dry and wet and ice performance, but "not quite up to the "real" winter snow tyre" snow performance seems a sensible and economical solution. No twice annual change of wheels, no storage problems and a decent trade-in price for the " almost new" original wheel/tyre combination. If the look of the 19inchers and the skinny tyres floats your boat, so be it - but they will be terrible off-road and in the winter.

In the DK "Style" version, which is the only version offered in Denmark, there are only LED bulbs - so no need or indeed possibility of carrying any spares.

Excellent post. When planning a trip to France, order the environment sticker well in advance, or you may not drive into some cities. The price is only a few Euro, and it is easy to order on their website, but receiving the stickers takes a couple of weeks.

Sounds OK to me - provided the outside trip is long enough to get the engine properly warm.

Gabi, Which model engine do you have?? My experience with 4 VAG Diesels from 2009 onwards - 1-1.9 PDI and three 2.0 170/150 hp TDI - all in Skoda vehicles is that they are not smoky or smelly, and the regeneration process for the DPF functions well - even when you stop in the middle of a regeneration. It just waits till you start again and the conditions of temperature and pressure drop across the filter are right for another regeneration. You do not have to drive at any specific speed etc., except if the car instruments asks you to. My Karoq does idle at around 1000 rpm on occasion - when there is a reason for it - regeneration or high use of A/C, presumably also if the battery has been used much and needs to charge. My driving needs are many short trips around town and about one longer trip once a week or so. The old 1.9 PDI did not have a DPF installed.

This is pure speculation, but I considered 235 wide 17" tyres as a replacement. The distance between the tyre and the front strut with the standard 225/50 18" set-up is only about 10 mm, so with the standard 18 and 17" wheels with 44/45 mm off-set, the 235 tyres would have been 5 mm closer to the strut. I suppose the wheel off-set for the 235/40 - 19" wheels is different, so the tyres are further away from the strut - and the trim needed to keep the tyre "inside" the car.

Look at this very detailed review of all Season Tyres: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-Auto-Bild-SUV-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm Then you can decide which type of performance is best for your location - and whether you need "real" winter tyres to drive in mountains or northern Scandinavia or Scotland in winter. Note the reviewer's comments on UK use and that the original ratings are based on Central Europe conditions. Read earlier comments in this thread for more details. Note that my car is a 2.0 TDI 4x4, so quite a bit heavier and different original tyres and rear axle than the 1.5 TSI. Also, my benchmark is two 4x4 Yetis' over a 9 year period of happy ownership.

Two comments: 1. The car knows! It is telling you that it is more economical to shift up a gear or two, and the engine can handle it at the current speed. 2. It’s you driving, and it’s your decision if you want to follow the recommendation or not.

IMHO, the digital dash is not worth paying for. Go to a VW dealer and have them show it to you. Then make up your mind if that is an advantage to you to have or not,

The car is much smarter than we are. It calculates the most economical gear based on DATA - not emotions. But, just like the lane assist, it is a recommendation, not a command. If you already know that very soon, you will need acceleration in a bit of a vigorous manner, you would be foolish to shift up, just because some display told you to. On the other hand, if you just intend to keep toodling along at about the same speed, it tells you that it would be more economical to change to the suggested gear. I find that with the DSG, the car brain is better than I was with a manual gear to select the right gear, and very quickly change down in response to a firmer push on the accelerator. Conclusion: better mileage than I got with the manual, and quicker acceleration, based on accelerator position than I would get with a manual. seems to me to be a win-win situation.

I bet you have some accurate dimensions, right? Also, the shelf seems to clip over the tops of the shopping bag hooks, right? Did you notice any reduction in noise from the rear when you wre driving with the shelf installed?

The selection of 225/50-18R winter tyres is very limited. 225/55-17R or 215/60-17R are much more available. If you need to be able to fit snow chains, the tyres have to be 215/60-16 on 6J-16" wheels.

The Triton wheels are standard Original Skoda optional 7J-17" wheels. They are not really black, but a VERY dark grey. No small, narrow fiddly bits in the wheel design, so no places you cannot get to and clean, and the color does not show the brake dust much. The standard wheel brushes in the car wash does clean them quite well. It's you that performed well in the snow with Brigdestone Turanza summer tyres - not the tyres.

Hre you go

Succes......... The new wheels and tyres workshop extremely well. It is fairly clear that the 225/55 - 17 size suits the Karoq suspension tuning much better than the original 18 inch wheels. With the original 50 series tyres, the car handled OK, but was not as “together” as my old Yeti’s. This has now changed. The car handles in a fashion that feels harmonious- meaning that it behaves as you expect it to for this type of vehicle. Just like the Yeties did. On top of that, the Michelin CrossClimate tyres are significantly less noisy than the Bridgestone Turanzas. So high speed motorway trips are much more relaxing. I know from past experience that the CrossClimates perform well in both dry and wet conditions, so a little poorer snow performance in our climate is a very small disadvantage. The Skoda Triton wheels in the dark grey colour with no shiny bits look good on the white car, and does not show the brake dust - which was the purpose of selecting them. So, who’s a happy camper now?

385 km all motorway, but with a few slow roadworks included. Average speed over the distance 110 km/hr - 69 mph, 50.5 mpg. A/C running all the time. 1000 km round trip in southern Norway, mostly A-roads, but some mountain tracks, Lots of stops and short trips, 54 mpg average. Both on on-board computer. 2.0 TDI DSG 4x4, two people and luggage.