CJJE

Yes, it's a very smart dealership now. Easy to find (it's the former Honda dealers place) and very friendly. Did a good deal with me when ordering a new Karoq Sportline in June, and have been helpful in adding the new MY21 Area View option to the order. Respond to emails after a day or so (but I'm not sure what days my sales rep works, and can't expect him to be there 24/7!) Before I visited them in June I'd been at the older cramped Newcastle-under-Lyme site. Perhaps I caught them on a bad day (it was just after the return to work from lockdown) but they seemed completely disinterested in me as a potential customer. So I drove on to Crewe instead and found them far more welcoming and helpful, making me go for the deal rather than wait any longer. Chris

I'll agree with that. VW and Skoda let you choose just what you want on your new car, and don't force you into the mix they want to sell you. Audi though are still pretty restrictive, and don't even offer heated windscreens! (When I enquired about a Q3, the sales guy tried to hide behind the 'Ford patent' argument until I pointed out that Skoda & VW can sell them!) I was also looking at a Toyota RAV4 - until I discovered that if you wanted a sunroof you couldn't have a spare wheel!! (Presumably CO2/weight related?) Chris

Which dealer is that? Have others had good or bad experiences with them???

There are drain 'hoses' at each corner of the panoramic roof to drain away any water getting around it. These can block up with debris and cause problems but not I'd hope on a new car! Chris

Congrats... You'll need to consider the rolling circumference of the 20 inch wheels - it depends on the tyres fitted to them. Chris

I seem to remember a similar thread where the garage had to put a mechanic in the boot and spray water around the car to find the fault - which I think was a rubber seal around a rear light assembly? Other possible culprits are a door seal, or seal around the rear windscreen wiper shaft from history with my previous cars. Chris

Hi Roottoot, It worked as advertised in that the van was approaching a high speed across my path as I was reversing slowly out from between other vans, but they blocked my vision of it. So the Rear Traffic Assist slammed the brakes on for me as he sailed past the back of my car. No impact, van driver couldn't even care less that he'd nearly hit me. Chris

According to the "Always on the Lookout" page of the 21 July Karoq brochure/price list, "Rear Traffic Alert included as part of the Blind Spot Detect system, this assistant helps you reverse safely from a parking spot when visibility is restricted. It can also activate the brakes automatically if an imminent collision is detected." And I can vouch for it working as described in my Golf - it prevented a nasty accident when a high-speed van came zooming behind me once in a crowded car park! Chris PS: It's also described in the 2020/05 owner's manual, although that doesn't link it to Blind Spot Detect.

Behind the drop down glovebox, near the fuses. You need to open the glove box and release the restraining arm on the side to drop it down. Chris

Update: A German magazine suggests that adaptive lane assist will also recognise roadworks. I wonder if they mean cones or lane markings in different colours as in Europe?? Chris

Lane assist warns when you approach the lane markings, I believe adaptive lane assist actually guides the car into the centre of the lane. (Which is what lane assist on my Golf has always done!) I noticed some odd changes for the Karoq as well... a heated steering wheel is now standard on the Sportline, but the heated windscreen has jumped up significantly! I wonder if they're using the film type rather than wired type?? And Area View on the Karoq requires adaptive lane assist, so the Driver Assist pack doesn't cut it (only lane assist) and you have to select one of the adaptive lane assist packs instead. Chris

The latest price list tells you all the options that are available in the UK, and it agrees with the configurator. The Skoda UK website is also showing the MY21 cars now and gives you details of the standard equipment for each trim level. Chris

Hi Scot5 I can't speak for the Kodiaq configurations, but the link you quote leads me to the same page as the one I quoted. The Sportline trim i'm buying seems identical in each, and are clearly MY21 cars as they have the new steering wheel. In fact, if I look at the Skoda.co.uk website, they are also showing the MY21 Karoqs there with the new steering wheel - and heated for MY21 in the Sportline unlike the MY20 cars. I also see a configuration ID and hovering at the top of the page produces a QR code - which is also printed at the top right of the car card. Checking the standard specs on both the Skoda.co.uk website and the configuration website shows the extra features provided on MY21 cars - like the USB-C sockets, Skoda Connect (free for one year) etc. My main concern was that Skoda UK were not going to offer Area View on the Karoq, trying to force customers up to the Kodiaq instead (in the same way they refuse to offer the 5 seat Kodiaqs that are sold throughout Europe). So although I'm annoyed that they are inflating the price so much compared with Skoda France, at last it is on offer. If you can access a different configurator but still through the same Skoda UK web page I'm baffled. Are you using the top link like me, or the flyout on the right, or the link at the bottom of the page? (They all seem to take me to the same configurator anyway.) I note that the options available do depend on the trim level. (Area View is offered for the Sportline and Edition, but not for the SE for instance.) Chris PS: I see the 21 July Price & Spec list is now on the Skoda UK website.

On the contrary! If you click on the 'Build Your Own' link on the Skoda UK website it takes you to the website I quoted above. AFAIK there has never been a configurator on the Skoda UK site itself, it has always linked to the main Skoda site with a 'en-GB' identifier so that we see the options Skoda UK have graciously given us.

The MY21 configurator is now available at https://cc.skoda-auto.com/gbr/en-GB/. The USB-C socket by the rear mirror (to power a dashcam) will cost £130! (Much more than it is listed in the Skoda France price list!) Area View is £575 (again quite a bit more than the French price) and also seems to be restricted to high-level trims and requires other assist options too. And wireless charging for phones is back (for £270). All these prices are dependent on the trim level though, and I've noticed on Sportline trim wireless charging and a heated steering wheel are now standard. Chris

If he wants you to register it in August (to boost his sales figures) rather than September, make sure he gives you a discount for losing out on the '70' plate! My VW dealer gave me £350 off my Golf SV to have it registered on February rather than March - and as I use a personal plate that I can remember and intended to keep it for long enough to avoid a depreciation hit - I was happy to do so

VAG seem very confident that they have solved the engine problems (for new cars at least) but be aware that the Touran is likely to stop production soon - previous rumours about a replacement merging the Golf SV and Touran seem to have been ditched as VW concentrate on SUVs and iDs. Ford are likely to be going the same way with the S-Max as they also are stopping production of MPVs in favour of SUVs. There's a new BMW Series 2 Active Tourer coming soon - which will be larger than the existing one as it will also replace the larger and discontinued Grand Tourer. Chris

I thought I'd heard that the Skoda factories had been working since late April? Although they may well be producing less cars of course 😞 Chris

My dealer still hasn't come back to me this week to confirm that he has been able to add Area View to my order... and I'm beginning to wonder if Skoda UK are not going to offer it to us in the UK! They've got form for this of course, as we aren't allowed to buy 5 seater Kodiaqs (apart from the base level trim) while they are available in the rest of Europe. I've heard it said that they want to ensure there is a clear gap in the market positioning for the Karoq and Kodiak (even though I'm sure many Kodiaq buyers who will never use the third row of seats would like to have it's enormous boot space and save around £1000 (which is the price differential in France between 5 and 7 seat Kodiaqs. So I'm fearing that they are going to treat Area View in the same way, and restrict it to the Kodiaq even though it's now being offered in the Karoq 😞 And I'll bet trying to add it myself later will cost an arm and a leg more than £500! Chris

Yes, according to the Skoda France pricelist, the extra USB-C socket will be a £50 option.

For anyone else like me, who has ordered a Karoq to be built as a MY21 car, Skoda have now given us access to the updated owners manual at https://manual.skoda-auto.com/210/en-gb/Model/Karoq_NU. Interestingly it says it's covering Karoqs from 2020/05! As we know, Area View will now be offered, as well as Trailer Assist, the MIB3 Infotainment systems, and the updated multi-functional steering wheels. Well the new owners manual tells you all about them so you can get to grips with how they will work It looks like Media files can only be stored on USB drives or Bluetooth connected phones now, so goodbye to my audio CDs and SD memory cards 😞 But it does seem to offer web radio stations and internet connection. As the latter seems to be needed for voice control to work, I'm hoping Skoda UK will be adding it as standard... but am still waiting for my dealer to get back to me with more details of the options we will have. I've already asked for Area View to be added to my car (anticipating a price of around £500) but he seems to be struggling to get the official price for it so far and actually get it added in. Chris

It's not shown as standard equipment or even an option on the configurator, so it doesn't look like you can fit one in 😞 Chris

I'd always choose all season tyres over summer tyres unless you're prepared to change from summer to winter and back each year. And I'm really annoyed that Skoda don't offer all-season tyres on their new cars! If Michelin make CrossClimate+ or CrossClimateSUV in your size, they'd be my choice after having them on my present car. They should last for a couple of years, so the cost is less important to me than the better grip in cold weather. Chris

The French price list suggests the extra USB-C socket will cost £50 or so. (https://www.skoda.fr/services/tarifs-karoq) Chris

Hi again Great Yeti, This news release https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/press-releases/skoda-karoq-kodiaq-and-superb-begin-2021-model-year-with-new-infotainment-generation/ also applies to the Scala if you read down far enough, so you should be getting an updated infotainment system too, and the option of a USB C socket by the rear mirror to power a dashcam! Chris