I've got a brand new  Karoq Sportline 4x4 manual diesel on loan for a few days. The extras are mind bogglingly  complex, confusing and inaccesible after my relatively simple 1.4SE. Every  Skoda extra appears to be fitted. Nice to sit in and steer, but the gearing seems very high and I have found myself two gears lower than I would in my petrol estate. 

Mpg is also poor to me, in comparison, on a regular journey. Indicated 40mpg so far over several 50 mile rural returns. Nice to have tried a posh,to me, £30,000, Skoda. The simpler 2WD 1.0l on a previous loan had better mpg and was more appealing. Just my personal impression.

Any thoughts on the cabin quality (build, materials, gaps etc.) Compared to the Octavia? Is refinement any better too?

 

New engine, plus taller car, plus 4x4, and extra weight likely hampers mpg somewhat to a worn-in Octavia. 40mpg doesn't sound great though for that kind of journey, I'd likely achieve that or better in my Octavia VRS TSI which is hardly the benchmark for fuel economy.

It looks to be built OK.  Ride is fine and is quiet enough, once on song, but vibratory at lower revs. I'd often to drive two gears lower (than my petrol 1.4 Octavia) to avoid lack of torque and vibration. Acceleration is good , but in lower gears than I'd expect for a turbo diesel.

£30K for a Karoq? Yikes. That is silly money for a Golf on stilts.

I am horrified at the consumption you got from a diesel for the journeys you described.

6 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

I am horrified at the consumption you got from a diesel for the journeys you described.

 

A couple of years ago I had a Kia Sportage on loan whilst I was waiting for a new car and it had a nasty diesel habit of £160 worth per month and that was with a light foot. So this to me would be quite good. 

Last tank in our 148bhp Karoq petrol was 491 miles driven on just 44.07 litres which gave an average of just over 50mpg. Got to be happy with that.

Loan car was a Karoq Sportline  2l diesel manual with adblue tank, 19 inch wheels and a 4x4.  Not the best recipe for fuel economy. I also experienced my first regeneration . Felt like Dr Who. After the final journey 43mpg since refuel popped up. I'd refuelled 3 times, each time thinking that I was going to only have the car for another day.

3 hours ago, gregoir said:

Loan car was a Karoq Sportline  2l diesel manual with adblue tank, 19 inch wheels and a 4x4.  Not the best recipe for fuel economy. I also experienced my first regeneration . Felt like Dr Who. After the final journey 43mpg since refuel popped up. I'd refuelled 3 times, each time thinking that I was going to only have the car for another day.

@gregoir , so how did the Karoq compare to your Octavia?

On 10/05/2019 at 15:00, TheWanderer said:

 

A couple of years ago I had a Kia Sportage on loan whilst I was waiting for a new car and it had a nasty diesel habit of £160 worth per month and that was with a light foot. So this to me would be quite good. 

 

I've experience with only three diesels:

Mk2 Octavia 1.9pd manual, no dpf- I thought it was a great car and engine, it was good for a consistent 55mpg on a run no matter how arduous the conditions.

Hyundai Santa Fe 7 seater, 2.2L, AWD, 6 speed torque converter auto, no dpf - only about 42mpg on a run, really did not enjoy driving it and got rid of it after a only a year.

Kia C'eed 1.6L, manual, with dpf - rented for a month in the UK, a nondescript drive except for the excellent consumption, most fills around 60mpg with a best fill of 70mpg. 

 

Compared to the Santa Fe, the Karoq is about 200/300kg lighter, has much lower aero drag (smaller frontal area and lower drag coefficient), a more efficient transmission so for Gregoir to only get a marginal improvement with his loan car is disappointing. Guess part of the problem for the Karoq is the burden of the new diesel emission standards.

As above, mpg was disappointing and the vibration and inability to use the higher gears was noticeable. Interior was nice and roomy and smart.. Boot was a bit shorter than my Octavia estate. Maybe a lesser 2 WD petrol Karoq would suit me better once the issues with the 1.5 tsi engine are sorted.

My 1.4Tsi  felt smooth and lively after the diesel, as well as being more economical. The STOP/START now is working after a new battery was fitted.

Just returned from Heathrow to pick up SWMBO in our quiet petrol Karoq cruised at 70mph most of the time (2,250rpm) except 50mph in the 17 mile roadworks on the M1 (both ways of course) and used 24.19 litres (5.32 gallons) over 289 miles at an average of 54.32mpg. Makes diesel a bit pointless with petrol £1.209 per litre.