Karoq - Buying Advice Please

[benbfc12]

Hi all,

 

My leon is going back in a couple of months and the growing family needs a bigger car, we have done the Duster v Kadjar v Tiguan etc comparison and decided the Karoq is for us.  Our last Skoda was a 15 plate Rapid Spaceback.

 

We have two kids and want the varioflex seats so that means a SEL or above.

 

About to purchase a caravan for jaunts around the north of england and a couple of weeks in Europe each year.  10k mileage without a tow on motorways mainly.  We want to keep this for years, 7 minimum...

 

Used prices for a 19 plate with circa 10k miles on range from 19k to about 23k and you could buy a scout at top budget.

 

Based on the above what engine do you guys think would suit?    I am thinking a 1.6 D would be adequate? .. will it be short on power?  should i just pay the extra and go for a 2.0 diesel and with the towing get a 4x4 too??

 

All advice appreciated. 

[Mr Rubble]

I have been running a 1.6 for over a year and find that it has adequate power, will keep up with traffic ok. Although you do have to plan overtake in places like the autobahn as the traffic moves that much faster. It is a nice stable drive and eats up the miles with ease on a long run. Ours has taken us across Germany and France on a couple of occasions. 

Mind you it's rarely driven fully laden. I don't tow and no little about towing, but I would have thought it would be a little underpowered with a caravan  and all seats occupied. 

[BoxerBoy]

7 hours ago, Mr Rubble said:

I have been running a 1.6 for over a year and find that it has adequate power, will keep up with traffic ok. Although you do have to plan overtake in places like the autobahn as the traffic moves that much faster. It is a nice stable drive and eats up the miles with ease on a long run. Ours has taken us across Germany and France on a couple of occasions. 

Mind you it's rarely driven fully laden. I don't tow and no little about towing, but I would have thought it would be a little underpowered with a caravan  and all seats occupied. 

A little?

 

I’d think A Lot.
 

 

 

 

Sorry - feeling a bit lighthearted this afternoon ‘cos I can’t go ride my bike yet

[Ootohere]

Re the 1.6 TDI which has SCR (AdBlue).  They have not been such for that long and now Skoda are dropping the 1.6 TDI with SCR.

 

Personally i would not want to own one out of Manufacturers Warranty.

Maybe they will be fine for many years to come, personally i seriously doubt that.

Edited 30 May, 2020 by Roottootemblowinootsoot

[benbfc12]

Thanks for the input! We have just sorted a pre reg scout with 2.0TDI to ensure we can tow a broad spectrum.  

 

Exciting - looking forward to pick up!

[JohnD5314]

Rather depends on the caravan you are towing - I pull 1500 kg and need the weight of the 2.0 diesel and 4x4 to make it a safe option (I come in at about 90% rather than the recommended 85% - but then I have Active Trailer Control and am reasonably experienced at towing). Absolutely no problem towing - not exactly a bat out of hell but quite respectable acceleration. You might want to check out if it has tow bar prep as this includes the Skoda recommended mods to the cooling system (new fan and grill) which can cost an extra £500 or so to retrofit.

 

Do you need the cooling mods? I think it depends whether you want to argue with Skoda over whether they will honour the warranty claim if there are any cooling related issues you might have.

[silver1011]

A lot of people get stuck on engine size being an accurate way of determining power, oh how they laughed when Ford fitted a 1.0 litre petrol engine to a Focus / Mondeo, and almost as much when VAG added their 1.0 and 1.2 TSI engines to Octavia's and Yeti's.

 

The "there ain't no relacement for displacement" followers (best said in an American accent) have largely been silenced in the last 5 or more years.

 

How much of your 10,000 mile annual mileage will be pulling the caravan? Ask yourself if you can justify the extra expense of the diesel and the reduced reliability of the diesel when used with your typical jorney types (low mileage, long ownership) just for the extra 70Nm of torque when towing for a handful of times a year.

 

So don't assume it has to be diesel. Be wary buying used 1.5 TSI's, hopefully you'll be aware of what to look out for on test drives.

 

What are the kerbweights of the Karoq's you're looking at, and the MTPLM of the caravans you're looking at?

 

My 1.4 TSI manual Kodiaq has a kerbweight (with driver) of 1,793kg. Engine output wise it is identical to the later 1.5 TSI.

 

I tow a single axle Bailey Pursuit with a MTPLM of 1,374kg, this puts me at 77% so nicely below the 85% car to caravan weight ratio recommendation.

 

With its relatively small 1.4 TSI 150PS petrol engine, manual gearbox and 250Nm of torque it tows really well (the 150PS 2.0 TDI has 320Nm)...

 

 

Like you we also do 10,000 miles per year which rules out a diesel for many reasons, and I wasn't prepared to choose the engine based on what ultimately ends up being such a small percentage of its annual mileage / use.

 

Edited 4 June, 2020 by silver1011

[Guest]

Whilst I agree with everything silver1011 says, if I see a tow bar on a used car I think/hope perhaps it's been used to carry bicycles or a small trailer?

 

Senario. We're in the market for a used 1.4tsi Kodiaq and see a nice looking example sitting on the dealers forecourt. We look the car over, go for a test drive and everything seems well. We then take a look in the glovebox and find the previous owner has left a picture of his car in the glovebox, the picture being the one Silver1001 has posed above. Now would you 

 

a: not bat an eyelid?

or

b: run a mile?

 

I know what I'd do and I've got a sneaky suspicion Silver1011 would outrun me.