So I picked up our Karoq at end of November.

 

Must say 10/10 for staff and service at Marshall’s Skoda Croydon. A very no pressure sale including an unaccompanied hour test drive and a ‘contactless’ handover during lockdown two. Didn’t think changing a car could be so easy at difficult times but they managed to make it so. 
 

Now that must state now I work in the car industry myself so I am more critical than most and know what to look out for! I work for an opposing brand too!! 
 

Having done a lot of research and swapping over from a VW we went for the 1.5TSI DSG SEL in Quartz Grey, no options as this seemed to have the most bang for buck and was due in stock within a few weeks. 
 

Two weeks in and so far very impressed. LED headlights have been superb overnight, boot has really surprised us on size and whoever thought of the blind/parcel shelf system in Czech needs a medal! Just makes sense! Car drives well and the 1.5 with DSG combo works well. Everyone has commented on how ‘premium’ it comes across. 
 

The radio/nav isn’t as user friendly as I have been used to with VAG - destination entry is a nightmare on NAV! Laura voice control doesn’t understand me at all! Radio logos are missing and can’t find a way to update them.

 

Skoda Connect worked immediately for all but the remote locking which I had to chase the dealer to verify me. however it doesn’t ‘push notifications’ to your phone so you don’t get updates on status unless your in the app and it’s a bit slow on updating car status. Great app but needs a little work. 
 

19’’ Alloys - look great but I really would of loved a zero cost downgrade option. They have a rubber band of a tyre on them. Quite crashy in poor London roads and speed bumps. 16s with massive tyres would be nicer in town with Kirbs but this is a personal thing! 
 

So far very happy! 

I couldn't agree more with everything you say. The infortainment issue is because your car has the latest software and I suspect the newer VWs are exactly the same. The other thing I find with the Karoq is that the perceived build quality is just that bit better than modern VW's and dare I say it, the very latest Audi Q2 / Q3 and A3 have dropped their standards too.

 

The app on my Skoda Connect was auto updated last night and it's now slightly better than before. I'm still not quite sure why I'd have any use for it tho. 

6 hours ago, Karoq2020 said:

19’’ Alloys - look great but I really would of loved a zero cost downgrade option. They have a rubber band of a tyre on them. Quite crashy in poor London roads and speed bumps. 16s with massive tyres would be nicer in town with Kirbs but this is a personal thing!

 

It looks good on those 19" wheels.  You don't want to go and spoil it with diddy wheels on it..........

Picking mine up in next few weeks, can't wait!! Did you happen to test-drive an SE L with 18" wheels? Have you noticed much of a difference if you did?

Andrew 

4 minutes ago, gigolo456 said:

Picking mine up in next few weeks, can't wait!! Did you happen to test-drive an SE L with 18" wheels? Have you noticed much of a difference if you did?

Andrew 

Our 2018 SEL came with standard 18" alloys with 215/50R18 Michelin tyres and it is a better ride comfort than the 19" alloys and 235/40R19 Bridgestone tyres I fitted a few months ago although the wider wheels and tyres offer much more grip in the corners.

4 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

Our 2018 SEL came with standard 18" alloys with 215/50R18 Michelin tyres and it is a better ride comfort than the 19" alloys and 235/40R19 Bridgestone tyres I fitted a few months ago although the wider wheels and tyres offer much more grip in the corners.

Ahh, ok, so not all bad then lol?? Would you say that the difference is very noticeable?

13 minutes ago, gigolo456 said:

Ahh, ok, so not all bad then lol?? Would you say that the difference is very noticeable?

Think the latest SEL with the 19" Crater wheels comes with 225/40R19 tyres which have less sidewall depth than the Superb wheels I fitted to my wife's Karoq but the ride is still decent and on longer motorway trips hardly any difference but as said above a little crashy around town.

11 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

Think the latest SEL with the 19" Crater wheels comes with 225/40R19 tyres which have less sidewall depth than the Superb wheels I fitted to my wife's Karoq but the ride is still decent and on longer motorway trips hardly any difference but as said above a little crashy around town.

I did test-drive an SE L last Saturday with 18s and was extremely impressed by ride quality!! Then had test-drive in Sportline with 19s, and not quite as good tbh...

Stupid question probably but can you not just change the tyres to ones with more sidewall, or am I talking cr*p lol??

Dealer has said of course I can change to 18s, but totally at my own expense!! Ridiculous...

If I was you with your experience of both car test drives I would choose the 18" option and our Michelin's have lasted 27,000 miles and still had some decent thread left but had the Vega alloys in the garage with better thread depth for winter and improved safety for SWMBO.

4 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

If I was you with your experience of both car test drives I would choose the 18" option and our Michelin's have lasted 27,000 miles and still had some decent thread left but had the Vega alloys in the garage with better thread depth for winter and improved safety for SWMBO.

Hmmm, new car was already built, somewhere en route to UK, if not already here, so if I want to change now I'll need to fork out well over an additional grand I'm sure for 18" wheels, and tyres of course... :(

5 hours ago, gigolo456 said:

Picking mine up in next few weeks, can't wait!! Did you happen to test-drive an SE L with 18" wheels? Have you noticed much of a difference if you did?

Andrew 

Yeah test drove on 18’s but couldn’t tell you if I notice any difference from that short one drive. 
To be fair the drive is superb just more noticeably hard over speed humps or rougher roads to our previous car (VW Touran on 16’s!) 
 

Im more scared of damage than the ride if I’m really honest! 

5 hours ago, gigolo456 said:

...so if I want to change now I'll need to fork out well over an additional grand I'm sure for 18" wheels, and tyres of course... :(

 

Offset buy selling your 19" alloys and tyres?  At the end of the day the change shouldn't cost you that much.

 

That said, is there a difference in ride quality - yes, slight difference.  Can the cost be justified? - not according to my arse or wallet it can't.  What looks best, the Karoq 19" or the 18" alloys?  If your answer is the 18" then you also need to factor in the cost of an eye test and glasses.    

On 12/12/2020 at 16:33, gigolo456 said:

Stupid question probably but can you not just change the tyres to ones with more sidewall, or am I talking cr*p lol?

 

No, for a higher sidewall you need to switch to smaller rims as the outer diameter of the wheel has to remain as designed (or very close to it).

I bought 16" rims for winter and ride is fabulous while still great on the original 17" in summer.

We bought our Karoq 2.0 DSG 4X4 SE in Quartz Grey from Marshalls Croydon 3 years ago and agree, they are an outstanding dealership. Our previous Yeti was from there too.

 

The roads around here are awfully potholed, whilst Croydon Council is now bankrupt, so our 17" wheels on the SE are a blessing. I have just replaced the front tyres after 23K miles and the new Continental all-weathers have improved matters further.

 

Our car's getting a full 4 hour valet on Tuesday morning, to restore it to showroom condition for another couple of years or so of happy and classy motoring.

And how does your 4x4 cope with said ****ty roads?

It copes very well on 17" wheels and in the rare snow we have had since taking ownership it did very well indeed on the steep hills that surround us - very sure footed. Not as good as a Freelander Mk1 we once owned, but the Karoq doesn't break down once a month  Comparable to the Honda CRV that followed the Freelander junk that we kept 10 years and 120K miles without a single significant fault.

13 minutes ago, Woody37 said:

It copes very well on 17" wheels and in the rare snow we have had since taking ownership it did very well indeed on the steep hills that surround us - very sure footed. Not as good as a Freelander Mk1 we once owned, but the Karoq doesn't break down once a month  Comparable to the Honda CRV that followed the Freelander junk that we kept 10 years and 120K miles without a single significant fault.

Ahh, sorry, so you put the 17s on the 4x4 in the winter time??

No, it's the SE model, the very first customer bought Karoq on British roads the dealer reckoned*, and it came with 17"s. 

 

* I collected it before the official launch date and they got a mild bollo**ing apparently.

1 minute ago, Woody37 said:

No, it's the SE model, the very first customer bought Karoq on British roads the dealer reckoned*, and it came with 17"s. 

 

* I collected it before the official launch date and they got a mild bollo**ing apparently.

I see, apologies, I misread..

How does your Sportline cope with the roads around there though on 19s??

On 12/12/2020 at 08:22, Karoq2020 said:

So I picked up our Karoq at end of November.

 

Must say 10/10 for staff and service at Marshall’s Skoda Croydon. A very no pressure sale including an unaccompanied hour test drive and a ‘contactless’ handover during lockdown two. Didn’t think changing a car could be so easy at difficult times but they managed to make it so. 
 

Now that must state now I work in the car industry myself so I am more critical than most and know what to look out for! I work for an opposing brand too!! 
 

Having done a lot of research and swapping over from a VW we went for the 1.5TSI DSG SEL in Quartz Grey, no options as this seemed to have the most bang for buck and was due in stock within a few weeks. 
 

Two weeks in and so far very impressed. LED headlights have been superb overnight, boot has really surprised us on size and whoever thought of the blind/parcel shelf system in Czech needs a medal! Just makes sense! Car drives well and the 1.5 with DSG combo works well. Everyone has commented on how ‘premium’ it comes across. 
 

The radio/nav isn’t as user friendly as I have been used to with VAG - destination entry is a nightmare on NAV! Laura voice control doesn’t understand me at all! Radio logos are missing and can’t find a way to update them.

 

Skoda Connect worked immediately for all but the remote locking which I had to chase the dealer to verify me. however it doesn’t ‘push notifications’ to your phone so you don’t get updates on status unless your in the app and it’s a bit slow on updating car status. Great app but needs a little work. 
 

19’’ Alloys - look great but I really would of loved a zero cost downgrade option. They have a rubber band of a tyre on them. Quite crashy in poor London roads and speed bumps. 16s with massive tyres would be nicer in town with Kirbs but this is a personal thing! 
 

So far very happy! 

Random question. Is the steering wheel you got standard in MY21? Or is that the two-spoke heated option?

On 30/01/2021 at 22:14, TAY18 said:

Random question. Is the steering wheel you got standard in MY21? Or is that the two-spoke heated option?

Standard on all models now from MY21 the three spoke is now the upgrade. It’s a really nice steering wheel feels good and the scroll controls are excellent 

Great! Can't wait, mine is en route to the UK now and getting 21 reg :).

12 minutes ago, TAY18 said:

Great! Can't wait, mine is en route to the UK now and getting 21 reg :).

Fantastic! You’ll love it