So having been a habitual Škoda owner over the years, I’m pursuing the Karoq as our next family car. We’ve had one in the past (a ‘19 plate 1.0 DSG) and the Sportline has caught my eye again as a practical and good looking option.

I have a healthy budget and would aim for a 2019 / 2020 car, sub-30k miles, my pick being the 2.0 tdi 4x4, however they’re vastly outnumbered by 1.5 tsi models (regardless of driveline) when searching the classifieds.

 

I’m aware (via the internet…) of the 1.5 tsi kangaroo concerns and don’t want to buy into a problem vehicle.

So, from those with the unfortunate experience of having  been affected by the 1.5 issues, how safe am I in plumbing for a 1.5?

 

- Would the issue be apparent on your average test drive? (I’m certain I’d detect the issue if it occurred, but by this I mean would the problem show within say 10 miles of driving?)

- Are there good cars and bad cars, i.e. are some completely unaffected?

- Could the problem develop over time? With 15-30k miles already run in, would the issue be evident or have some had experience with it beginning later?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can lend.

I see three 190 TDI's on Ebay.  We bought a new one in late 2019 and we're still very pleased with it. 

Just traded my 1.5 tsi Octavia 4 in at a main dealer. I had no problem with the engine. I have had a 2020 Karoq Edition tsi for a week now no problems at all with kangarooing if the car has been serviced it should have had a software update to correct the fault. Mine was on a yearly service plan it had only done 10k and has had 3 services which was a bonus!

9 hours ago, Schtum said:

I see three 190 TDI's on Ebay.  We bought a new one in late 2019 and we're still very pleased with it. 

Thanks for replying Schtum, glad to hear you're pleased with yours. You're absolutely right, there are a number of tdi's around, but travelling the country to see a car is laborious and obviously you can't be certain the condition until you visit the vehicle.

 

There is a white sportline at Simpsons Preston currently (KM19***); we drove the car, pretty much decided we were having it, then walked around and snagged it with the salesperson and found it has had a repair on the LHF wing/bumper/bonnet (also three people at the dealer stood in front of me and swore the corrosion around one of the bonnet stops was not corrosion! They couldn't tell me what it was though 😂 Real corporate/sales toe-the-line stuff. Also uninterested in sorting a tyre with severely cracked sidewall - total farce).

 

My point is, there are many more 1.5s around to get to and take a look at, hence me trying to find out more and see what might be present if I drive an affected car. 

6 hours ago, JFJ said:

Just traded my 1.5 tsi Octavia 4 in at a main dealer. I had no problem with the engine. I have had a 2020 Karoq Edition tsi for a week now no problems at all with kangarooing if the car has been serviced it should have had a software update to correct the fault. Mine was on a yearly service plan it had only done 10k and has had 3 services which was a bonus!

Sounds as though you have found a great car JFJ, thatnks for sharing your experience.

 

I've heard mixed messages on how effective the software updates are, but only from the VAG forums, not first-hand. I'm pleased you're enjoying your new Karoq and it appears you've got a good one there!

 

Any more thoughts from others on the OP would be very welcome 👍🏻

We bought a 2020 1.5 dsg Sportline in April (forced by Mayor Khan but that’s another story) to replace a lovely Freelander. Loved that Freelander, but have been very pleased with the Karoq. Went for the Sportline for the panoramic roof.

We, particularly Significant Other, had an issue with the OEM 19in wheels which seemed to pick up the slightest bump or pothole. I liked the Vega rims so was reluctant to replace with a smaller sized set-up which was the advice I received from many members on here. Instead I took a chance on replacing the Bridgestones, which needed doing any way, with Michelin CrossClimates and it’s been like a breath of fresh air, totally transformed the ride, even SO’s happy so win-win 👍

Infotainment system has taken some getting used to but this is likely to be a combination of coming out of a 2013 Freelander and ‘old person operative’ issues. 
Small software issue initially insofar as we had an error message appear every time we hit a bump, saying to seek workshop assistance, which affected the satnav. In the dealers for a day, no issues since.

Apart from the wheels and that software issue, been very pleased. 
And the far better mpg certainly saving us/me some money 😏
 

Edited 13 August, 20232 yr by BTandSid

RRG Škoda Bolton and Rochdale have plenty of Karoq’s in stock look on line some good offers.

11 hours ago, pie2k said:

I’m aware (via the internet…) of the 1.5 tsi kangaroo concerns and don’t want to buy into a problem vehicle.

So, from those with the unfortunate experience of having  been affected by the 1.5 issues, how safe am I in plumbing for a 1.5?

 

What an odd approach to buying a car.

 

There are many who have never experienced kangarooing in a 1.5tsi Karoq - what about buying one of those? There have been many who've had the kangarooing issue and had the fix applied - why not buy one of those?  Of course there are those who've had the kangarooing issue, had the fix applied and still not been satisfied. And I know from experience of speaking to the service mechanics there have been cars come in to the workshop where there is a kangarooing issue and the owners haven't complained because they weren't aware of it.

 

The only way you're going to know is to drive the car. The issue didn't develop over time, it's either present or it's not.

 

Regarding your purchase, I've just sold a lower miles 2019 Edition which is showroom perfect and certainly not the most expensive on Autotrader. Would I buy it? Absolutely not. I think the money they're asking for cars of this age is insane. All depends on how you intend to finance it. Do your sums and you might find buying a new car can be had for not a great deal more. If I were paying PCP, I wouldn't dream of buying a 3 or 4 year old car at the moment. Skoda just finished an extra £1000 off promotion - I wouldn't be surprised if that offer was available in the not too distant future as I think they're struggling to sell cars.

Thanks for the info kodiaqsportline. 

 

17 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

There are many who have never experienced kangarooing in a 1.5tsi Karoq - what about buying one of those?

... I'd love one of those 👍🏻

 

20 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

There have been many who've had the kangarooing issue and had the fix applied - why not buy one of those?

... one of those would be great too 👍🏻

 

21 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

there are those who've had the kangarooing issue, had the fix applied and still not been satisfied.

... trying to avoid one of these 👍🏻

 

Odd approach? Perhaps, yes. But doing a bit of due diligence on here isn't a bad thing and might help guide me towards a reliable car.

 

23 minutes ago, kodiaqsportline said:

The issue didn't develop over time, it's either present or it's not.

Excellent advice and answers one of my original questions, thank you 🙂

 

 

My wife has ordered a new Karoq sportline the lead in time for delivery is 12 months!

Not an expert on this - we've only had our Karoq for a week - but I was aware of the kangerooing issue and it mainly affected manual's. 

 

I've seen some discussion about whether DSGs did it at all, or whether it was there but the DSG box masked the problem.  I don't know the answer to that.

6 minutes ago, JFJ said:

My wife has ordered a new Karoq sportline the lead in time for delivery is 12 months!

 

If that suits your timing then fair enough, but the Skoda website shows 139 of 'em at dealers - pick one of those!

We didn’t get the option to have one from stock maybe it was because of the colour my wife wanted, Meteor Grey.

2 hours ago, JFJ said:

We didn’t get the option to have one from stock maybe it was because of the colour my wife wanted, Meteor Grey.

 

Yes, that does limit things - at a glance they're all metallic.

9 hours ago, JFJ said:

My wife has ordered a new Karoq sportline the lead in time for delivery is 12 months!

 

I ordered a Sportline in Phoenix orange beginning of May, just been told build date is December. Dealer said probably arrive in January, asked him about the free £500 petrol voucher expires if not delivered by end of December, he couldn't answer to which I replied "that's okay, I can just reject it as broken contract and may look elsewhere " He assured me that Skoda would have to extend offer as there could be quite a few rejections. Dealers not happy at the moment!

It’s been mentioned above.

 

I’ll paraphrase - if buying a used car you can test drive it and if it suits you just buy it. End of story.

 

Buying new does tie you in to long deliveries for the exact spec you want.  I’ve done it twice in the past year.

 

New or used, I wouldn’t settle for a car that didn’t match my “must have” spec. Or drive smoothly.

 

Hence my Kodiaq was factory build with FOC Blue paint plus several “must have” extras.