Hello!
This might be the first time I've ever ventured beyond the Octavia and Fabia sections of this forum... Anyway - my folks, both in their 60s, are looking for a second car. They want something similar sized to the Golf they currently have (and have had a long line of before that) but I'm encouraging them to look at other models, in particular SUVs, because they'll probably keep this a good few years now and I think the higher seating position will be easier as they get older (not that they struggle now, they're very active).

So anyway, they've seen a Karoq at a local garage, and quite like it, but they've done some research which seems to suggest that electrical issues with the infotainment system are quite common, but they were a bit vague.

So, I'm seeking your experience to try and understand a bit more!

1. Are issues with the infotainment system common?

2. If so, what are those 'issues' and are they expensive to resolve? Are we looking at a hardware swap or just a software reset/update?

Also, how does the 1.0TSI perform in a car this size? I'm not best placed to advise given my entire car history is 1.9 and 2.0TDIs. Is it comfortable both around town and on longer runs? They may occasionally use it to do trips to the other end of the country.

Any other buying advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Problem is folks mention when they have issues, not when they don't. Our first Karoq, which we traded in for another new one in March, was bombproof for the 8 years plus we had it. We've had no issues with our new one, or with our nearly 4 year old Kamiq. Having said that the infotainment system does take a bit of perseverance to set up correctly, with numerous options. Our salesman for our new Karoq told us one option wasn't included on our car, but I found it was switched off in the menu system, just needed switching on!

Those that have the 1.0 TSI all seem to be happy enough with them. I bought the 1.5 simply because the difference in fuel consumption was so small. So it made sense to me to go for the more powerful option, given the size of the car.

How old is the car & is it a Skoda dealership? If it's outside the original three year warranty then I'd say buying from an approved dealer is essential. While I'm not aware of any specific infotainment issues, there are a number of others that really need to be covered. But that probably applies to most modern cars, given the complexity of the electronics & reliance on software combined, with manufacturer cost cutting. An example being LED lights which should easily outlast the life of the car. But Skoda have managed to produce LED indicators built into the headlight, that cost around £1k to replace.

My car was new in June 25 & in December, the speed limit detection stopped working properly. Here we are nine months later & they're still unable to fix it.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Rbz5416

From what I’ve seen posted in this forum and the Facebook group, issues with the infotainment system are mostly to do with connecting to the MySkoda App, a recent issue with repeated update messages which is now resolved and moans about the Sat Nav - in the 30 months I’ve had my Karoq I’ve had no issues with infotainment system apart from the update messages, the Sat Nav is really good I use it all the time. After the initial 3 year free period expires there is a yearly subscription to get map updates and traffic info. 1.0 TSI seems to be a good engine no reports of issues from owners unlike the 1.5 TSI. If over 3 yrs old buy the Skoda All-in-one 2 yr service plan to get the Skoda 2yr warranty which is included.

Had a problem with my 2025 karoqs infotainment system about 2 months into ownership from new. The car was at the dealers for about a week, apparently the part required was one of only two in the country and needed setting up to my particular car. Sorry, Im no technophobe so cant elaborate on it but its not something you want or expect on a new car. From memory I think the dealership said it would have cost me about £ 1200 if not under warranty.

13 hours ago, alessio92 said:

Also, how does the 1.0TSI perform in a car this size?

Very well indeed. I have been constantly surprised at how good it is. You need to use the gearbox to keep revs up above 1500rpm to get good pulling power, but when you get used to being in the right gear it pulls like a train right up to max revs. Like others I was sceptical of such a small 3 cylinder engine being good enough for a car of the size of a Karoq, but you need to drive one to find out. I have had absolutely no issues with the car since buying new in December 2019 except for an MOT advisory at 3 years that all the tyres were cracking for which I managed to get a 50% goodwill payment from Bridgestone towards replacing all 4. I have no plans to replace the car and as I am in my 70's it may be the last car I ever own.