This is Skoda delivering big with so many of its trusty ‘simply clever’ practicality features, for a fairly small price – and when you take them all in, you can’t help but wonder why every car isn’t so perfectly designed for life .
The Karoq’s driving environment is pretty simple and easy to interact with. It’s presented with only a sparing amount of style or material flourish, but there’s enough to catch the eye and to give the car the odd bit of visual intrigue in places. You sit medium high in a medium-sized but comfortable, fairly adjustable front seat, in front of supremely readable analogue instruments, and with chunky, physical secondary controls for the air conditioning, door locks and parking sensors on the lower center stack.
The standard-fit Amundsen infotainment system is well presented and easy to navigate and it offers wireless smartphone mirroring for Apple and Android handsets, too. You can use the left-spoke steering wheel cursor controls to interact with it if you don’t like a touchscreen interface. Alternatively you can use natural-speech voice control although be warned: the system’s standard wake-up command is ‘Okay Laura’, which could make for frustrating journeys if you’ve already got one of those in your family.
On standard 17in wheels and fitted with that 109bhp three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, the Karoq does refined, laid-back, cost-efficient family motoring very well. You can have one with sportier variable-ratio steering and adaptive dampers if you want, but you’ll need neither to end up with a car that has a supple and isolated ride, mature, predictable and easily manageable handling, creditable real-world economy , and decent performance and drivability.