 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I was asked on another thread to post pics of my Karoq with a bike in it. It's done nothing but rain so just grabbed the pics today. I mostly ride from home so I wouldn't normally put the bike inside the car.
I previously owned a Yeti 1.2 DSG, which wasn't the best for the bike. I put it on the roof rack nearly all of the time, which was perhaps a little high for safe lifting. I always managed it though.
Took delivery of a lease direct from Skoda -Â A Karoq 1.0 SE Tech DSG. At first I hated the base colour (energy blue) but wasn't prepared to pay for extra colours for a vehicle that was going back in 2.5 years.
I've had to re-buy the Karoq specific roof bars which is annoying as the Yeti bars were great as they went onto bolts in a specific position. The new Karoq bars whilst looking similar can be positioned in different places like regular bars. I haven't mounted the bars yet, and this will be my transport method of choice as I don't like the bike inside the boot. I will post pictures of that the minute it stops raining.
I cleaned up my Travers Russ Ti 650+ and dropped the seats in the Karoq to see if it would fit. The boots is a hell of a lot bigger than the Yeti. Deep rather than wide though, so possibly still not the best option for bikes. I had to remove the front wheel to fit it in.
The car is so much better than the Yeti though. Gearbox and engine are super smooth. The engine sounds great (3 Cylinder) and has a fair bit of shift lower down and midrange. Runs out of steam quite quickly though. Enough for me and my world. Actually feels more powerful than the Yeti 1.2. Less DSG 'shunt' to. Can hardly feel it change.
The auto/stop/start is not very well implemented.
A much smoother ride too, less crashing around than the old yeti. Cabin feels much more premium too with built in Android Auto and 8" Touch screen etc which gives you a decent maps and music system, as well as the voice-operation. This was extra on the Yeti.
Skoda still using crappy glossy plastics that scratch as soon as you breath on them. Not a fan.
The Karoq really doesn't share any DNA with the Yeti at all - it's way more generic - but feels great to drive. Even on the motorway. Adaptive cruise and emergency breaking are both new to me.
MPG hasn't reached Yeti numbers yet. Looking at 38 mixed, but miles are still low.
[url= https://s26.postimg.org/wwvk5e2md/IMG_20180409_190154.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://s26.postimg.org/i0x0xs42d/IMG_20180409_190234.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://s26.postimg.org/akxrbzvsl/IMG_20180409_190300.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://s26.postimg.org/xmechqnqd/IMG_20180409_190609.jp g" target="_blank">
I will follow with roof bar pics at the weekend.
Thanks for the review rone. We're due to get one for 6 months in June on the VAG family lease scheme and I'm not going to lie but I had and maybe still have reservations. To date we have the Seat with at least a 1.4 engine and I was pretty sceptical when the wife told me she had chosen a new car (we have to choose one as soon as we return the old one every 6 months) which was a 1ltr scoda😳.
My main concern is the motorway as I travel to different sites around the country once or twice a month. Other than that its city driving so no issue.
Also got pretty use to seats media systems which are pretty good so as long as the Karoq holds up in this department all should be ok.
The engine's really well implemented. I can't judge your expectations but for comparison my partner had the 1.4 yeti and I thought it was disappointing and much preferred the 1.2. Seemed smoother and not much slower. Way more mpg too.
I just picked up my seat ateca (1.6 tdi) on thursday (karoq/tiguan with a seat badge). I opted to get the level boot (and boot liner)as i always stick my bike in the boot (front wheel off) and find not having the lip helps and i like sitting in the boot out of the rain after a muddy ride. Hardly had a chance to drive the car yet due to work (and not got the bike in yet either) but it feels a bit slower than the 1.7 tdi sportage it replaced. Hope it improves after a few miles though. Good to see from your pics the bike will fit no bother.