[Parth Oomphy]

Took delivery of my ŠKODA Karoq today from Brite ŠKODA, Noida. Wonderful experience & a great car.

[TheGearBox]

Question for all Karoq owners: Do you really think the 5 lakh price premium over the VW T-Roc is justified? Or did you have a moment of buyer's regret?

[Parth Oomphy]

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Question for all Karoq owners: Do you really think the 5 lakh price premium over the VW T-Roc is justified? Or did you have a moment of buyer's regret?

So let me share the Car buying process which I followed before finalising the Karoq.
I wanted to buy a car under 30L (with give or take 4-5L flexibility). So I started to test drive cars starting from CRETA TURBO & Seltos GT DCT, then I tried Honda Civic petrol, Troc, harrier auto (my neighbour has bought one recently), Karoq, superb, Tiguan all space & Endevour.
I wanted to car with a good mix of performance & practicality. For EG: Troc & superb had the best performance (0-100 for troc = 8.4 sec & Superb = 7.7 seconds). But they were not practical. Troc had very less space at the back and my legs were touching while seating in the rear. Also with just 170ish ground clearance, Troc was not at all a SUV (it touched steep bumps in my testing). Also, Troc missed certain basic features like electric driver seats, in built navigation, cruise control (which even my Ameo 1.5 TDI DSG has) and had hard plastic build all around.
As for the superb, it had great build and all the features you can possible want, great space and excellent performance. But my main problem with it was the very low ground clearance. I own VW Ameo and it scrapes all the bumps here in Ghaziabad UP & roads are particularly not good in the NCR region (especially in the monsoon season). So as much as I loved superb, I was not confident enough to take it with me everyday anywhere & had to watch out for even the slightest bumps all the time.
For the Endevour, it had the best space and go anywhere Capability. No matter how rough you use it or crash it into bumps, it gave you enough confidence that you don’t have to slowdown for the bad roads. But then again it was compromised on the performance aspect. Especially the 2.0 Diesel engine which replaced the 3.2 unit feels underpowered for the car and it’s not as quick or fun to drive now. Also being such a tall & u-bright suv, driving dynamics on the road are not as good as monocoque counterparts. Also it’s interiors were no where close to being as luxurious as the European cars I test drove and the car has started to show its age (from inside and out). It’s been 4 years plus since we are getting the same car and it’s due for update in 2021 or 2022.

As for the other cars, I’ll share my experience if you want to but that will take a whole lot of typing and time, so let’s save it for some another day. Overall I found everything what I wanted in the Karoq.

As you have specifically asked for Troc, here is what you get For 5 Lakhs extra of Skoda Karoq over VW T-Roc:

1. Bigger car with more space and 200mm ground clearance (same as XUV 500)
2. Dual tone beige and black interiors like Superb L&K or Kodiaq (VW has all black, which IMO makes the already small cabin of Troc feel even smaller)
3. 10 colour Ambient cabin lighting
4. 4 way Electric lumbar in driver seats: helpful for people with lower back issues like my dad (Troc has only 2 way adjustable manual lumbar support)
5. Way Bigger panaromic sunroof and boot space in Karoq
6. Electric drivers seat with memory function
7. Auto dimming outside rear view mirrors with memory function
8. iBuzzer and fatigue alert system
9. 8 speakers & 9 airbags (Troc has only 6 speakers and 6 airbags)
10. Navigation with live traffic updates built in (Navigation comes in virtual cockpit as well, not in Troc)
11. Cruise control (surprising miss in Troc)
12. Full LED Fog lamp projectors (Troc has halogen reflectors)
13. Skoda's simply clever things like clever arm rest storage management, boot storage management, in car dustbin, ticket holder, umbrella under front seats, AC vents under the seats, rear camera washer, etc.
14. Better built interiors in Karoq with soft touch materials (same quality as superb & Kodiaq). Troc has hard plastic on Dash and doors (like polo, vento).

Both the cars may have similar specs on paper, and they drive similarly too, but if you want added luxury, comfort, space & features (plus of course if you can stretch your budget), Karoq is the way to go. Otherwise Troc is a nice car man. I would have picked it over compass, harrier, creta/seltos any day everyday due to it’s stunning looks, exclusivity, tank like build quality (being a CBU), European ride and high speed stability & of course that sweet performance and sound of the 1.5 TSI (which Korean 1.4 turbo petrol can never match)!

Here are the pics of all the cars I test drove (missed to take pics of some cars):

[Mr.Perera]

Originally Posted by Parth Oomphy

Took delivery of my ŠKODA Karoq today from Brite ŠKODA, Noida. Wonderful experience & a great car.

Originally Posted by Parth Oomphy

So let me share the Car buying process which I followed before finalising the Karoq.
....

Congrats Parth ! The car looks wonderful. Wishing you and your family lots of happy miles with the car.
Also great write up man. You have covered all points very well ! And one question, your navigation in the Karoq is working ? The Navigation SD card my dealer gave needed some software update, so it was not working in my car. I am yet to get it updated by them.

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Question for all Karoq owners: Do you really think the 5 lakh price premium over the VW T-Roc is justified? Or did you have a moment of buyer's regret?

The Karoq is definitely worth the premium. Like Parth pointed the only similarity between them is the specs. But it all ends there. The Karoq is more luxurious and feature loaded compared to the VW. And once you list down the extras that the Karoq offers it does make sense. The real difference can be felt once you sit in both cars back to back. So IMHO it is definitely worth the extra 5 lakhs.
Regret? No, Never ! Having driven my friend's Q3 TFSI pretty extensively (which makes the same 150 BHP, 250 Nm torque as the Karoq), I am happy I saved around 15 lakhs and bought a car that gives similar build quality, better features and the same sense of luxury inside.

[Parth Oomphy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

Congrats Parth ! The car looks wonderful. Wishing you and your family lots of happy miles with the car.
And one question, your navigation in the Karoq is working ? The Navigation SD card my dealer gave needed some software update, so it was not working in my car. I am yet to get it updated by them.

Thank you so much for your best wishes Mr. Perera. Your Ownership post was really helpful and detailed which will surely help a lot of new car buyers who are interested in the Karoq.
Also, do keep updating about the experience you are having with your car or any new update regarding an issue/feature if you come across any. It’ll be helpful to fellow owners like me.

Coming to the navigation part, yes it’s working flawlessly in my car. I think you need to contact your dealership and get a update for it & it’ll work to.
I’m adding some pics of the same for you to see it yourself:

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

Having driven my friend's Q3 TFSI pretty extensively (which makes the same 150 BHP, 250 Nm torque as the Karoq), I am happy I saved around 15 lakhs and bought a car that gives similar build quality, better features and the same sense of luxury inside.

You are absolutely right Mr. Perera. My neighbour too has a Q3 TDI (which is I believe 2017 model). And I have to say, even though it’s a 2.0 diesel & makes more power & torque than the Karoq but it doesn’t feel that effortless & refined. You can definitely hear the TDI clatter inside & NVH are not good. Also, interiors on the Q3 are no where as nice & modern as the Karoq (& it lack many features as well). Also, Q3 has less space (even in the boot) than the Karoq. Lastly, you can see the looks of both cars yourself (although I know newer car will obviously look better).

Talking about Karoq’s drive, it is so smooth, refined and linear that it’s really enjoyable to drive. It’s light, nimble and very agile & picks up speed effortlessly (before you even realise, you are already doing irresponsible speeds in the city).
I haven’t taken it to the highway yet, so can’t really comment on that, but I’m sure it’ll be a great cruiser as explained earlier by you Mr. Perera.
Here is a side by side compare from outside of both the above mentioned cars:

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Parth Oomphy

Coming to the navigation part, yes it’s working flawlessly in my car. I think you need to contact your dealership and get a update for it & it’ll work to.
I’m adding some pics of the same for you to see it yourself:

Do they not allow to cast the Google maps onto the virtual cockpit ? That would be such an awesome feature to have. If not, I feel they should come up with that feature quickly, after all the infotainment system is after all factory equipment and making it talk to the virtual cockpit would be a feature i think everybody would love to have.

Cheers
Krishna

[Parth Oomphy]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Do they not allow to cast the Google maps onto the virtual cockpit ? That would be such an awesome feature to have. If not, I feel they should come up with that feature quickly, after all the infotainment system is after all factory equipment and making it talk to the virtual cockpit would be a feature i think everybody would love to have.

Cheers
Krishna

Hi Krishna, you cast everything on the virtual cockpit that’s built in the infotainment of the car (like driving data, navigation, media, radio, compass, driver’s assist tech, etc). But you can’t cast the things which display on infotainment system after connecting your phone (via Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or Mirrorlink). It only shows: Apple CarPlay connected in the virtual cockpit (rest is shown on infotainment only).
I agree, showing google maps in the virtual cockpit would have been nice if you don’t want to use the built in nav, but as far as I know, this is more due to the Apple/android software than the car company’s fault (No car can currently do this including Audi’s virtual cockpit or BMW’s).
I hope this helps

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by Parth Oomphy

Hi Krishna, you cast everything on the virtual cockpit that’s built in the infotainment of the car (like driving data, navigation, media, radio, compass, driver’s assist tech, etc). But you can’t cast the things which display on infotainment system after connecting your phone (via Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or Mirrorlink). It only shows: Apple CarPlay connected in the virtual cockpit (rest is shown on infotainment only).
I agree, showing google maps in the virtual cockpit would have been nice if you don’t want to use the built in nav, but as far as I know, this is more due to the Apple/android software than the car company’s fault (No car can currently do this including Audi’s virtual cockpit or BMW’s).
I hope this helps

Ah yes! Makes sense. Well hope they do bring this in soon. It'd be a really welcomed feature for sure.

How good is the onboard navigation? I do remember reading the ones in the Seltos was not super accurate w.r.t traffic info and in some cases routes as well.

Cheers
Krishna

[Parth Oomphy]

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Ah yes! Makes sense. Well hope they do bring this in soon. It'd be a really welcomed feature for sure.

How good is the onboard navigation? I do remember reading the ones in the Seltos was not super accurate w.r.t traffic info and in some cases routes as well.

Cheers
Krishna

I haven’t tried on board navigation well enough to give you any feedback. Since I have bought the car, I was only able to drive it 2 days (In UP, we have lockdown in Weekends). I’ll update everything when I get a chance to explore the car little more.
I’ll also highlight some shortcomings which I found in the vehicle worth ₹30L (some glaring omissions, missing features, etc) & also will update you on what I loved about the Karoq.
Stay in touch! Thanks 🙏🏻

[slayer23]

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

Skoda Connect App
Was casually going through few Skoda Apps in the Appstore (since there is so much free time due to the newly imposed Lockdown in Trivandrum) and found this app called Skoda Connect. While connecting the phone with the car, the phone app shows lots of details like service reminders, any active errors etc

Very nice to see this & I feel it adds a lot of value. I believe this functionality is available since the vehicle is a CBU. Just curious, was this mentioned by the sales consultants at the dealer during sale?

[sv97]

Originally Posted by Parth Oomphy

Attachment 2034643

Sir congratulations on the car but kindly avoid keeping things like laptop in the car especially where it is easily visible.

As many a times for stealing such thing people damage or vandalise the car and its a double whammy for people like us as we have to pay for the new device as well as damage to the car.

[Mr.Perera]

Originally Posted by slayer23

Very nice to see this & I feel it adds a lot of value. I believe this functionality is available since the vehicle is a CBU. Just curious, was this mentioned by the sales consultants at the dealer during sale?

This is not a feature that is limited to the Karoq but works with in any of the Octavias or Kodiaqs with Skoda Connect APP and Apple Car Play. I checked in my vRS and it works there too.
Also I don't think the dealer has any idea about it ! I found it online in another forum.

[Parth Oomphy]

Originally Posted by sv97

Sir congratulations on the car but kindly avoid keeping things like laptop in the car especially where it is easily visible.

As many a times for stealing such thing people damage or vandalise the car and its a double whammy for people like us as we have to pay for the new device as well as damage to the car.

Hey Sv, I agree with you & I don’t keep my laptop in the car usually, it was a photo clicked before I took the laptop out with me after locking the car.
Btw Thank you for the concern. Really appreciated.

[kushal.b110]

Congratulations Mr. Perera on your new car, loved your review of the car and the accompanying photos. The dechromed grill definitely looks better than stock.
I have booked a quartz grey karoq and should be taking delivery some time mid August.
I had a question regarding the sunroof, since it's a panoramic sunroof, does the car tend to heat up a lot if parked outside or does the roof liner do a good job in keeping the car cool?

[Parth Oomphy]

So 1st issue got noticed in my Karoq (see pics) today: 2nd August 2020.
The rear doors on both the sides have some panel gap issue due to which, mud/dirt gets inside the door while driving even when all the doors are completely closed. I found this out when I Recently took the car on a highway trip for the 1st time after buying it (& it was raining a lot at that time, so this issue was highlighted even more).
The issue isn’t there in the front doors (see pics). I have informed SKODA about the same and they asked me to bring the car to the service centre on 4th August 2020 (because 3rd is a holiday due to Raksha Bandhan). They will apparently look into the issue and “try” to fix the same.
So I live in Ghaziabad & nearest service centre is located in Noida (at least 1 hour journey). It’s the 1st time experience for me to have such a manufacturing defect in a car due to which I will have to take it to the service centre within a week of buying it (that too a CBU car which “should” be well build).
Now Let’s hope for the best & I Will keep you guys posted.