[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

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I’m so awed by the above clicks. Karoq with that black grill, squeaky clean exteriors and lush background looks so majestic. For the entire time when I was drooling over your car, there was this particular image hitting my brain again and again- Black Panther. It appears as if a black panther is staring at you.

[Blackjack]

Did you try Hector? Considering you tried Seltos.

Yes the finish and interiors of Kodiaq can't be compared with Hector, but size, engine and efficiency are exactly the same. Yes the gearing lags but no perceived issues.

[Mr.Perera]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

I’m so awed by the above clicks. Karoq with that black grill, squeaky clean exteriors and lush background looks so majestic. For the entire time when I was drooling over your car, there was this particular image hitting my brain again and again- Black Panther. It appears as if a black panther is staring at you.

Thanks Sachin ! The car indeed looks good in that black shade. I must say the paint quality in the Karoq is just way too good ! The base sometimes feels like a very dark brown topped by some super metallic flakes.

Originally Posted by Blackjack

Did you try Hector? Considering you tried Seltos.

Yes the finish and interiors of Kodiaq can't be compared with Hector, but size, engine and efficiency are exactly the same. Yes the gearing lags but no perceived issues.

Hi Blackjack, I did not consider the Hector just because I was not a fan of its styling. Also the car was too big for our requirement. Hence gave it a skip.

[cpabhijit]

My Ownership experience of the Karoq

I have a running of 15k kms/year of which ~5k are highway drives. Been driving a GT TSI for the last 7 years and increasingly, the lack of space was becoming a problem. Especially on long drives, if there are 4 adults, the rear legroom being non-existent, people in the rear have no room to move. I guess the Polo is a 2 door car in other parts of the world.

Also, last year, I had a breakdown in my GT TSI, when on a trip with my wife and 3yo son. Fuel pump choked and overheated. Had to stay the night in a suspicious hotel in an unknown small town and from then on, I’ve been wanting to restrict the GT for city runs and get a bigger vehicle for highway runs.

The T Roc

Had been following the proposed launch of T-Roc. Wanted a DSG only since my experience so far with the gearbox has been delightful. Booked the T-Roc immediately after launch. And then waited for ages just to get a test drive. Which I didn’t get in the end. Went and checked out the display car at VW and while I remained smitten by the exteriors, the interiors were a let down. Barebones, maybe? Not acceptable for 23L, I felt. My GT has better interiors, honestly. The reassuring thud of the door closing which I got used to in the GT was missing, too. And the biggest reason of course was space (or the lack of it), which was the primary reason I was looking for a car. While I tried to convince myself that the drive will make up for it, the wife was just not impressed by the rear legroom. It felt like a taller Polo. Still hung on to the booking hoping a test drive will change our opinion.

and the Karoq

In the meanwhile, Karoq launched. I balked at the price (an eye watering 5L over an already stretched budget of 23L). But the more we checked out the brochures, the more we were impressed. Reluctantly asked for a test drive.

I still feel that the Karoq is no match in exterior styling to the stunning T-Roc. However, sitting inside, it was a different world. Well appointed, felt premium and had lots of nooks and crannies with clever touches. I’m 5’9” and for my driving position, the rear seat had ample room for me to sit. Boot was much larger. Cruise control. Powered seat adjustment. Booked it.

The car came to the stockyard in 10 days and I went and checked it out. Took delivery a couple of days later. Dealership experience was satisfactory. So, in short, I badly wanted a T-Roc, but test drove only the Karoq and bought it!

The car has been covered in detail by Mr.Perera. After logging in 1000kms, below are some of my observations, in no particular order. Most of my comparisons are with the GT which, though does not fall in the same category, has matching build quality and the same gearbox.

• The DSG coasting feature is welcome as it ekes out mileage from the engine. From my daily runs to work, which is a slow 15km round trip, I see that both cars return the same mileage, around 11kmpl, which I had not at all expected from the Karoq. Coasting behaviour is seen only up to 6th gear. 7th is probably overdrive. Highway runs easily return ~15kmpl.
• The car is very easy to drive, with excellent visibility in the front. Suspension is softer than the GT and the Karoq handles bad patches well, keeping passengers insulated. While the GT stays planted over bad patches, it transmits quite a bit to the passengers.
• Front seats are roomy and very comfortable. Rear seats have ample leg room and I like the seat-back position. My 4yo is mesmerised by the sunroof and insists on sitting in the rear and staring out of it. Keeps him occupied for ages. Ambient lighting could’ve been extended to the rear door panels as well. Cabin is full of numerous felt-lined storage spaces. Glove box is very very small. Impractical, even.
• Build quality is quite good overall and premium/nice-to-touch materials everywhere, but some of the switches, especially ones on the steering wheel and the power window switches, seem to have a lot of play and feel like they’ll give way in a few months. On the GT, 8th year now, not a single switch or stalk has malfunctioned, and the click response feels top notch.
• 3 stage door - On the GT, the 2 stages are well defined and with a certain push, the door will go and rest on the 2nd stage. By habit, I gave the same push on the Karoq and the door crossed all stages and was about to crash into a pillar. I had to lunge and grab the door handle!
• Noise wise, the cabin is well insulated with minimal engine growl and road noise. The GT has a very silent cabin too but when it rains, there is a lot of clatter inside whereas in the Karoq, it is much quieter even in a downpour. Karoq’s engine is heard in the 1st to 3rd gears and I can clearly make out its shifts by noise, even in low rev city traffic.
• The issue of the gearbox shifting to D1 on rough patches is very much present and unlike what I’d mentioned in an earlier post, the engine start-stop system has no influence on this behaviour. The Karoq randomly shifts to D1 on rough patches at low speeds and the RPM shoots up and it takes unusually long for it to get to D2. So a couple of times, I had to use the paddle shift to bring it to 2nd gear. This behaviour is just not seen on the GT, not at all. GT takes all patches and speed breakers in D2 unless I almost come to a standstill.
• Boot is spacious and has all those nets and belts and partitions. Biggest miss is the powered tailgate. I mean, I just can’t get it as to why it isn’t there. The door is quite heavy and it is not easy to bring it down with one hand. Looks like it was built for a motor to do the work.
• Water wash for the rear camera is such a clever touch. Used it many times this monsoon and it is quite effective in clearing grime off the camera.
• Automatic wipers work well mostly but sometimes go off to sleep and let the droplets accumulate. I either have to nudge it back by changing the speed or patiently wait until I can barely see and it’ll finally wake up and start wiping and after that it’ll continue flawlessly if the rainfall is consistent. Since it is raining, I’d left the stalk on ‘Int’ for the auto wipers to do their work but on a sunny day, after having driven about 20 kms and the windscreen full of dust, the wiper came on for a single wipe !!! I was horrified and from then on, have been keeping it Off only.

The Karoq has been an enjoyable experience so far. Built for a relaxed driving style, with ample space for road trips and the bad roads that come with it. Hope it will be as reliable a companion as the GT continues to be.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

[b]
The issue of the gearbox shifting to D1 on rough patches is very much present and unlike what I’d mentioned in an earlier post, the engine start-stop system has no influence on this behaviour. The Karoq randomly shifts to D1 on rough patches at low speeds and the RPM shoots up and it takes unusually long for it to get to D2. So a couple of times, I had to use the paddle shift to bring it to 2nd gear. This behaviour is just not seen on the GT, not at all. GT takes all patches and speed breakers in D2 unless I almost come to a standstill.

I'm hazarding a guess here but the DSG might be tuned to prevent the clutch from slipping in 2nd and hence prefers a downshift. Earlier the complain was this DQ200 would shift to 2nd too soon and would slip the clutch causing wear on the clutch pack. I know the Octavia had this.

In this case the gearbox might need 1st to pull the KAroq weight easily instead of slip in 2nd. The polo is somewhat lighter.

The other theory is the 1.5L TSI might be lower on torque at low rpm's hence needing the downshift.

Automatic wipers work well mostly but sometimes go off to sleep and let the droplets accumulate. I either have to nudge it back by changing the speed or patiently wait until I can barely see and it’ll finally wake up and start wiping and after that it’ll continue flawlessly if the rainfall is consistent. Since it is raining, I’d left the stalk on ‘Int’ for the auto wipers to do their work but on a sunny day, after having driven about 20 kms and the windscreen full of dust, the wiper came on for a single wipe !!! I was horrified and from then on, have been keeping it Off only.

I found this on my Kodiaq recently as well. I was in shock when I saw the wiper streak across a dry glass which had dust on it.

I have changed the sensitivity level to max for now but that doesn't work in proper rain. This is like you have the feature but its on paper only.

[cpabhijit]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I'm hazarding a guess here but the DSG might be tuned to prevent the clutch from slipping in 2nd and hence prefers a downshift. Earlier the complain was this DQ200 would shift to 2nd too soon and would slip the clutch causing wear on the clutch pack. I know the Octavia had this.

In this case the gearbox might need 1st to pull the KAroq weight easily instead of slip in 2nd. The polo is somewhat lighter.

The other theory is the 1.5L TSI might be lower on torque at low rpm's hence needing the downshift.

Very well could be. I'm bugged by the randomness of it. For eg., my parking is on the 3rd floor and the GT gets there in D2 every single time, even with 4 people onboard, whereas the Karoq, with just me, sometimes does it all in D2 and sometimes shifts to D1 multiple times. Random. Same with bumpy roads, too. Random. And this makes for a really jerky ride on our current post-monsoon pothole ridden roads. It's so irritating that I've stopped taking the Karoq to work.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I found this on my Kodiaq recently as well. I was in shock when I saw the wiper streak across a dry glass which had dust on it.

Oh no. I thought this was a one off problem with my car's sensors. If it is across their line up, then that's not acceptable. Auto wipers have been there for quite a few years already and should've been perfected.

[pramods]

Before starting, I generally just clean the windscreen sensor area, dust/dirt/muck refraction/reflection causes this, better to have that area clean!

-Pramod

Originally Posted by Vid6639;

...

I found this on my Kodiaq recently as well. I was in shock when I saw the wiper streak across a dry glass which had dust on it.

I have changed the sensitivity level to max for now but that doesn't work in proper rain. This is like you have the feature but its on paper only.

[Brishti]

In my test drive it was quite evident that having a non independent rear made it move around quite a bit more "On undulations" than the compass I had driven till the dealership.

[Mr.Perera]

1,500 kms Update
A slow buy super steady climb

Those long vacation drives and never ending highways are now a distant memory. The Karoq has come during a very bad time, but all the time spent in it keeps proving how a great package this car is.
The car has been used primarily in the city. Fuel efficiency figures in the city are normally around 10 kmpl. The car has huge glass area on all 5 sides which is a blessing while manoeuvring the car in tight city roads and gives a good sense of space inside, but the downside I noticed was that the heat insulation isn't that great. The large windows and the super huge panoramic sunroof does trap some good amount of heat inside the cabin. The AC does take sometime to cool the cabin comparatively. The cloth type sunroof shade inside gets heated up while parking the car outside during hot hours. The car looks relatively small when parked next to other SUVs and Crossover. On road most of the people mistake it for the Kodiaq though even though this is just half its size. Few weeks back I took the car to the service to get an update for the Navigation card that was not working in the car. After the update the in built navigation is finally working in the car. The best part is the Navigation maps are mirrored in the Virtual cockpit, which looks very neat.


We had taken the car for a very few long drives, mostly to my parents hometown. Most of the time the car had 5 people on board and at all times all 5 of us were in utmost comfort. Tiny undulations are not at all felt in the cabin. Its only those deep potholes that creep inside the car. Few days back I finally got to drive the car alone on a 250 km drive and got a chance to properly push the car. I AM IMPRESSED ! Things i loved ? The handling characteristics, brakes and the sense of stability ! Once the car gains speed it just flies. At triple digit speeds the car is really stable. One thing I noticed is the gearbox in D mode is pretty responsive and does a good job in finding the right gear and downshifts while quick overtaking are also lighting fast accompanied by a small kick on your back. On my Octy vRS I like to switch the gearbox to manual and use the paddles which is so much fun than driving in D mode. But in the Karoq I found it the other way round. I wish the steering was a bit more heavy, I found it to be too soft at times especially at high speeds. Another thing that is impressive are the stock headlights. The all LED units does a fantastic job in illuminating the road for you and the also for the cars in front of you The stock Hankook tyres provide good grip in both the dry and wet. Quite rare that cars these days come with good stock tyres. Long story short the Karoq still keeps impressing on all respects.

[prasadathani]

Finally got a chance to get some work done on the Karoq. Been on a few highway runs and the following mods was completed :
a. Entire chrome grill at the front done in black (Inspiration of Mr. Perera) Although it looks way better in his black colour Karoq.
b. Both the SKODA and the KAROQ lettering done in black (Inspiration was the Superb Sportline)
c. Sun Film and some PPF Coating the handle door pockets.

Haven't gotten a chance to drive myself properly and will do soon once the HSRP Plates are received. They are taking unnaturally longer to ship from the Dealer.

A better picture of the back of the car as the earlier picture wasn't too clear.

[Mr.Perera]

Originally Posted by prasadathani

Finally got a chance to get some work done on the Karoq. Been on a few highway runs and the following mods was completed

The car looks much better now prasadathani ! How did u dechrome the skoda and karoq badging?
I would recommend that you wrap the ORVM and the remaining white part of the roof + the spoiler also in black.

I hate the rear mud flaps that Skoda gives. It may be functional but I feel it bulges too much to the sides and spoils the look of the car from behind. Hence I did not fit the rear mud flaps only fit the front ones.
Also one small mod I did that I forgot to update here was the addition of wheel spacers.
I felt that the wheels in the Karoq sat way inside the wheel arch. Wanted to bring the wheel edge in line with the wheel arch, so got a set of Hub centric forged aluminium spacers from Autopsyche. 15mm spacers for the front and 20mm for the rear. The spacers were of great quality and got them fitted at a friend's garage. The difference is very minimal but the stance of the car is much better now.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by prasadathani

Finally got a chance to get some work done on the Karoq. Been on a few highway runs and the following mods was completed :
a. Entire chrome grill at the front done in black (Inspiration of Mr. Perera) Although it looks way better in his black colour Karoq.

c. Sun Film and some PPF Coating the handle door pockets.

Where did you get the grill done in black from? Am trying to find a place who can do the same for my Kodiaq plus the entire window line in black.

However nobody wraps using dechrome tape. They use sheets which is massive wastage and nowhere as good as dechrome tape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-eFb-KhrqU

[prasadathani]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Where did you get the grill done in black from? Am trying to find a place who can do the same for my Kodiaq plus the entire window line in black.

However nobody wraps using dechrome tape. They use sheets which is massive wastage and nowhere as good as dechrome tape.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=n-eFb-KhrqU

Hi Vid,
Got it done at Classic Unicorn Motors in Yeshwantpur. A friend of mine did this work and it’s entirely painted I guess. He did the lettering too. And it has come out really really well. You can find him on Google maps and give my reference. I can share his number too if you want.

[prasadathani]

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

The car looks much better now prasadathani ! How did u dechrome the skoda and karoq badging?
I would recommend that you wrap the ORVM and the remaining white part of the roof + the spoiler also in black.

I hate the rear mud flaps that Skoda gives. It may be functional but I feel it bulges too much to the sides and spoils the look of the car from behind. Hence I did not fit the rear mud flaps only fit the front ones.
Also one small mod I did that I forgot to update here was the addition of wheel spacers.
I felt that the wheels in the Karoq sat way inside the wheel arch. Wanted to bring the wheel edge in line with the wheel arch, so got a set of Hub centric forged aluminium spacers from Autopsyche. 15mm spacers for the front and 20mm for the rear. The spacers were of great quality and got them fitted at a friend's garage. The difference is very minimal but the stance of the car is much better now.

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The letters were removed painted and then put back. The guy who did it is really good and it has come out really well. As you said I asked for doing a vinyl wrap but this was better is what he suggested. Will definitely look at the ORVM and the spoiler a few months down the line.

Anything on the rear door mud and dirt getting in ? Am having a lot of trouble getting the car cleaned from the rear as well the the front bumper where in a lot of dirt and slime gets plastered on everywhere.

[Schneller]

Thanks to Mr.Perera for his wonderful review of the Karoq. It helped me make up my mind for the car. Took delivery on the same day i became a member of Team-Bhp

Another Ownership review coming soon.