Skoda Karoq Debuts With Full-LED Lights, 1.5 TSI and Digital Dashboard

The styling is best described as a Kodiaq squeezed into a Nissan Qashqai frame. You can spot the shorter overhang at the back, but the lines have been deliberately left neutral and understated. Without the SportLine trim, there's not a hint of effervescence.

We like the interior a little more than the outside since it's got the same chunky DSG lever as the other Skoda SUV and a rugged dashboard design. Everything from the dash to the seat trim has an air of understated sophistication.

This compact SUV measures 4,382 mm in length, is 1,841 mm wide, and 1,605 mm high. Compared to the Yeti, there's 69mm more legroom.

Careful consideration has been given to the cargo area as well. Skoda introduced something called VarioFlex. The rear seats slide independently, which we've seen before on the Tiguan and BMW X1, but they can also be removed. The luggage compartment has a capacity of 521 liters with the rear seats in place, 1630 liters with them folded flat and 1,810 as a "van" with no seats.

We're a little confused by the press release, which mentions both four and five engines being available. At the bottom, you're going to have the 1.0 TSI with 115 PS, joined by the only 1.6 TDI version with the same power output. Two 2.0 TDI units with 150 or 190 PS should be pretty popular, the latter of which comes standard with DSG and 4x4.

But we'd at least give the 1.5 TSI a try, since this is the first all-new Skoda model to feature it. Like on the Golf 7.5, it comes with cylinder deactivation for better fuel economy. Also like the Golf 7.5, the Karoq is available with a digital instrument panel, the first Skoda to do so.

Full-LED headlights with clear-lens optics are available as an option from the Ambition trim level upwards. And just like in the SEAT Ateca, new LED ambient lighting in the decorative door trims and the dashboard creates a pleasant atmosphere, being configurable in ten different colors.

List of engines:

• 1.0 TSI - 115 PS, 175 Nm of torque, top speed of 187 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 10.6 seconds, combined consumption of 5.2 l per 100 km, CO2 emissions of 117 g/km
• 1.5 TSI - 150 PS, 250 Nm of torque, top speed of 204 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 8.4 seconds, combined consumption of 5.1 l per 100 km, CO2 emissions of 119 g/km
• 1.6 TDI - 115 PS, 250 Nm of torque, top speed of 188 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 10.7 seconds, combined consumption of 4.5 l per 100 km, CO2 emissions of 118 g/km
• 2.0 TDI - 150 PS, 340 Nm of torque, top speed of 207 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds, combined consumption of 4.4 l per 100 km, CO2 emissions of 115 g/km
• 2.0 TDI - 190 PS, 400 Nm of torque, top speed of 211 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 7.8 seconds, combined consumption of 5.3 l per 100 km, CO2 emissions of 138 g/km.