Skoda’s brand new compact SUV and a brother to the Kodiaq, is all set to make celebrate its World Premiere on May 18th at Stockholm. Called the Skoda Karoq, the name and its spelling originate from the language of the Alutiiq, an indigenous tribe who live on an island off the southern coast of Alaska. Its market launch will follow in the second half of 2017.
The Koraq gets a grille that’s similar to the one seen on the Kodiaq large SUV. Apart from the grille, the rest of the bodywork gets Kodiaq-like styling as well, with taut lines and sharp creases. The Skoda Karoq is based on the MQB platform shared with the VW Tiguan, Seat Ateca, Skoda Kodiaq and many more models from the Volkswagen Group. The Karoq will be offered with a mix of three- and four-cylinder TSI petrol and four-cylinder TDI diesel engines with displacements ranging from 1.0- to 2.0-litre. Transmission choices may include 6-speed manual and 7-speed dual clutch automatic, while an all-wheel-drive system will be optional.
As before with the Skoda Kodiaq, the people from Kodiak Island provided the inspiration for the name of the Skoda Karoq. In the language of the indigenous people from the Alutiiq tribe who live there, ‘car’ is ‘KAA’RAQ’. They use the term ‘RUQ’ for ‘arrow’, the symbol that constitutes the central element of ŠKODA’s logo and represents the brand’s dynamism.
“The ŠKODA KAROQ is a completely newly designed SUV that sets new benchmarks for our brand and its segment in every way. With this new SUV, we are taking the next logical step in our SUV strategy,” says ŠKODA CEO Bernhard Maier. “The ŠKODA KAROQ impresses with its unique brand identity and a distinctive product identity and is introducing – alongside the typical ŠKODA strengths – the brand’s new, emotive design language into the compact SUV segment,” added Maier.