• Class-leading boot space
• Excellent passenger room
• Storage space also spot-on

How much space is there?

The Karoq is capable of accommodating four adults in comfort, with good leg and shoulder room in the rear. There is space for a fifth passenger, but if you’ll frequently be using the middle rear seat then think about speccing the Varioflex seating system, which adds a larger centre seat and a three-way split-folding backrest for extra practicality.

Standard on the Karoq SE L trim level, optional on the others, as well as affording a separate middle seat, the Varioflex layout also allows the rear seats to slide to create more luggage space. They are also designed to be removed altogether if you need maximum room. Just be aware that taking them out is still a convoluted process, and the seats are heavy.

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Another useful feature found on other Skodas that has made its way on to the Karoq is the fold-down picnic tables on the back of the front seats. The Karoq also boasts front door pockets capable of swallowing a 1.5-litre bottle of water, removable bins and some handy hooks in the bootspace.

In his long-term test of the Karoq, our reviewer Percy Lawman said, ‘This is a spacious SUV. Up front, the driver and passenger have plenty of room and the cupholders are thoughtfully located. The steering wheel and driver’s seat are manually adjustable, but elecric adjustment for the latter is available.’

Boot space and storage

With the standard seats fitted there is 521 litres of luggage space with the rear seats in place, rising to 1,630 litres with them folded down. However, when fitted with the sliding Varioflex seats, rear-seats-up bootspace is anywhere between 479 litres to 588 litres depending on how far the seats are slid forward (they also tumble upwards), while maximum load space ranges from 1,605-1,810 litres, depending on whether you’re prepared to take those rear seats.

You can’t have a variable height boot floor in conjunction with Varioflex rear seating, but hooks for shopping and a partition net are available.

If you’re like us, it’s probably difficult to visualise what all those litre figures mean in real life. So perhaps the most important thing to know here is that the Karoq has a bigger boot than anything else in the class (next closest being the Peugeot 3008). The Varioflex gives it superior flexibility over most rivals as well. It is a particularly practical mid-size SUV.

Is it easy to park?

It might be an SUV but the Karoq really isn’t that tricky to park, with standard fit rear parking sensors and the option to add front parking sensors and a reversing camera. The steering is light at low speeds, the blindspots aren’t too intrusive and the driving position gives a decent view of the car’s extremities.

If you tick the right option box automatic parking is also available, meaning you can simply pull up next to a space and have the car drive into it at the press of a button.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP rating
• Standard-fit autonomous emergency braking
• Front passenger seat Isofix mounting is optional

The Skoda Karoq achieved a full five-star crash-test rating when it was rated by Euro NCAP at the end of 2017. That’s quite some time ago now, and the Euro NCAP regime has got tougher, but Skoda has also uprated the amount of available safety kit as part of the 2022 Karoq facelift. This should prove a very safe car.

Enhancements here include the option of two additional rear side airbags as part of the Crew Protect Assist option – taking the total number that can be fitted to nine – and a new suite of advanced active safety systems called Travel Assist. 

So as well as autonomous emergency braking and all the active safety you’d ordinarily expect, the Karoq can be equipped with Predictive Cruise Control (which uses data from the navigation system as well as the car’s onboard camera) and Adaptive Lane Assist (which reacts to roadwork as well regular road markings), among many other features. There are also two standard Isofix mountings on the outer rear seats, plus an optional one on the front passenger seat.