Hot new Skoda Karoq vRS on the cards ~ station of gear

The Skoda Karoq has just been revealed but a hot Karoq vRS version could be hot on its heels along with Sportline, Scout and PHEV models

2017-05-18 20:11

The new Skoda Karoq range of family SUVs will expand rapidly over the next 12 months to include SportLine and Scout versions - and officials admit that plug-in hybrid and high-performance vRS editions of the car are also under consideration.

Skoda expects the Karoq to comfortably outsell the car it replaces, the Yeti, which enjoyed its best ever year in the UK in 2016 and has averaged around 100,000 sales per year over its lifetime. The Czech company’s CEO Bernhard Maier told Auto Express that the firm has already detected customer demand for a faster version of the new SUV - one that could carry the vRS badging that’s currently limited to the Octavia.

• Skoda Karoq: full details and specs

“We have from our customer base very clear feedback that there is demand in having an SUV with our vRS logo on it, and all of the ingredients which make a Skoda a vRS,” Maier said. “We are currently investigating the idea; we haven’t taken a final decision yet, but maybe... there might be the potential at least for discussions about it.”

Auto Express understands that a vRS version of the Karoq - in effect a rival for the forthcoming Ateca Cupra - could arrive before the end of 2018. Before its debut, though, the range is likely to be bolstered by a motorsport-themed SportLine edition and a more rugged Scout version with additional body cladding.

• Skoda Karoq prototype review

Skoda’s head of R&D, Christian Strube, has also revealed that the Karoq is already being tested with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. “I have driven this car [the Karoq PHEV] already,” he said, “but it’s not a case of the technical challenge, because we know that MQB is engineered for hybrid powertrains. It’s for the marketing department to decide how to position these technologies. For me, though, this car is perfect for a PHEV powertrain.”

Maier confirmed at the Karoq’s reveal that the first electrified Skoda will be the Superb Plug-in Hybrid in 2019. However, he did concede that the Karoq could also be suitable for electrification early in the next decade. “It could be possible,” he said. “The platform is engineered for that. Again, we haven’t taken a decision but we’re monitoring how the market progresses and looking at how the infrastructure for charging develops. We won’t bring a single technology to market before it’s ready and our customers are ready for it.”

Would you like to see a Skoda Karoq vRS in showrooms? Let us know in the comments...

John McIlroy

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