2020 Skoda Karoq vs Volkswagen Tiguan

What's the difference?

All right, I’ve changed my mind – Tom was robbed of the better Karoq in my view. Sure, I’m yet to drive his Sportline 140TSI, but the 110TSI is less expensive and better value, with more options to pick from, plus it's more practical and versatile with that removable rear row. Sure, the 110 TSI doesn’t have the fancy wheels and paddle shifters, or the more powerful engine, but if what you’re going to be using it for is daily duties, like me, in traffic, then the 110TSI is better.

Compared to its rivals, the Karoq 110 TSI is also better – better for interior space and practicality, better for cabin tech, with that fully digital instrument display, and now, with that new engine and transmission, better to drive than many of them, too.

The Tiguan Allspace is a slick, refined package that justifies its higher-than-rivals entry price with a great list of inclusions.

It’s a bit odd that its hero feature, the extra seating, is one of its least compelling attributes, but the extra internal space makes it one of the most practical mid-sizers you can get your hands on.

The Karoq looks just like its big brother, the Kodiaq, only smaller. It’s a tough-looking little SUV full of sharp creases in its metal work and fine details everywhere – such as the taillights, with their crystalline appearance. I think the Karoq could be a bit more adventurous in its styling – or maybe I just feel like that because the white paint my 110TSI was wearing looked a bit household appliance.

The 140TSI Sportline my colleague Tom has reviewed looks a lot better – I’ll give him that. The Sportline comes with polished black alloy wheels, a more aggro-looking front bumper, tinted windows, a blacked-out grille frame rather than my chrome one, a rear diffuser… Wait, what am I doing? I’m writing his review for him, you can go and read that yourself.

So, is the Karoq a small SUV or medium sized? The Karoq’s dimensions show it to be 4382mm long, 1841mm wide and 1603mm tall – that’s smaller than mid-sized SUVs such as the Mazda CX-5 (168mm longer), the Hyundai Tucson (98mm longer) and also the Kia Sportage (103mm longer). And the Karoq looks small from the outside. Really the Karoq is more Mazda CX-30 sized, which is 4395mm end to end.

But, and it’s a big but, good packaging inside means the Karoq’s interior is more spacious than those three larger SUVs. That’s ideal if, like me, you live in a street where the residents fight nightly over the last remaining tiny car spaces, yet you still have a growing family and so you need something bigger than a unicycle.  

Inside, the 110TTSI feels business class, but on a domestic route. Not that I travel that way, but I see the seats they sit in as I walk to economy. It’s a serious, stylish and above all functional place to be, with a high-quality feel to the door and centre-console trims. Then there’s the media display and I must admit I’m a big fan of the fully digital instrument cluster. Only the seats could be a bit more sophisticated. If it were me, I’d option the leather; it's easier to keep clean and looks better. Also, did I mention that you can’t option leather seats in the top of the range 140TSI Sportline?

The more I spent time with it, the more I appreciated the Tiguan's slick, understated styling. Volkswagen’s design is pleasingly consistent across its range right now, and the Tiguan just looks like a big Golf – in a really good way.

The blending of curves around the edges and strong angles down the sides and roofline is masterful, and the silver highlights delicately sprinkled across the exterior trim add just enough shine to stop it looking too simplistic.

Overall it will be less controversial than the majority of its competition, while also looking decidedly further upmarket.

Perhaps the Allspace's best trick is the way it hides its dimensions. It doesn’t look huge, and you have to look really closely to spot the difference between the Allspace and the regular length car.

Inside it’s mostly great, too. The indistinguishable-from-a-Golf theme continues, but that means decent plastics, leather-trimmed touch points and well-built switchgear.

It’s inoffensive, but also hardly flashy. The fake aluminium trim and odd mix of gloss plastics is nicely put together, but overall a bit plain. The further back you go (seat-wise) the more basic the trim gets. More on that in the practicality section.

Do you know another thing Tom can’t do in his fancy Karoq 140TSI Sportline? Take the back seats out, that’s what. I’m serious – have a look at the photo I took of mine. Yep, that’s the rear left-hand seat sitting on the middle seat, and they all can be removed super easily to open up a cargo space of 1810 litres. If you leave the seats in and fold them flat you have 1605 litres, while the capacity of just the boot with all seats up is 588 litres. That’s larger than the cargo capacity of the CX-5, the Tucson or the Sportage; not bad considering the Karoq is quite a bit smaller than those SUVs (see the dimensions in the design section above).

The cabin is also impressively roomy for humans. Up front, the flat dashboard and low centre console create a sense of spaciousness, with plenty of shoulder and elbow room even for me with my two-metre wingspan. At 191cm tall I can sit behind my driving position without my knees touching the seat back. That’s outstanding.

Headroom back there is also excellent. Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t even have to take his hat off thanks to that high, flat roof. 

Big, tall doors meant buckling my five year old into his car seat was easy on my back, while the car isn’t too far off the ground for him to be able to climb into.

Cabin storage is superb, with large door pockets, six cupholders (three up front and three in the back), a covered centre-console area with more compartments than a bento box, an enormous dash-top box with trapdoor, phone and tablet holders on the front headrests, little rubbish bins, cargo nets, hooks, elasticized cords with Velcro ends to tie down stuff. Then there’s the pop-out torch in the boot and an umbrella under the driver’s seat, just waiting for you to lose it the first time you take it out.

For charging devices and media there’s a USB port up front. There are also two 12V outlets (front and rear).

Back-seat passengers also have directional air vents.

The only thing stopping this car getting a 10 is that it doesn’t have blinds for the rear side windows or USB ports in the back.  

The cabin might be overwhelmingly grey, but it’s a practical place to be. And while the Allspace has its letdowns, it almost makes up for them with some surprises.

Starting with the front seats, there’s plenty of room in the deep foot well as well for arms, and head clearance is excellent.

Storage comes in the form of massive bottle holders in the doors, some trick cupholders in the centre console (which can be folded away to make a big storage trench) and a bay under the climate controls which hosts USB, aux, and 12-volt ports.

Bonus storage comes in the form of big roof-mounted boxes, a decent centre console box and a big glove box, too. Ergonomics are great and there a dials for everything! Full marks in the front, then.

In the second-row things are great, too. Again, there are big pockets in the doors, pockets on the back of the seats, a drop-down armrest and in a rare addition, in-flight service trays on the back of the seats. I’m not sure what good they are for eating or typing on… but a cool addition nonetheless.

The second row seats are as comfortable as the first row, and they are also on rails, allowing you to max out legroom, or make fitting child seats easier. Or, if the third row is in use, you can minimize it to help third row dwellers out.

The second row also gets its own climate control zone with controls, adjustable vents, as well as a USB and 12-volt outlet. Great marks for the second row, too!

Sadly, things are less good over in the third row. Despite the clear efforts VW has gone to imake the Tiguan chassis accommodate an extra row, it just hasn’t panned out for passengers.

Thanks to the second row on rails, and the large door aperture, clambering in isn’t too hard, but once you’re there the space is not sufficient for an adult.

Even with the second row moved forward significantly, there seems to be nowhere for my feet to go, seat comfort is best described as ‘basic’ and headroom was not sufficient for my 182cm height.

Children under the age of 15 are perhaps best suited to this scenario. There are no air vents, and the trim around the edges is a bit hard.

The upswing of the Allspace’s extended cabin though, is the gratuitous amount of storage. Even with the third row up, you’ll get a hatchback-sized 230L.

The boot is a whopping 700L with the third row stowed, and rows three and two stowed you’ll get 1775L – or enough for an entire set of six dining chairs, as I discovered on my test.

We had the Tiguan Allspace in 110 TSI Comfortline trim, which is toward the entry-level. At $40,150 it competes with high-end offerings from Honda (CR-V VTi-L - $38,990) and Nissan (X-Trail ST-L $39,300). It will soon also face competition from Mercedes-Benz when its new GLB-Class lands in mid-2020.

Although not the highest-spec Allspace you can get, the Comfortline still punches above its mid-spec weight when it comes to equipment.

Things like an electric tailgate, LED headlights and tri-zone climate control are well and truly premium bits of kit.

Those match well with 18-inch alloy wheels, an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support as well as built-in nav, auto folding wing mirrors, keyless entry and push start, and a rechargeable torch in the luggage area.

You can even option the front-drive base car we had here with things like leather seats and a panoramic sunroof, although frustratingly, adaptive cruise control is part of a $1600 ‘Assistance Package.'

More on the safety inclusions later in this review.

Regardless, the Tiguan looks and feels like the semi-premium package it should be considering its price premium over rivals. Just be aware it gets expensive quickly when you start ticking option boxes or going after all-wheel drive, for example.

The Karoq 110TSI used to have a 1.5-litre engine and a dual-clutch automatic, but that’s now been replaced in this upgrade by a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine making the same outputs of 110kW and 250Nm and an eight-speed automatic transmission (a traditional torque converter, too) sending drive to the front wheels.

Sure, it’s not all-wheel drive like Tom’s 140TSI, nor does it have that car’s seven-speed dual clutch, but 250Nm of torque isn’t bad at all.

The entry-level Allspace 110TSI comes with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

It produces 110kW/250Nm which probably sounds a little light-on for such a big SUV (driving section spoiler: it is) although, isn’t too bad considering Honda’s similarly sized CR-V gets by with a very similar powertrain.

This is the only Allspace with a six-speed dual-clutch auto. Higher-spec 2.0-litre all-wheel drive models get a seven-speed instead.

In my fuel test I filled the tank to full and drove 140.7km on a combination of city streets, country roads and motorways, then filled up again – I needed 10.11 litres to do so, which works out at 7.2L/100km. The trip computer reported the same mileage. Skoda says that, ideally, the 110TSI engine should see 6.6L/100km. Either way, the 110TSI is pretty darn fuel efficient for a mid-sized SUV.

Also, you’ll need a minimum of 95 RON premium unleaded.

The Allspace 110TSI drinks a minimum of 95RON petrol, with a claimed/combined ] of 6.6L/100km.

Our real-life test produced a much higher 9.1L/100km. I expected it to be higher than the claimed figure given the extra weight of the Allspace, but perhaps not that much higher.

The 110TSI also has a slightly smaller fuel tank than the 2.0L versions at 58L.

I’ve just jumped out of the Karoq 110TSI after a day of manic weather on chaotic city and suburban streets. I even managed to escape all that and find some country roads and motorways.

The first thing you need to know is it’s easy to pilot. The visibility out of that expansive windscreen is excellent, made even better by a high driving position – the bonnet dips away to make it look as if there isn’t one and that made it feel like driving a bus at times. It is a bit bus-like to sit in with those upright front seat, and their jazzy graffiti-deterrent fabric pattern, but they’re comfortable, supportive and large, which suits me fine because I’m all of those things, too.

 Also making it also easy to drive is the light steering, plus a composed and comfortable ride. That made it ideal for where I live in the inner city, a place where peak-hour traffic seems to be 24/7 and potholes are peppered everywhere.

That new engine is quiet, and the regular automatic provides a far smoother experience than the dual-clutch it replaced.

A blast through the bush on great winding roads made me wish for two things – better steering feel and more grunt. Traction, even in the wet, was impressive , but there were times I wanted more oomph and to feel more connected to the road through the steering wheel. Oh, and paddle shifters – my fingers kept reaching for them, but the 110TSI doesn’t have any. Tom will probably gloat about his 140TSI’s grunt, all-wheel drive and multitude of paddle shifters in his review.

On the motorway, the Karoq is serene with a quiet cabin and a transmission that quickly slips into eighth gear for comfortable, long-haul cruising. There’s more than enough grunt to overtake and merge rapidly when needed, too.  

The Allspace offers up a very VW drive experience – and it’s mostly good.

Many of the main characteristics are just like a Golf or Polo. Accurate steering which is pleasantly light for city-slicking, an overall comfort suspension tune which is great for soaking up potholes, and an impressively quiet cabin.\

What’s not so great is the dollops of turbo lag served up by this engine. It’s more annoying than the same engine in a Golf, because the simple physics of moving such a large object lends itself to a few precious milliseconds of delay.

I found myself pressing the pedal further out of frustration, only to have the front wheels spin when the torque finally arrived a full second later.

It’s no athlete then. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be, but if you want a drive experience without these characteristics you’ll need to shop even further up the price scale to the 2.0L versions.

The six-speed dual clutch is a slick shifter though, and unlike previous iterations of this ‘box it has almost no jerkiness at low speed.

Overall, the suspension tune was good, but there are moments where it feels extra-stiff around the rear.

I’m not entirely sure why I noticed this more over say, a regular Tiguan, but all I can report is the rear seat passengers might notice it on larger potholes.

As a city-slicker, it’s narrow but long body also betrays its size, making it feel hatch-like to navigate around tight streets. Admittedly, this did not quite extend to parking and three-point turns.

Otherwise it’s a quiet ride, and once you’re at freeway speeds one of the best places to be in the segment.

The base car scores active safety refinements which include auto emergency braking (AEB – works at freeway speeds with pedestrian detection), lane keep assist, and park assist.

The Tiguan has seven airbags, with curtain airbags which cover even the third row. The expected stability and brake controls are also present.

The safety offering can be upped by ticking the ‘Driver Assistance Package’ box ($1600 – worth it) which includes blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, as well as ‘traffic jam assist’ (allows the cruise control to stop and go at traffic), and ‘emergency assist’ (will try to alert a non-responsive driver then drive into a shoulder if no response is received).

It’s a good standard set of standard features, but truly impressive with the affordable assistance pack.

The Karoq is covered by Skoda’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km and if you want to pay up front, there’s a three-year pack for $900 and a five-year plan for $1700 that includes roadside assistance and map updates and is fully transferable.

Volkswagen has updated its warranty to match mainstream automakers at five-years/unlimited kilometres, so it’s on-par with major Japanese rivals there.

Servicing can be packaged up (and bundled in on finance) at the time of purchase, with a three-year package costing $1350 and a five-year package costing $2500.

We’d absolutely recommend sticking to the five-year package if you intend to keep the vehicle for the warranty period. You do legitimately save money on what VW calls ‘servicing RRP.’