YETI AGAIN?

Does the Karoq hope to recreate the magic of a certain older Skoda?

- Aditya Upadhyaula

When Skoda launched the Yeti in India ten years ago, it quickly became my favourite car on sale in the country. Not one of my favourites, it was right up there at the top. It had compact dimensions, a brilliant all-wheel-drive powertrain, was built well, and looked like nothing else on the road. Sadly, the market wasn’t ready for a car like the Yeti and it was discontinued. Now, Skoda brings us its replacement, the Karoq, and it has a lot riding on its shoulders.

You can instantly recognise the Karoq as part of the Skoda family and from a distance, it’s difficult to tell it apart from its larger stablemate, the Kodiaq. The face is similar, but you can use the headlamps and foglamps to tell them apart. The Karoq has thinner squared-off units with foglights placed directly underneath. At the rear, it’s a little easier to tell them apart because of the unique tail-lamps and bumper covers. In profile, the Kodiaq is much, much longer and that definitely sets them apart. With the Karoq, 17-inch anthracite alloy wheels fill out the squared wheel arches well and give it a purposeful stance. Where the Yeti stood out in a crowd and polarised opinion, this one blends in without any drama.