Skoda Karoq SCOUT SUV arrives for added 'off-road' butch

Skoda Karoq SCOUT SUV arrives

The Skoda Karoq Scout has been revealed ahead of a debut at the Paris Motor Show, featuring four-wheel rive and a rugged cosmetic makeover.

It’s a bit over a year since the Skoda Karoq arrived to supplant Skoda’s best-selling Yeti, becoming the Czech take on the VW Tigaun and Skoda Ateca in the process.

Looking like a more compact Kodiaq, the Karoq is a car which delivers a lot of what a family SUV should, although it’s not much more than a soft-roader. But now there’s a more butch Karoq – the new Skoda Karoq Scout.

Joining its bigger Kodiaq Scout sibling in the Skoda range after a public debut at the Paris Motor Show in the autumn, the Karoq Scout gets a rugged cosmetic makeover and four-wheel drive.

The usual Scout makeover is evidenced by the black plastic cladding on the wheelarches and sills – complete with silver inserts – silver roof rails and mirror caps, and 18″ alloys (with 19″ optional).

You also get a ‘Scout’ badge on the front wing so people know you’ve bought the rufty-tufty Karoq, as well as privacy glass, with the interior getting black and brown cloth seats with contrast stitching and ‘Scout’ embroidery on the headrests, LED ambient lighting and an 8″ infotainment screen. A 12.3″ virtual cockpit is an option

Engine options are the 1.5 litre TSI petrol with 148bhp and a 2.0 litre TDI with either 148bhp or 188bhp, with the petrol and lower-powered diesel coming with a six-speed manual as standard and DSG as an option, and the 188bhp diesel getting the DSG ‘box only.

Expect the Karoq Scout to go on sale straight after its debut at the Paris Motor Show.