Skoda has once again previewed the exterior of its facelifted Karoq SUV, in the form of a 30-second teaser video.
Introduced in 2017 as a smaller sibling to the Kodiaq large SUV, the Karoq is now the middle child in its local SUV line-up as it slots above the Kamiq small SUV.
It’s due for its mid-life facelift that’ll be revealed online on November 30 during an online media presentation. As reported earlier, the facelifted Karoq will arrive in Australia during March 2022.
The teaser video shows many shadowy shots of the range-topping Sportline all-wheel drive trim painted in orange. The colour seems to be similar to the fourth-generation Skoda Fabia shown in European press imagery.
As alluded to in the teaser design sketches, the facelifted Karoq has slimmer headlights that extend all the way to the grille, and a redesigned daytime running light signature comprised of two separate units.
As before, the fog light unit is directly underneath the main headlights.
Around the side, we’re given a short glimpse at a new alloy wheel design with silver and black accents, as well as numerous diamond-shaped cutouts.
Towards the end of the teaser video it briefly shows the slimmer C-shaped tail light signature that emphasises the vehicle’s width, according to Skoda.
The teaser video also shows the roof rails and badges of the facelifted Karoq. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s expected the facelifted Karoq will feature Skoda’s latest infotainment systems.
In Australia, Skoda will continue to offer just two Karoq variants: the entry-level front-wheel drive Style, and the all-wheel drive Sportline.
Style models are powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 110kW of power and 250Nm of torque. This is all sent to the front wheels through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.
Sportline models on the other hand are powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 140kW and 320Nm, put to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
An interesting caveat about the Sportline’s engine is it has a petrol particulate filter (PPF).
Pictured: Current Skoda Karoq Sportline
Pricing for the current model starts at $38,990 drive-away for the Style, and extends to $45,990 drive-away for the Sportline before option packs are added.
A lower-volume seller in the hotly-contested medium SUV segment, Skoda has sold 1430 examples of the Karoq to date in 2021.
This puts it above the Renault Koleos (1330 sales), Ford Escape (1244 sales), Peugeot 3008 and 5008 (997 and 157 sales), Jeep Cherokee (349 sales), and SsangYong Korando (293 sales).
The Karoq is currently the slowest-selling Skoda SUV. Its larger Kodiaq sibling has registered 1619 sales for the year-to-date, while the smaller Kamiq has 1889 sales.
MORE: Everything Skoda Karoq
