Prepared for the unveiling at the Paris Motor Show early in October, the new Skoda Karoq Scout brings a bit more rugged character fused with the known Scout additions adapted for the latest small Skoda crossover. The Scout within the Skoda lineup is something like the Allroad with the Audi line of cars or Volvo’s Cross Country. The Scout line of additions has been a backbone for Skoda cars for some time now. Even the latest Kodiaq SUV got it. The Karoq, which proved to be one of the most popular new Skoda cars, received much the same additions as the Kodiaq sporting a clearly off-road-centered nature.

How To Spot A Karoq Scout?

Well, in America, you can’t, but in Europe, you’d spot the Karoq Scout thanks to a more rugged appearance achieved by the integration of plastic body claddings on the sides, on the fenders, and on the bumpers. It is well known that Skoda adds protection covers of a sort under the engine and under some other parts of the drivetrain to increase the ruggedness even more. I am quite positive the Karoq received the same. It was their way of securing the best possible reliability for drivers in emerging markets. If you break it down, that is where Skoda made its name since Volkswagen acquired the company. The latest Karoq, as a successor to the quirky but quite practical Yeti, takes on a shape of a standard crossover. It shares a lot with the Seat Ateca and the Volkswagen Tiguan without trying to be that flashy and fashion conscious. It does try to be practical and, in this case, quite appealing.

As if this was not enough, Skoda added a new set of 18-inch wheels (19-inch wheels available) and tinted the windows making the Karoq Scout a unique car within the lineup.

What About The Tech?

Not only did Skoda give the Karoq a new look and badges, but it also offered all of this with the standard AWD system. You can have it with a 1.5-liter, 150 horsepower, turbocharged, petrol engine, or a 2.0-liter TDI. The latter comes in two states of tune - with 150 horsepower and 190 horsepower. The most powerful one is available only with the double-clutch gearbox. Lesser variants are equipped with the six-speed manual as standard, though.

Obviously, nothing spectacular can be seen here, but the Karoq Scout does sound like a loaded up machine. Especially considering all the equipment inside. New features for the cabin include all-new seat covers, Scout lettering, stainless steel pedals, LED ambient lighting, and an all-digital instrument cluster. The latter is standard on all Karoq Scout cars and this makes it particularly cool. Admit it.

We will see the new Skoda Karoq Scout at the Paris Motor Show later this year. The car will go on sale soon after and will fight its way against the likes of the Nissan Qashqai and its likeness.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Skoda Karoq.

Read more Skoda news.

Read more Paris Auto Show news.