Skoda Karoq

[Iest]

Hoping to change my Crv in the near future and being bullied into considering a petrol car!
Looked at the 1.5 Karoq and all seemed very reasonable. Shame about no 4*4 but it will it tow my Conqueror 480?

 

[otherclive]

Hoping to change my Crv in the near future and being bullied into considering a petrol car!
Looked at the 1.5 Karoq and all seemed very reasonable. Shame about no 4*4 but it will it tow my Conqueror 480?

You will need to find out legal tow weight of car, it’s kerbweight, it’s GTW. For caravan it’s MTPLM.
Then it’s possible to give advice. If you look at outfit matching site “Towcar.info” that will give you some more info.
Don’t know the torque of the engine but expect to have to use more revs compared to a diesel but I’ve towed with turbo and non turbo petrols and it’s something that you get used to and accept. My Saab 9000 2.3 hpt was a really good tow car in the days before diesel became mainstream.

 

[Craigyoung]

Skoda Karoq SE L 1.5 TSI 150PS DSG https://g.co/kgs/wNs84S
Any good ?
It says they can pull between 15oo and 2ooo kilograms depending on spec .

 

[otherclive]

Skoda Karoq SE L 1.5 TSI 150PS DSG https://g.co/kgs/wNs84S
Any good ?
It says they can pull between 15oo and 2ooo kilograms depending on spec .

I think the OP has to be specific on model, weights et. I had a 150 bhp petrol SJ Forester. Rated at 2000 kg towing limit. Skin wasn’t even moved off the pudding unless you revved it to uncomfortable levels. But a modern turbo petrol will have better torque. Seem to recall a test of a VAG tsi engine sometime back. Will try and find it. Either PC or a club magazine.

Edit PS it was 2.0 tsi Tiguion in PC. Look in tow car reviews.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I agree with Ray, the exact specification is essential. Similar models with different levels of specification can have very different towing limits and characteristics.

But as an aside, the VW TSI engines are getting some good reviews as tow vehicles - OK they are not diesel, but the Turbo does endow them with quite respectable torque at modest RPM. Certainly better than the non turbo cars we all used to use in the 70's and 80's.

The DSG gearboxes are also getting good reviews when new, but their are some rumors of issues when towing, BUT these are unsubstantiated, and no comparative figures have been given to compare them with manual gear box issues or torque converter autos.

If the Karoq has 150bhp it will probably tow well, but the full specification needs to be checked.

 

[otherclive]

I agree with Ray, the exact specification is essential. Similar models with different levels of specification can have very different towing limits and characteristics.

But as an aside, the VW TSI engines are getting some good reviews as tow vehicles - OK they are not diesel, but the Turbo does endow them with quite respectable torque at modest RPM. Certainly better than the non turbo cars we all used to use in the 70's and 80's.

The DSG gearboxes are also getting good reviews when new, but their are some rumors of issues when towing, BUT these are unsubstantiated, and no comparative figures have been given to compare them with manual gear box issues or torque converter autos.

If the Karoq has 150bhp it will probably tow well, but the full specification needs to be checked.

VAG DSG gearboxes have been out for 15 years now and used in some BMWs. The ones that had some trouble with the clutches were dry lubricated mainly used on lower power petrol models. VAG oil lubricated DSG were used on the larger diesels and higher power petrol. Mainly these have been very reliable and no concerns related to towing. I believe all DSG are or will be oil lubricated.
The driver just needs to be aware of how double synchro clutch gearboxes work and to avoid situations where the clutches fir gears 1 and 2 slip and hence wear. These are don’t sit in D1 with handbrake on. Put it in neutral. Don’t crawl at very low speeds. Wait till gap opens then drive forwards. I use manual 1 as if left in auto it often uses D2 at below 1000 rpm even with van on. And when I pitch the van I tend now to use the mover if it’s likely to need much to and fro manoeuvres.
As a gearbox though I really like its intuitive characteristics compared to my last two auto boxes which were 2010 XC70 torque converter, and 2014 Subaru Forester CVT.

 

[Raywood]

The current Conquerer 480 has an MTPLM of 1430. You will have to substitute the weight for yours if it is a different year, but given the Karoq shows a kerb weight of 1315, I would suggest it is far too light a tow car for the caravan and something over 1500 kerb weight is needed.