Skoda Karoq gets five-star Euro NCAP rating

The Skoda Karoq SUV, which the company is understood to be evaluating for introduction in India, has received a five-star rating from the independent European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP). The Karoq is the Czech car manufacturer’s latest model to receive the five-star rating, making the KAROQ one of the safest compact SUVs on the road today.

Unveiled in May this year, the new Karoq is built on the VW Group’s MQB platform, and shares parts and technology with the similarly sized Volkswagen Tiguan.
Available with a range of advanced driver assistance and infotainment options, the Karoq is the first Skoda to come with a digital instrument panel. There are four levels of infotainment system with the top level featuring a 9.2-inch touchscreen and gesture control.

“We are delighted that the new Karoq has also passed the Euro NCAP tests with flying colours,” said Škoda Board Member for Technical Development, Christian Strube. “We are constantly working on optimising the passive and active safety of our models and developing occupant and pedestrian protection, as well as assistance systems. Numerous driver assistance systems are installed in the Karoq that would otherwise only be found in higher vehicle classes,” says Strube.

Euro NCAP awarded the occupant protection of adult passengers an excellent 93 percent. In addition, Euro NCAP highlighted the protection of the cervical spine in rear-end collisions. The compact SUV’s emergency braking system worked reliably at low urban speeds and prevented almost all collisions. Euro NCAP also awarded the full score for the protection of pedestrians’ legs. The compact SUV also protected pedestrians’ heads well in the event of in a collision.

Following the Kodiaq, the Karoq is the brand’s second vehicle to receive a five-star rating in 2017. Škoda is currently one of the few car manufacturers whose entire model range has received a five-star rating in the Euro NCAP test.

According to the company, the Karoq owes its outstanding passive safety to its high torsional rigidity, generous deformation zones in the extremely secure cabin and the use of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels, for example in the side beams. In addition, the compact SUV has seven standard airbags: driver and passenger airbags, side airbags, head airbags and knee airbag. Child seats can be fixed in using Top-Tether or the Isofix system, which is also available for the front passenger seat. In the event of a rear-end collision, specially designed headrests (WOKS = Whiplash Optimized Headrests) reduce the risk of whiplash for the driver and front passenger. The proactive occupant protection system also tightens the front seatbelts in the event of a collision and closes any open windows including the sunroof. The system comes as standard in many countries.

The Karoq is equipped with a large number of cameras as well as radar and sensor-based driver assistance systems. The front radar assistant, which includes city emergency braking with person recognition, helps to prevent accidents with pedestrians. Manoeuvre assist and pulling-away assist help the driver in reduced visibility and warn of hidden dangers.

Other safety features on board the Karoq include an adaptive-distance assistant, a lane-keeping, camera-based traffic sign recognition, an emergency call function, a traffic jam assistant and fatigue detection.

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